Preview- Falkirk (a)

It is probably fair to say that no one other than the most optimistic of Falkirk fan would have predicted such a good start for John Hughes' side. Consecutive wins over Dundee United and Dunfermine were followed with a great draw at Tynecastle. Things dipped slightly when Kilmarnock recorded a fortuitous away win last Saturday but a 5-0 drubbing of Cowdenbeath shows they are able to bounce back. Everything goes through Russel Latapy and stopping the veteran play maker will be priority number one for Maurice Malpas. Karl Dodd may be out with a virus which could cause some uncertainty in the home defence.

Phil scores at Falkirk

For our part Motherwell are sitting firmly at the bottom of the table and we must pick up points urgently to avoid becoming detached. We did manage a cup win mid-week but we made hard work of what should have been a routine victory over Partick Thistle. Brian Kerr was a little more effective than he has been, presumably due to the influence of Keith Lasley. Kevin McBride is still a worry though and it will be interesting to see if he retains his place ahead of match winner McGarry. Paul Quinn went off with a knock in that game, forcing Stepover to switch flanks and that is not something we want to be doing again this weekend. Our wafer thin defence would be further damaged if we were to make more changes with only ‘unthinkable' options left to choose from should Quinn not make it.

Ross McCormack was recalled to partner Scott McDonald up front and presumably he will carry on if he can shake off the effect of a hefty tackle which caused him to be subbed mid-week. Skippy does seem to be in the mood for playing again which can only be a good thing. Of course, should the rumours about Calum Elliot prove to be correct, we could have further choices to make!

If the teams play to form it is hard to see us taking anything from this match and that is remarkable given we had ten points from twelve off Falkirk last season. However we do seem to be on a slight upward trajectory and if we can match Falkirk's work rate and stop the creative flow from Latapy we must be in with a chance. It might not be pretty but no one will care as we leave with a 1-0 away win.

Remember our last visit to Falkirk?