Falkirk v Clyde

Recap

Clyde’s winless league run stretched to 18 matches after they suffered a miserable afternoon at The Falkirk Stadium.

Jim Duffy made a double change to the team that started against Hamilton Academical on Tuesday night with Nathan Nyamsi and Paul Kennedy being replaced by Jon Craig and new signing Darren Hynes.

It was a cagey affair in the early stages of the match as neither team were able to create clear chances. Falkirk were the closest to opening the scoring in the 14th minute when Nesbitt drove into the box and struck an effort on target, but he was denied by Parry.

The Bairns, who had the majority of possession, continued in the hunt for a breakthrough with an opportunity falling to McGinn at the edge of the box, only for his effort to be deflected wide. However, the hosts’ persistence paid off as they broke the deadlock with 25 minutes on the clock. Morrison caught onto the end of Nesbitt’s pass and found ample space in the box to slot the ball into the bottom corner.

As the match progressed, the Bully Wee struggled to make headway and seriously test the hosts’ defence heading into the interval.

Falkirk came flying out the traps at the beginning of the second half as Rowe charged down the right-hand side and knocked the ball across to Oliver, however, the striker failed to direct the ball on target.

There was a stramash in the box minutes later, which resulted in Erik Sula throwing his body on the line to make a crucial block, before Parry crouched low to save the rebound.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 57th minute after Donaldson was dismissed for an ill-judged challenge on Jordan Allan.

Despite this, the hosts were relentless in their attempts to strengthen their advantage with another chance in the 70th minute. Morrison latched onto a free-kick which led to a one-on-one with Parry, who blocked his shot from a tight angle.

Tempers frayed yet again in the 74th minute as Hynes was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Henderson.

A few moments later, Clyde managed to break up the park as Ross Cunningham played Allan into a decent position, but he struggled to maintain control of the ball, which was picked up by Morrison.

The Bairns’ ‘keeper was called into action only seconds later as he prevented Sula’s header from Cunningham’s free-kick.

At the other end, the hosts doubled their advantage. In the 78th minute, after a charge into the box, Nesbitt flung the ball into the path of McGinn, who made no mistake in firing home from the back post.

With two minutes of normal time remaining, the Bairns added a third, courtesy of a powerful free-kick from Morrison, which rattled the corner of the net.

Falkirk sealed the three points with the final kick of the match in the fourth minute of injury time. The initial effort was blocked by Parry, however, he was unable to recover quickly and prevent Burrell tapping in the rebound.