Falkirk edge past Dundee to earn a vital 1-0 win at The Falkirk Stadium. Ben Broggio’s strike proved to be the match-winner after Dhanda missed a penalty in the dying minutes, meaning McGlynn’s side go level on points with Hibernian.
After the goal, the visitors made life extremely difficult for Falkirk as they pinned them back for the majority of the second half however, spirited defending coupled with some outstanding goalkeeping saw all three points remain in FK2.
Before the game had even kicked off, there was a spanner thrown into the works for McGlynn, as Scott Bain was injured in the warm up, rendering him unavailable for the game. Despite this, Nicky Hogarth quickly proved he has lost none of his quality after his extended period on the sideline, and had an outstanding cameo.
A frantic start to the game saw an early flurry of half chances for both sides. Falkirk had the better of the opportunities as Ben Broggio’s quick feet allowed him to get a sight of goal, but his effort was scuffed wide, though.
A stale period followed, and it became a bit scrappy throughout the next 20 minutes. Each of the teams were putting a lot into the game; however, both defences were standing firm and nullifying chances.
A dominant spell followed for the visitors, despite having a lot of possession in and around the area, there was still a distinct lack of goal scoring opportunities as The Bairns backline remained resolute.
Falkirk settled back into the clash following the shaky period and came close to opening the scoring with ten minutes left in the half as a great run and cut back by Louie Marsh was met by Tait at close range, he couldn’t get it out of his feet though and the chance was scrambled behind.
A couple more shots were fired towards goal; however, almost every effort was blocked by a defender before they were able to cause the keepers any trouble.
That brought a pretty dull first half to a close with the score locked at 0-0.
After ten pretty uneventful minutes in the second half, The Bairns found their breakthrough. A good attacking passage led to a scramble ensuing in the Dundee box, and after a few blocked efforts the ball dropped to Broggio, who lashed in a half volley to secure his first senior goal.
Minutes later, Nicky Hogarth stepped up with a piece of goalkeeping excellence to deny a rapid equaliser. Joel Cotterill bolted down the left hand side and found himself in a great position just inside the box. His strike was bending into the top right corner but Hogarth was equal to it, clawing away a certain goal.
Following this, Dundee found themselves playing some great stuff, and Hogarth was forced into another few great stops. The Bairns were having to show real character to hold on to the lead as the visitors were pounding on the door in search of a leveller.
Another big chance came and went for Pressley’s men, this time a cross crashed off the bar before the follow up was saved by Hogarth once more.
Falkirk did work their way back into the game after a handful of late subs, and they almost found a vital second goal as Dylan Tait unleashed a venomous strike from range. The effort took a strong deflection, but McCracken was equal to it and palmed it away to keep Dundee in the game.
Just as it seemed Falkirk had done enough to win the game, Joe Bevan was brought down as he attempted to round Hogarth and, after a lengthy VAR check, David Dickinson pointed to the spot.
Yan Dhanda stepped up to rescue his side a point, but in a dramatic turn of events, he fired it wide from 12 yards. An incredible moment that could prove vital for Falkirk come the end of the season.
Falkirk Starting XI: Nicky Hogarth, Keelan Adams, Liam Henderson ©, Ben Broggio (55’), Lewis Neilson, Barney Stewart, Henry Cartwright, Dylan Tait, Ethan Ross, Filip Lissah, Louie Marsh.
Substitutes: Joe Hastings, Leon McCann, Coll Donaldson, Brian Graham, Brad Spencer, Aidan Nesbitt, Finn Yeats, Connor Allan, Calvin Miller.
Dundee Starting XI: Jon McCracken, Ryan Astley, Drey Wright, Simon Murray ©, Bradley Halliday, Tony Yogane, Cameron Congreve, Yan Dhanda, Luke Graham, Joel Cotterill, Ethan Hamilton.
Substitutes: Kieran O’Hara, Paul Digby, Finlay Robertson, Imari Hines-Samuels, Lewis Montsma, Charlie Reilly, Scott Wright, Joseph Bevan, Callum Jones.
Referee: David Dickinson
Assistant Referees: Dougie Potter and Elliot Husband Powton
Fourth Official: Jamie McCunnie
Attendance: 7,345.
