Falkirk

Kenny Crawford
BBC Sport Scotland

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Falkirk defender Liam Henderson says goalkeeper Scott Bain is a "rock" who has to start for Scotland in their vital World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Denmark.

Steve Clarke's side are aiming to avoid defeat away to the Greeks and then beat Denmark at Hampden to seal automatic qualification for next summer's tournament.

Bain, 33, has been called up for the first time since 2019 with first-choice Angus Gunn injured.

Liam Kelly and Craig Gordon are the other goalkeepers in the Scotland squad, but neither are currently featuring for Rangers or Hearts respectively.

"Scott's been outstanding this season so far," Henderson told BBC Radio Scotland.

"I think he should be starting for Scotland. They've got other goalkeepers who have not had a lot of game-time and Scott's been amazing this season. Hopefully he gets a chance and does well."

John McGlynn's Bairns currently lie fifth in the Premiership in their first season back in the top flight and Henderson believes Bain - a summer arrival from Celtic - takes a good portion of the credit for that.

"He's been a huge part of our success this season with his experience on and off the pitch," the former Arbroath defender said.

"Especially for myself playing centre-back, you've got that rock behind you and he's talking all the time to try to organise. It's huge for him and for us as a club to have someone in the Scotland squad.

"A big part of having a goalie behind you is knowing you have a lot of confidence there - and that you trust him. So, when your backline is breached or there are shots on target, that he's going to be there and make saves. He's done that all season."

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Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain has been recalled by Scotland for the pivotal World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Denmark later this month.

Bain - the 33-year-old who won the last of his three caps in San Marino in 2019 - returns with first-choice Angus Gunn out injured.

He signed for John McGlynn's side in the summer after a seven-year stint with Celtic and has made 14 appearances for the Bairns this season.

Hearts' Craig Gordon and Rangers' Liam Kelly are the other two goalkeepers in Steve Clarke's squad, with neither having played a top-flight match this season.

"Scott made a big decision to come out of Celtic to go and play regular first-team football and now that he's in the squad, you could say that's a reward for that decision," said Clarke.

Scotland, who have not reached the finals of the World Cup since 1998, travel to Piraeus to face Greece on 15 November before playing group leaders Denmark at Hampden Park three days later.

Watch highlights as Falkirk stun Kilmarnock 3-1 in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your views on Falkirk's 3-1 win against Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you said:

Dougie: Falkirk fully deserved the win, the first-half display was excellent, different tactics in the second half but still had chances to add to their tally.

Kevin: Brilliant result and performance from Falkirk. My player of the match was Connor Allen, he has been top notch since coming into defence and never put a foot wrong.

Paul: First-half was incredible. That was one of the best Falkirk performances, every player fought for every ball, technically brilliant and took our chances.

John: Brilliant result you Bairns, I am so happy and proud we are in the proper league.

Nathan: One of the best halves I've seen from us in months. The team played free-flowing attacking football with pure confidence. Second half we took our foot off the pedal but the damage was already done. Phenomenal performances from the squad but special credit I'll give to Kyrell Wilson and Ethan Williams.

Neil: Falkirk were class. John McGlynn should be named 'manager of the year' again already.

Barry: First half we looked clinical, second half Kilmarnock seemed to come into the game but I think we did enough, players started fast and scored which was good to see.

Falkirk's emphatic first-half display earned a third win in four league games as the promoted side rose to fifth place in the Scottish Premiership.

Read the match report here.

Have your say on Falkirk's win here.

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "Yeah, our first half, we blew Kilmarnock away, the boys were in top form.

"Delighted with them, the three behind Ross [MacIver], the energy, the pace. Kyrell [Wilson] - what a first-half performance that was. Calvin Miller, Ethan Williams, they get the goals.

"Obviously, the message at half-time was to try and keep it going but we knew that Kilmarnock would never ever just lie down and were going to get a lot closer to us and make it lot more difficult. To be fair, I thought they dominated the second half.

"We'd have taken 3-1, we wanted 15 points, we wanted another three points to add to the 12 we had, which is getting us to 15.

"I believe that's a really, really good return after the first 11 games."

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Falkirk are still missing Leon McCann with a knock along with long-term absentees Lewis Neilson (ankle), Coll Donaldson (abdomen), Tom Lang (foot), Aidan Nesbitt (foot) and Jamie Sneddon (hernia).

