Falkirk play down title prospects as momentum builds
YOU won’t catch anyone of a Falkirk persuasion saying it, but Peter Houston’s side have Hibernian in their sights. No matter how much they try and play it down.
This sturdy win in Dumfries was built on solid defending and steely determination.
Palmerston Park’s artificial surface was a venue Falkirk had not tasted success in the league since Houston took charge of them in summer 2014.
Back in August, the Bairns went down to a tame 2-0 defeat in Dumfries, but that team is unrecognisable to the squad Houston has built, which is gaining momentum with each passing week. It now has strength in depth too. When Hibs beat Falkirk on the last day of 2016, Kris Commons’ last minute free kick sent the Easter Road club 12 points clear of Falkirk.
Since then, Falkirk have gradually set about closing the gap.
While Hibs have gone four league matches without a win, Falkirk are unbeaten this year and are now just six points behind the leaders, who have a game in hand.
If Falkirk had turned frustrating recent draws against Morton and Dumbarton into wins, they would have been breathing right down the necks of Neil Lennon’s men.
On Saturday, they were too good for a Queen of the South side who basically never showed up.
A free kick from Lewis Kidd just before the interval set them on their way before Craig Sibbald, who was excellent, converted a late penalty to make sure of the points after Nathan Austin had been tripped in the box by Andy Dowie.
The party line was trotted out after the game by Houston, who insisted he was looking over his shoulder at the teams behind them that could still pip them for a play-off place.
The truth is that Falkirk are hitting the right form at the right time and, while they may have left it too late, there’s no doubt they will be targeting a Hibs side showing signs of vulnerability in the league.
Kidd, the former Queen of the South defender, followed the path of his manager by refusing to make any outlandish predictions about catching the Edinburgh side. And he just about managed to curtail his celebrations after his opening goal out of respect for his former team.
He said: “We’re not looking at catching Hibs. We’re just taking every game at a time and looking to get as many points as we can.
“There’s a great team spirit and we believe we can beat any team on the day. We have the momentum too and we will always create chances.
“I’m delighted we managed to get the three points.
“At the free-kick, it was my area. I scored a very similar one for the Under-20s against Rangers from there a few weeks ago. Against Queens, I knew I couldn’t go high, so I had to go low with a wee bit of pace and fortunately it worked.
“It was only when I started celebrating that I realised it was against my former club. I put my hands up to the home fans, then I just celebrated again so I had to apologise for a second time. It’s just the emotions of the moment and you’re on a massive high.”