Falkirk 2-1 Dunfermline Athletic: Bairns stay four clear at the top of the Championship

Falkirk made it a derby day double as they defeated Dunfermline Athletic for the second time so far this Championship campaign to move five points clear at the top.

John McGlynn’s side edged out a 2-1 victory in front of a sold out home crowd, with a first-half own goal from Chris Hamilton and a Calvin Miller effort just before the hour mark eventually sealing the three points.

The Pars did have their chances, and Lewis McCann halved the deficit with 18 minutes remaining, heading home from a well-worked set-piece routine.

But in the end, some heroics from Dundee loanee Luke Graham and his team-mates ensured of a first Westfield derby win for the Bairns in seven years.

Battling Bairns

Falkirk have shown countless times why they are the best team to watch in the country throughout the season so far – but they weren’t at their flowing best against the Pars.

But what did show was the other side to their game; they managed to dig out a derby win in a second half that saw James McPake’s side cause a fair bit of bother.

Luke Graham was a heart of the Bairns’ backline and he made a couple of cracking clearances including one off the line late on. His centre-back partner Liam Henderson also put in a real shift.

Full-backs Leon McCann and Keelan Adams also defended well when called upon, with the only blemish the goal – which saw McCann free in the box to head home.

It was a battling second half performance, and if the Bairns want to go the distance in the second tier then they will need to keep showing that side to their game.

Teams

Falkirk: Hogarth, Adams, Henderson, Graham, McCann, Spencer, Tait, Nesbitt, Ross, Miller, Oliver.

Subs: Hayward, Yeats, MacIver, Agyeman, McKenna, Shanley, McCafferty, McCrone.

Dunfermline Athletic: Oluwayemi, Comrie, Young, Hamilton, Ngwenya, Clay, Otoo, Ritchie-Hosler, Todd, McCann, Wighton.

Subs: Mehmet, Benedictus, Chalmers, Fisher, Fogarty, Wotherspoon, Sutherland, Cooper, Mebude.

Referee: Chris Graham.

Attendance: 7,321.