Saturday delivered a performance short on skill and craft. Craig Brown felt that the opposition had the greater desire and there can be no excuse for that failing. So, what went wrong?
The loss of Jutkiewicz must have been a big factor. The pairing of Sutton and Murphy didn’t look comfortable at any time and until Humphrey appeared as a second half substitute we had no pace on the wing. O’Brien worked hard but his wandering runs and, at times, his first time touches ended too often with Falkirk in possession.
Hateley takes the kick while Hammell takes up station
It would be interesting to know the thinking behind the change in formation in the second half. Murphy was left for long periods on his own when Sutton was withdrawn to make a five strong midfield. It was hardly an expected tactic for a team that was chasing the game.
Another disappointment was the size of the crowd. Despite the club promoting the game with the ‘Bring a Friend’ initiative, the attendance was lower than that which turned up at Fir Park for Falkirk’s last visit. In October 4,337 turned up but this initiative delivered only 4,268. While some ‘friends’ will have been treated to an afternoon at the football it is almost certain that they were outnumbered by the regulars who were treated by their season ticket holding pals. The small bunch of Falkirk fans who stumped up £22 to sit in the South Stand contributed little to the total.
The last game before the split comes on Tuesday 13 April at Parkhead. We might be grateful for the gap as Ruddy, Lasley and Jutkiewicz will have a better chance of recovering from their various injuries.