UP NEXT: ABERDEEN (H)

Up next for The Bairns is Aberdeenn, who we welcome to The Falkirk Stadium in Matchday 20 of the William Hill Premiership.

Kick-off is at 3pm, Saturday 3rd January.The Bairns end 2025 sitting seventh in the William Hill Premiership.

It’s a year that has exceeded all expectations for Falkirk fans everywhere, and despite the final brush stroke being a loss, the bigger picture is a masterpiece.

After an important win against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last weekend, John McGlynn’s side travelled to Den’s Park to face off against Dundee, hoping to secure back-to-back wins.

Dundee went into Saturday’s game having won just once in their previous nine league matches, and with Falkirk favourites, it seemed a good opportunity for The Bairns to put more distance between themselves and the five teams below.

Steven Pressley’s side looked up for the occasion though, causing The Bairns problems early on. Falkirk grew into the game more as the first half progressed, but neither side was able to get a proper foothold in the game.

There was nothing in the game, with neither side seeing many clear-cut chances. The 28th minute saw a nervous and lengthy wait for the Falkirk fans as referee Duncan Nicolson was called over to the VAR monitor after he hastily showed Brad Spencer a straight red card for a 50/50 challenge. After a long delay, the red was downgraded to a yellow.

The opening goal of the game came in the fifth minute of first half injury time. Yet again, it was a handball decision dominating the headlines, as a shot from the edge of the box struck Finn Yeats’ hand as he attempted to block the shot. Yan Dhanda tucked away to penalty to give the hosts the lead.

Falkirk threw everything at Dundee in the second half, but were unable to find an equaliser. Despite coming close on a couple of occasions the penalty turned out to be the decider, with the only other notable moment coming in the 87th minute when Simon Murray was shown a straight red for an awful tackle on Ethan Ross.

After what has been a difficult first half of the season for Dundee, the win took them seven points clear of bottom side Livingston, and moved them three ahead of Kilmarnock.

Saturday’s visitors come to The Falkirk Stadium having turned their form around since the last meeting between the two sides. When last we met, Aberdeen were on a dreadful run in which they went six games without a win, scoring zero goals in the process. Since then, Jimmy Thelin’s side has picked up seven wins, including a 1-0 victory over league leaders Hearts back in November. Last Saturday they hosted Dundee United at Pittodrie, a team in decent form, having picked up four points from their games against Celtic and Hibernian.

Jim Goodwin’s side have been involved in a fair number of draws this season and Saturday’s match-up was no different, finishing one goal apiece. A goal on 30 minutes from Amar Fatah gave the visitors the lead, but it was cancelled out on the hour mark by a goal from Jesper Karlsson.

Aberdeen sit sixth, one point ahead of Falkirk, but with a game in hand, which they play on Tuesday against Hibernian at Easter Road.