Falkirk's SWPL2 play-off final matchwinning goalscorer Caitlin McFarlane savours 'best football moment'

Caitlin McFarlane savoured scoring Falkirk FC Women’s SWPL2 promotion-clinching goal last Thursday, hailing her team’s play-off success as the best moment of her career so far.

The attacker, 23, was the Bairns’ first new signing last summer and she capped off a memorable maiden campaign with Craig Tully’s side by firing her team-mates to the second tier. Falkirk defeated East Fife 2-1 at the Albert Bartlett Stadium in Airdrie last week to secure promotion - with McFarlane grabbing the all-important winner in the second half. She showed skill and composure to find the back of the net in a crowded penalty area after the goalkeeper was forced out of position.

And that matchwinning moment was the former Westdyke and University of Aberdeen star’s “top” career moment to date. It’s been a brilliant season for McFarlane, who played a key role in the team’s second-placed finish in the Barclays Scottish Women’s Championship.

Falkirk earn SWPL2 promotion via play-off

She told the Falkirk Herald: “I am absolutely buzzing! You can’t beat that moment - you always want to the be the one that scores the big goal... even if no-one wants to admit that. You think of scoring the winning goal beforehand, but to actually have that play out is amazing. I am so happy that things came off for me. This is top for me. Nothing has come close to this moment.

“Next season will be a real challenge for us but it is an exciting one too. We are going to look forward to it over the summer after a break. Our goal at the start of the season was to get promoted, and we have managed to do that. We more than deserve to go up in my opinion for what we produced over the course of the season. Bring it on.

“The second half of the campaign was tough, we felt early on that we could win the league and go straight up but these things happen. A lot of things didn’t go out way - but we made most of the things that did and we stuck together as a group. We worked so hard to make sure we got a play-off chance and we didn’t want to have regrets after tonight.”

On the match, which saw skipper Anna Murray head Falkirk in front before Brodie Rigby-Wilson level things up after the break, McFarlane admitted that her team had to work hard to earn promotion against the SWPL2’s second-bottom finishers.

“It was a really tough game,” she added. “East Fife are a top team. And they made it difficult for us. It was one of those matches that we had to really work hard in to get the result which makes it that bit sweeter.”