Falkirk 1-0 Queen's Park: Bairns seal spot in quarter-finals of SPFL Trust Trophy

Boss John McGlynn made four changes to the Bairns team from last weekend’s league outing against Hamilton Accies, and it was one of them in Jordan Allan that scored the eventual winner early on.

He slotted home from the penalty spot just six minutes into the tie after fellow incomer Ola Lawal did well to draw a foul from the backtracking Alex Bannon.

Much like the previous round at Ayr United, despite being up against second tier opponents, Falkirk looked the better team.

Allan nearly grabbed a second when he stooped low to head Leon McCann’s cross just wide with Lawal causing havoc down the left-hand side.

The visitors then had their best spell when Lucas McCormick missed a massive opportunity for the Spiders. The youngster was sent through one-on-one with Nicky Hogarth but he completely miss-hit his effort.

In what was an end-to-end tie, Falkirk nearly made it two not long after when Gary Oliver forced Calum Ferrie into a decent stop after neat play saw him open in the area.

It should have a bigger lead for the hosts by this point but Queens stopper Ferrie was single-handedly keeping his team in the tie.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Lawal forcing Ferrie into another stop when he struck from range on 53 minutes.

He also nearly helped create another when his deft touch into Layton Bisland saw the full-back dart into the box and cut back into the area. After a scramble, two Queens men combined to deny a certain goal.

Falkirk could have also had a penalty on the hour mark when Lawal looked to have been felled by Ferrie, who rushed out to stop the attacker after great work from Allan out wide saw him beat his man on the half-way line and drive forward.

Queens captain Dom Thomas saw an effort in the box pushed wide by Hogarth with around ten minutes to go but the Bairns managed the final stages well with the Spiders pushing for a late equaliser.

Finn Yeats also made a crucial interception in the box in the dying moments, while goalkeeper Ferrie looked for the spectacular when he attempted an overhead kick after going up for a corner.

The last action saw Bairns academy star, Harrison Howe, who was making his debut off the bench, go within inches of grabbing a goal when he slid the ball just by the post after connecting with a low drive.

Falkirk will now take part in the quarter-finals of the competition, which take place on the weekend of Saturday, November 18.

Teams

Falkirk: Hogarth, Bisland, Donaldson, Lang, McCann, Henderson, Yeats, Oliver, Lawal, Agyeman, Allan (6’).

Subs: Long, Mackie, MacIver, Miller, Howe, Knox, Gibb.

Queen’s Park: Ferrie, Robson, Bannon, Fox, Spong, Hepburn, Thomson, Paton, Thomas, Longridge, McCormick.

Subs: Kane, Healy, Bruce, Turner, Reid, Fairlie, Jarrett, McLeish, Mauchlin.

Referee: Scott Lambie.

Attendance: 2,427.