Saturday 5th November 2011 – Falkirk FC 4-3 Livingston FC
On the back of the first away win of the season the weekend prior, the Lions made the short trip to play Steven Pressley’s Falkirk side. The Falkirk Stadium doesn’t hold great memories for Livingston with the last game played between the two sides there proving to be the last in our SPL stay.
Gary Bollan was forced into making one change from the team that started against Queen of the South, with Jonathon Brown coming in for Maurice Ross who missed out with a hand injury.
After opening the scoring early on the week before, Marc McNulty was close to doing the same in this match. Mark Fotheringham slipped him the ball out wide and after skipping past Bairns captain Darren Dods, the youngster fired goal wards but Michael McGovern palmed the ball clear. Moments later, Bobby Barr drove down the right, dancing past Murray Wallace and picked out Kenny Deuchar with a low cross but he could only fire wide under pressure from two defenders.
It was a bright start from Livi, who commanded the game in a fast-paced opening to the match. Left back Jason Talbot almost broke the deadlock after being slipped in by Fotheringham but his lunging effort was blocked by McGovern who had raced from his line.
As so often tends to happen in football, if you don’t take your chances, it can come back to haunt you and that’s exactly what happened as Livi appeared to all but collapse for the remainder of the first half.
After some neat build up play, Kallum Higginbotham dinked the ball into the area and Falkirk striker Farid Alagui couldn’t believe his luck as Paul Watson and Andy McNeil both seemed to leave the ball for each other, allowing the Moroccan to nick between them and lob the ball into the unguarded net.
It was a horrible moment for both Watson and McNeil and only minutes later, it got worse. A poor delivery from a corner wasn’t dealt with by the Livi defence and as the ball rolled free in the 18 yard box, defender Murray Wallace lashed a shot into the net despite the best efforts of Brown on the line.
If the promising start hadn’t already been forgotten about, it certainly would have been with Falkirk’s next attack. Stewart Murdoch’s clearance sent David Weatherston down the left wing and as he clipped the ball into the box, looking for Higginbotham, Jonathon Brown slid in trying to intercept but could only look on in horror as he sent the ball low into the bottom corner.
As the teams went up the tunnel for half time, it looked like game, set and match to Falkirk…funny old game football, eh?
As the teams emerged for the second half, it was clear that Gary Bollan wasn’t going to sit back and accept defeat. Striker Rory Boulding came on off the bench for Brown and joined McNulty and Deuchar in a three-pronged frontline.
Instantly, Boulding looked to be causing the Falkirk defence problems and he was involved as the Lions pulled a goal back. A long ball forward from Talbot should have resulted in an easy clearance for Murdoch but Boulding caught him in possession and the ball rolled into the path of Bobby Barr. Barr then ran at the backline, jinking past three players before firing a shot low into the bottom left-hand corner. It was a huge lift for both the players and the fans and all of a sudden, Livingston looked to have Falkirk on the back-foot.
Only 6 minutes later, a second Livi goal really turned the game on it’s head. Kenny Deuchar headed Blair Alston’s ball out of the box and straight to Bobby Barr. He turned and played the ball into Keaghan Jacobs path, putting him through one-on-one with the last defender. After checking inside Stephen Kingsley, Jacobs steadied himself before bulleting a 25-yard effort beyond McGovern and into the net.
At this point, a remarkable comeback really did seem possible – enter Mark Fotheringham. After winning a foul 25 yards from goal, Fotheringham stepped up to take the free-kick and sent the ball bending over the wall and into the top corner of McGovern’s net. It was a fantastic strike to equal a fantastic moment for the players and fans alike.
The away support couldn’t believe what was happening and they very easily could have been celebrating a fourth. Fotheringham whipped in a corner and after a flick on from Boulding, Watson headed the ball just over the bar from 6 yards out. Then, after winning possession in his own half, Barr went on yet another mazy run, ghosting past opponents like they weren’t there before feeding in Deuchar but his strike hit the side netting.
The next twist in an utterly fascinating game dealt a horrible blow for the Lions. McGovern’s goal kick wasn’t dealt with and Higginbotham was allowed to play in Weatherston and he made no mistake, drilling low across McNeil to regain Falkirk’s lead with only five minutes to play. It was a heartbreaking moment for Livi, having dug so deep to get back into the game. Boulding had a late half chance to square the game but an excellent tackle from Rhys Bennett prevented him from getting shot away.
