Interim boss Smith thrilled after Bairns’ hard work pays off
FALKIRK interim boss Alex Smith insisted hard work was the key to securing the Bairns’ first league win of the season against Greenock Morton.
‘If you go into a game, you work hard and you don’t lose a goal, it gives you a real chance to go on and win it,’ he said.
‘Every day of the week, we were trying towards the game. We tried to work on the strengths we hoped we could have today and it all fell in, so it’s good.
‘The basic thing to win a game is you’ve got to work as hard as you can.
‘When you start losing confidence, you go down to about 80 per cent but we kept it up today and I felt that every single player was outstanding for us.’
A second-half goal from former Ton midfielder Joe McKee was enough to separate the two sides.
Morton dominated first-half possession and midfielder Ross Forbes could have broken the deadlock on several occasions.
His best chance came on 26 minutes, when a low cross from Gary Harkins found Forbes unmarked at the near post but his first-time effort was matched by a good save by David Mitchell.
The beginning of the second half followed the same as the first with Morton dominating possession.
But on 62 minutes, McKee’s low, driven free-kick from 35 yards out found its way into the bottom right-hand corner.
The goal gave Falkirk confidence and they started to dominate possession, much to the frustration of the home fans.
Morton were limited to few chances after going behind and manager Jim Duffy admitted the Bairns managed the game well.
‘Once the goal went in, I thought their game management was excellent and we just ran out of ideas a little bit,’ he said.