Falkirk 2 Brechin 0: City seen off at Westfield

Goals from Luca Gasparotto and Nathan Austin ended Brechin’s Betfred League Cup group campaign with a defeat.

From the start Brechin were on the back-foot against last season’s SPFL Premiership play-off finalists.

Darren McCormack was tasked with dealing with Bairns’ talisman Bob McHugh and blocked an early effort from the forward after good link-up from Nathan Austin and Craig Sibbald.

Darren Dods was meeting his former club, and his side held out and could even have taken the lead had Dougie Hill’s floated header crept after the defender nipped in at the far post to meet an Alan Trouten delivery.

Dods had to change it up on 36 minutes replacing McCormack with Euan Smith and the switch paid immediate dividends as Brechin went closest to the opener with a Gareth Rodger snapshot which was beaten out by Danny Rogers prompting a goalmouth scramble which was scrambled to safety by the home side.

However Brechin could have been behind on the stroke of half-time but Luca Gasparotto headed wide from Craig Sibbald’s cross.

That was a taste of things to come as within a few minutes of the restart Falkirk were 2-0 up.

Smith beat out a McHugh header for a corner, and then did the same for the striker’s bicycle kick, but Gasparotto headed in. Elliot Ford flicked of the line, but Steven McLean pointed to the centre circle and awarded the goal.

Within two minutes the deficit doubled as Nathan Austin headed in a Craig Sibbald header.

Brechin could have cut into the Bairns two-goal cushion when Graham released Trouten but he took the ball around Rogers but out of play.

City went close again with eight minutes to play when Luke Leahy blocked Ross Caldwell’s shot and it spun onto the top of the bar.