UP NEXT: LIVINGSTON (A)

Next up for The Bairns is a trip to West Lothian as we take on Livingston in Matchday two of the William Hill Premiership.

Kick off is at 3pm, Saturday 9th August, at the Home of the Set Fare Arena.

We head in to Matchday Two of the William Hill Premiership after a dramatic opening fixture against Dundee United last Sunday. A brilliant crowd display in the Main Stand and the Kevin McAllister Stand, put up by a sold out home support, set the scene for our first foray into the Premiership in 15 years. After our flag raising ceremony was done and dusted, the action began, with Falkirk looking strong from the outset, creating a number of chances.

It was the visitors who took the lead though, when Max Watters pounced on a defensive error to volley the ball into the back of the net in the 40th minute, following some good wing play from Craig Sibbald.

The Bairns went into the break a goal down, but came out the traps flying in the second half, getting at the opposition from the whistle. It didn’t take long before the pressure paid off, and we scored out first Premiership goal since 2010.

It was Dylan Tait who opened our account for the season. The midfielder started off the move with an exceptional ball down the right wing for Keelan Adams to run on to. The full-back raced by his man, and had all the time in the world to pick out a navy blue shirt in the box. His ball found its way to Brad Spencer, who calmly laid the ball off for Dylan Tait. The man in form made no mistake, striking the ball first time with his week foot into the roof of the net from 13 yards to bring Falkirk level.

The next goal came 21 minutes later after some end-to-end action. Unfortunately, it was the away side who got themselves in front. Panutche Camara slid a precise pass through to Ivan Dolcek, who finished past Scott Bain after getting a lucky bounce from Lewis Neilson’s tackle.

The goal was cancelled out just two minutes later though, and it was Ethan Ross with the instant reply. Some nice play saw Dylan Tait play Keelan Adams into a good crossing position yet again. The right-back’s driven cross found Ross in the middle of the box, who’s excellent first touch set him up for a shot at goal. His effort took a big deflection off a Dundee United leg, creeping into the bottom corner as the goalkeeper stood helplessly rooted to the spot.

Our opponents this Saturday also shared points in a four-goal draw in their first game back in the Premiership after their play-off success last season.

It looked for all the world like they were heading to defeat at Rugby Park in their first game after goals from Djenairo Daniels and David Watson put Kilmarnock ahead towards the end of the first half.

It all started to go wrong for the hosts in the second half though, when George Stanger was shown a straight red. Following a VAR check, the defender was deemed to have pulled down Robbie Muirhead in the box. The striker stepped up to bury the spot kick, halving Livingston’s deficit.

The equaliser came with four minutes left on the clock. A driving run by Lewis Smith down the right wing resulted in Scott Pittman firing home his low ball across the box to complete a dramatic comeback.