MATCH REVIEW: MOTHERWELL 0-0 FALKIRK

Falkirk travelled to Fir Park on Sunday and picked up their first point of the season in a 0-0 draw against Motherwell.

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Here’s a look back at the Bairns’ first away game of the Scottish Premiership season.

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Attack

Falkirk nearly matched the home side for shots on Sunday, having 10 efforts at goal with one on target for a total of 0.55 xG.

In a game of few real chances, Ethan Ross managed the Bairns’ only shot on target in the 12th minute, worth 0.11 xG.

The best chance in terms of xG for the away side fell to Finley Barbrook with an effort worth 0.15 xG, but the midfielder was unable to get his shot on target.

There was a pretty even distribution across attacking zones for Falkirk, with 39% coming on the left and 39% coming down the right. Just 22% of Falkirk’s attacks came through the middle.

Defence

Ibrahim Said came closest for the hosts on 29 minutes, rattling the bar after a scramble in the box with a shot that was valued at 0.14 xG.

Lukas Fadinger also had an effort in the 41st minute saved after being put through on goal for a chance; this one was a 0.18 xG chance, although goalkeeper Scott Bain was on hand to close the space to block the effort.

Falkirk were solid defensively all afternoon, making 11 interceptions to Motherwell’s six, as well as making 16 tackles to Motherwell’s 17. This shift at the back meant Scott Bain had just the one save to make all game.

The home side did edge the game in terms of duels won, winning 66. They won 53% of their ground duels to Falkirk’s 47%, and 70% of aerial duels to Falkirk’s 30%.

Possession

When looking at the split over two halves, it’s again consistent with Motherwell having 57% of the ball in the first half and 59% in the second.

Motherwell attempted 476 passes to Falkirk’s 300. They edged the success rate with 84% pass accuracy to Falkirk’s 74%.

325 of Motherwell’s passes, however, were in their own half, meaning Falkirk did a good job of restricting space for the hosts in the final third.

Set pieces

There was a low-corner count on Sunday, with both sides managing two each over the 90 minutes.

Falkirk managed 0.06 of their xG from set plays, compared to Motherwell creating 0.15 xG from theirs.

Players

Finley Barbrook topped the charts for Falkirk in terms of shots and xG, as he racked up 0.26 xG from two shots for the Bairns.

Leon McCann had a solid day defensively for Falkirk, winning 10 of his 15 duels (66%) and nine of his 12 ground duels (75%).

No player on the pitch had more defensive contributions than Falkirk’s Liam Henderson, however (eight). He made one tackle, two interceptions, one block, five recoveries, four clearances and two headed clearances.