IT was one of the stand-out ties when the draw was made for the Scottish Cup third round. Having never been in the same division since 1980, the local derby between Stenhousemuir and Falkirk doesn’t take place very often.
Before Saturday’s match they had only met six times in the subsequent 18 years, with Stenhousemuir securing a solitary victory over those ties – a 2-0 win, in the 1995/96 Scottish Cup.
The mid-90s was a golden era of sorts for the Warriors in the Scottish Cup. As well as that 1996 victory, the previous season they stunned St Johnstone – a second-tier side at the time – by knocking four past them without reply in the third round replay.
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Then, in what was one of the biggest shocks in Scottish football history, they defeated Roy Aitken’s Aberdeen 2-0 at Ochilview.
While Saturday’s victory may not have been as impressive as that result, it was just as sweet, possibly even more so. A sell-out crowd was there to witness Stenny record a 4-2 win, their fourth ever victory over their local rivals.Before their latest meeting, the home side had never scored more than two goals against Falkirk in a single match.
It’s been a predictably difficult season so far for the Warriors. In saying that, after promotion and given the budgetary constraints, the Ochilview side’s priority is to stay in the division. As it stands they sit bottom though have managed to acquire 12 points (more than the three other bottoms sides in the SPFL) and, in a relatively tight division, sit just four points off sixth place.
At the start of the month, when previous manager Brown Ferguson was sacked, the division was even tighter – which is why his departure came as somewhat of a shock.
Colin McMenamin has had a tough time so far as interim manager – losing his first two League One matches to Raith and Dumbarton – but his side were able to take advantage of an out-of-sorts Falkirk who, even though they have improved slightly since the appointment of Ray McKinnon, have a long way to go if they are to rescue their season and avoid slipping down into the third tier.
Without wishing to take anything away from Stenhousemuir’s victory, the defending throughout from the away side was atrocious.
Two free headers for 18-year-old St Mirren loanee Conor McBrearty put Stenny ahead after Paul Paton’s opener and, despite drawing level, Falkirk were all over the place for the crucial second-half goals from Mark McGuigan and Sean Dickson that secured the historic victory – it is the first time Stenny have defeated Falkirk at Ochilview since 1936.
One other incident should also raise alarm bells for Falkirk fans. While their side were defending a corner, McKinnon could be heard repeatedly screaming “Edge!” as his troops failed to pick up Conner Duthie in acres of space.
Even when Falkirk weren't conceding to Stenhousemuir their defending was quite something. Here they are at a corner, not bothering their arse to pick up a completely free man on the edge of the box - or even close him down. pic.twitter.com/o7CDF77gHt
— The Terrace (@terracepodcast) November 25, 2018
He was then given enough time to receive the ball, mis-control it and still get a shot away. The lack of closing down from the Falkirk defenders is as worrying as their failure to mark him in the first place.
None of that will matter to Stenhousemuir supporters who, regardless of what happens to their side between now and the end of the season, will always remember this campaign as the one in which they fired four past their local rivals. Their reward: a trip to Aberdeen, and a chance to relive another of their historic cup wins.
Me irl after Stenhousemuir played Falkirk -vs- me irl the morning after Stenhousemuir played Falkirk - pic.twitter.com/3cxLu42SxU
— Craig G Telfer (@CraigGTelfer) November 25, 2018
Six become three as Champion title race heats up
WITH around six teams eyeing top spot when the Championship kicked-off, it was anyone’s guess which sides would eventually become the front runners.
With Falkirk imploding, Partick Thistle heading in the wrong direction and Dunfermline failing to put a run of consistent results together – as well as unbeaten Inverness seemingly unable to do anything other than draw – three teams at the top are starting to pull away from the rest.
Following relegation from the top flight, along with their ability to retain and add to what is in many respects a Premiership squad – albeit one that vastly underperformed last term – it is no surprise that Ross County sit among the top three.
Their 2-1 victory over 10-man Dunfermline at the weekend – the division’s only fixture due to the Scottish Cup third round – saw them move to within two points of league leaders Ayr, the surprise package so far.
Few, if any, predicted Ayr to be riding so high at this point and many likely still believe they’ll do well to hang in there until the business end of the season.
With the transfer window looming, their ability to retain the likes of talisman Lawrence Shankland (pictured) will go a long way to determining the final outcome of their season.
Dundee United are the other side to make up the top three, whose consistency since appointing Robbie Neilson has put them back among the favourites in what is shaping up to be a very interesting title race.
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