Falkirk late show downs Tangerines
FORMER Dundee United manager Peter Houston came back to haunt his old club yesterday.
The Falkirk boss found himself in opposition to the club he had led to Scottish Cup glory in 2010 for the first time since he departed Tannadice three-and-a-half years ago.
And it was he who looked on with delight as his side racked up their fourth successive victory with late goals from Myles Hippolyte and Lee Miller complementing John Baird’s early strike as the Bairns leapfrogged the Terrors into fourth place in the Championship.
“We’re getting back to what we’re good at as we try to recreate the success we had last season,” said Houston afterwards.
“I felt the substitutions were crucial today and it shows the strength in depth we have in our squad when we have players like Lee Miller, James Craigen and John Rankin on the bench.
“The changes worked today and overall the players kept their shape and worked hard to get their just rewards.”
United, arriving at this game on the back of a four game unbeaten run, looked in the mood to maintain the momentum which had been established following a lukewarm start to the season.
They pushed forward from the kick-off and almost took the lead in the third minute when a cleverly executed overhead kick from Simon Murray clipped the top of Danny Rogers’ crossbar.
The visitors again threatened when, after an exhilarating 40-yard run from Tope Obadeyi, Murray scooped over from close range.
However, despite being under some intense pressure, it was Falkirk who took the lead in 18 minutes, Baird sending a looping header past Cammy Bell from Tom Taiwo’s cross to record his fourth goal in three games.
The home side began to look comfortable, stretching the United defence by utilising the wing play of Taiwo and Hippolyte.
They almost increased their lead just before the half-hour, Bob McHugh meeting yet another excellent Taiwo
cross only to see his header rebound off Bell’s left hand post.
A second goal for the Bairns at that stage would have put them in a commanding position but they were pegged back just four minutes later when a low cross from Nick Van Der Verden was met by Obadeyi who fired the ball past Rogers from six yards.
After a high octane opening 45 minutes, the second-half was, by comparison, somewhat pedestrian up until the closing stages when an 87th minute strike from Hippolyte put Falkirk ahead before substitute Miller sealed victory with a header two minutes later.
“I felt the game was petering out to a draw” reflected United boss Ray McKinnon.
“It was a bit of a sucker-punch conceding two goals like that towards the end and I don’t think we deserved to lose.
“We played well enough but we need to take our chances when we’re on top.
“It’s frustrating to play so well and come away with nothing from the game but we’ll just need to take it on the chin and keep moving forward.”