Dunfermline Athletic 3-3 Falkirk: Bairns forced to settle for a point as guileless moments prove costly

Falkirk couldn’t quite make it three derby wins on the spin as they were forced to settle for a point against Dunfermline Athletic on Friday night at East End Park after a thrilling 3-3 draw.

The Bairns now lead the William Hill Championship table by six points for the night – but it really should have been eight points after they shipped a trio of totally avoidable goals.

John McGlynn's table-toppers created the first big chance of the night when Callumn Morrison, who was handed a start after scoring last weekend, forced Tobi Oluwayemi into a smart stop after Brad Spencer threaded through an inch-perfect pass.

On 24 minutes, in-form Morrison made it two in two when he roofed the net emphatically after being found in the box. It was a brilliant set-piece from Falkirk – with Dylan Tait flicking on Sean Mackie’s throw-in via Ross MacIver who may have helped it on.

But the Bairns lead only lasted a couple of minutes, with the Pars winning a penalty kick after Aidan Nesbitt took a poor touch in the box, and caught the onrushing Chris Kane when he tried to connect with the ball.

Former St Johnstone striker Kane duly slammed home to level the match – and that concession knocked the stuffing out of the visiting side, who could have went in behind at the break after Kane forced Nicky Hogarth into a smart stop down low.

In the second half, the Bairns upped the ante and on 54 minutes they retook the lead when Tait showed great awareness to take a quick free-kick.

He seized the moment and passed through to Nesbitt – who made amends for his error earlier when he finished expertly on the angle.

However, there was to be more penalty pain for Falkirk, who managed to last ten minutes this time around before shooting themselves in the foot.

Lewis McCann got to the byline and sent in a cross, which was handled by Mackie who could have no complaints about the decision.

And Matty Todd was on hand this time around to send Hogarth the wrong way after Kane had been substituted off a couple of minutes earlier.

The longer the match went on, the more scrappy it got.

Dapo Mebude had a tame effort saved on the breakaway while Calvin Miller saw a free-kick just kept by a scrambling Oluwayemi.

And the Bairns could have had a penalty for a shirt pull on Alfie Agyeman from a corner with ten minutes to go.

Liam Henderson was then the unlikely hero for Falkirk when he prodded the ball over the line after chaos from a corner with just three minutes remaining to hand his side the lead for the third time.

But once again McGlynn’s men showed utter naivety. This time around – it was a corner kick that was Falkirk’s undoing in injury-time.

Kyle Benedicitus found himself at the back post up against Finn Yeats, and that was only going to go one way, with the Pars captain powering home a header to level the match.

Falkirk dominated the chances, and most of the good play, but they were punished for a trio of guileless moments.

Teams

Dunfermline: Oluwayemi, Comrie, Fogarty, Benedictus, Hamilton, Ngwenya, Otoo, Todd, Cooper, McCann, Kane.

Subs: Mehmet, Young, Sutherland, Clay, Fisher, Chalmers, Ritchie-Hosler, O’Halloran, Mebude.

Falkirk: Hogarth, Adams, Henderson, Graham, Mackie, Spencer, Tait, Nesbitt, Morrison, Ross, MacIver.

Subs: Hayward, McCann, Yeats, Donaldson, McCafferty, McKenna, Oliver, Miller, Agyeman.

Referee: Colin Steven.

Attendance: 8,558. 2897 away.