Bairns boss slams players and officials after draw

The Bairns went ahead through Luke Leahy’s goal but led for only 24 seconds before Lewis Vaughan rattled in an equaliser.

In the second half Andy Stirling swept another top-corner cracker in but Nathan Austin cancelled it out.

Falkirk also had a Bob McHugh strike ruled out for offside and a James Craigen effort strike the post late on.

But Houston was not impressed.

He said: “If you want to better yourself and move on from a team like Falkirk and play at the highest level you have to show a level of consistency. You can’t be good one week and down the next.

“We had players who simply didn’t show up.

“Twenty four seconds it took from us scoring through a magnificent goal from Luke Leahy, they took to equalise and we lost our shape and discipline. Vaughan drove across our back four into a position without anyone making a challenge - not good enough. Dumbarton’s goals were good strikes. Defensively terrible.”

He also slated the referee Mat Northcroft and his assistants who ruled out McHugh’s late effort.

“I’ve looked and John Baird wasn’t offside at the end when Bob McHugh put it in the top bin. We’ve got it as a still. I thought the officials were terrible. I’m not blaming them for our performance but I thought their decision-making was really poor and not of the standard we should have even in the Championship.”

But it was his players he was most disappointed in – a far cry from recent weeks when the Bairns boss has been pleased with his side during their seven game unbeaten run.

“I look at our home performances against Dundee United and Dunfermline, and they’re up high and the performances against Dumbarton and Ayr United are low.

“The difference is us. We were hungry, determined and with a fantastic attitude in two and against Ayr United and Dumbarton we’ve not performed like we should have been. That’s not ability, that’s down to attitude.

“We had players on the park who never turned up and Dumbarton were hungry to get something from the game and that’s disappointing. They deserve the point.

We had an opportunity if we won to go second but we’ll be in this league a long time if we don’t find a high level of consistency.

“We are seven unbeaten yet I’m still really disappointed in the performance.”

Houston added: “Second goal Craig Sibbald has the ball, starts running with it, running with it, running with it. The boy robs him, takes it inside and puts it in the top corner. Nothing away from the scorer but we have to make a pass - you can’t just run it.”

Read David Oliver’s match report here.

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