Only the second defeat of the league season for Livi but a second half performance to be proud of.
Gary Bollan was forced into making one change from the team that started against Queen of the South, with Jonathon Brown coming in for Maurice Ross who missed out with a hand injury.
After opening the scoring early on the week before, Marc McNulty was close to doing the same in this match. Mark Fotheringham slipped him the ball out wide and after skipping past Bairns captain Darren Dods, the youngster fired goal wards but Michael McGovern palmed the ball clear. Moments later, Bobby Barr drove down the right, dancing past Murray Wallace and picked out Kenny Deuchar with a low cross but he could only fire wide under pressure from two defenders.
It was a bright start from Livi, who commanded the game in a fast-paced opening to the match. Left back Jason Talbot almost broke the deadlock after being slipped in by Fotheringham but his lunging effort was blocked by McGovern who had raced from his line.
As so often tends to happen in football, if you don’t take your chances, it can come back to haunt you and that’s exactly what happened as Livi appeared to all but collapse for the remainder of the first half.
After some neat build up play, Kallum Higginbotham dinked the ball into the area and Falkirk striker Farid Alagui couldn’t believe his luck as Paul Watson and Andy McNeil both seemed to leave the ball for each other, allowing the Moroccan to nick between them and lob the ball into the unguarded net.
It was a horrible moment for both Watson and McNeil and only minutes later, it got worse. A poor delivery from a corner wasn’t dealt with by the Livi defence and as the ball rolled free in the 18 yard box, defender Murray Wallace lashed a shot into the net despite the best efforts of Brown on the line.
If the promising start hadn’t already been forgotten about, it certainly would have been with Falkirk’s next attack. Stewart Murdoch’s clearance sent David Weatherston down the left wing and as he clipped the ball into the box, looking for Higginbotham, Jonathon Brown slid in trying to intercept but could only look on in horror as he sent the ball low into the bottom corner.
As the teams went up the tunnel for half time, it looked like game, set and match to Falkirk…funny old game football, eh?
As the teams emerged for the second half, it was clear that Gary Bollan wasn’t going to sit back and accept defeat. Striker Rory Boulding came on off the bench for Brown and joined McNulty and Deuchar in a three-pronged frontline.
Instantly, Boulding looked to be causing the Falkirk defence problems and he was involved as the Lions pulled a goal back. A long ball forward from Talbot should have resulted in an easy clearance for Murdoch but Boulding caught him in possession and the ball rolled into the path of Bobby Barr. Barr then ran at the backline, jinking past three players before firing a shot low into the bottom left-hand corner. It was a huge lift for both the players and the fans and all of a sudden, Livingston looked to have Falkirk on the back-foot.
Only 6 minutes later, a second Livi goal really turned the game on it’s head. Kenny Deuchar headed Blair Alston’s ball out of the box and straight to Bobby Barr. He turned and played the ball into Keaghan Jacobs path, putting him through one-on-one with the last defender. After checking inside Stephen Kingsley, Jacobs steadied himself before bulleting a 25-yard effort beyond McGovern and into the net.
At this point, a remarkable comeback really did seem possible – enter Mark Fotheringham. After winning a foul 25 yards from goal, Fotheringham stepped up to take the free-kick and sent the ball bending over the wall and into the top corner of McGovern’s net. It was a fantastic strike to equal a fantastic moment for the players and fans alike.
The away support couldn’t believe what was happening and they very easily could have been celebrating a fourth. Fotheringham whipped in a corner and after a flick on from Boulding, Watson headed the ball just over the bar from 6 yards out. Then, after winning possession in his own half, Barr went on yet another mazy run, ghosting past opponents like they weren’t there before feeding in Deuchar but his strike hit the side netting.
The next twist in an utterly fascinating game dealt a horrible blow for the Lions. McGovern’s goal kick wasn’t dealt with and Higginbotham was allowed to play in Weatherston and he made no mistake, drilling low across McNeil to regain Falkirk’s lead with only five minutes to play. It was a heartbreaking moment for Livi, having dug so deep to get back into the game. Boulding had a late half chance to square the game but an excellent tackle from Rhys Bennett prevented him from getting shot away.
Only the second defeat of the league season for Livi but a second half performance to be proud of.
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