Killie are assessing two unnamed players following Wednesday's defeat by Aberdeen. Goalkeeper Max Stryjek (medical issue), Lewis Mayo (calf), Jamie Brandon (ankle/groin), Djenairo Daniels (knee), Marley Watkins (heel) and Matty Kennedy (hip) are out.

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Falkirk boss John McGlynn insists his players must "bin" their 4-0 loss to Celtic and take clear minds into Saturday's Premiership visit of Kilmarnock.

"When Celtic are so sharp and so quick, it's a little bit of a struggle for us when they're playing at top level," McGlynn told Falkirk TV.

"When they turn the ball over, they're after you. You don't get enough time on the ball, and that's when you can be caught out of position. When you're caught out of position, you're open and you can lose goals.

"One to bin, one to absolutely bin.

"We make sure that doesn't cause us any damage. We'll look to the Kilmarnock game now on Saturday. A quick turnaround for everyone. We're all in the same boat. It's up to us to be prepared and ready for the game on Saturday.

"It's not going to define our season. We're not going to be competing for first and second in the league."

Promoted Falkirk currently sit seventh, two points ahead of Kilmarnock, after the opening 10 games.

"We're going to be competing with three or four teams that we can't get near, but the other ones we can get near," McGlynn said.

"That's where we've got to be looking towards Saturday at home. Kilmarnock are a very, very good side. That's where our attention now goes to."

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• This will be Falkirk's first top-flight meeting with Kilmarnock since a goalless draw in May 2010; the Bairns have won just one of their past seven games against Killie at this level (D4 L2), a 2-1 victory in December 2009.

• During Falkirk's last spell in the top flight (2005-06 to 2009-10), Kilmarnock lost none of their eight away league games against them (W4 D4), most recently winning 1-0 in February 2010.

• Falkirk picked up their first home win of the top-flight season last time out when beating Dundee 1-0 – they last won back-to-back home games in the Scottish Premiership in September 2008, beating Hearts and Hamilton under John Hughes.

• Kilmarnock have lost their last their past three league games, last going on a longer losing streak when suffering eight straight Scottish Premiership defeats between January and February 2021. Killie last did so under the same manager in December 2020 under Alex Dyer (run of five).

• Kilmarnock have won just two of their 10 Scottish Premiership games under Stuart Kettlewell (D4 L4), the same number his two predecessors Tommy Wright and Derek McInnes managed at the same mark – both of those managers won their 11th game however, with the last Killie boss to win as few as two of his first 11 matches being Lee Clark in 2016 (2).

Falkirk are trying to seal a deal to bring Ryan Edwards back to the Scottish Premiership after the 32-year-old former Dundee United centre-half left Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. (Daily Record), external

Watch highlights as Celtic mark Martin O'Neill's first match as interim boss by overwhelming Falkirk 4-0 in the Scottish Premiership. (UK only).

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Falkirk boss John McGlynn tells BBC Scotland: "For 30 minutes I thought our guys played really well. The longer the half went, the more we were having to defend and then lose two goals and have a mountain to climb.

"This match won't define our season. We won't be fighting for the first four positions. We've got a huge game against Kilmarnock on Saturday and that's more important. We just need to bin this game.

"We freshened things up for this one and we'll freshen it up again at the weekend.

"We've only dropped one position in the league, so not too much damage done."

Celtic defeated Falkirk 4-0 as the Bairns slipped out of the top six.

Have your say on the game.

• This will be Martin O'Neill's first league game in charge of Celtic since 'Helicopter Sunday' - the final day of the 2004-05 season - when a late 2-1 defeat at Motherwell handed the title to Rangers.

• O'Neill's only previous meeting with Falkirk was an 8-1 League Cup win in September 2004.

• Celtic are unbeaten in 14 meetings with Falkirk in all competitions (W12 D2) since a 1-0 league defeat in March 2007 under Gordon Strachan. This will be the first league game between the two clubs since March 2010, when Celtic won 2-0 under Tony Mowbray.

• Falkirk have lost 14 of their past 16 away games at Celtic in all competitions (D2) since a 2-0 victory in October 1994 under Jim Jefferies. They did draw their last league game at Celtic Park 1-1 in January 2010, though.

• Celtic have won 17 of their past 18 league games against newly-promoted opponents (D1) since a 2-1 defeat to Hearts in July 2021. At home, the Parkhead club have won each of their past 13 league games against promoted sides by an aggregate score of 46-4.

• Celtic have lost just one of their past 77 home league games against sides other than Old Firm rivals Rangers (W66 D10), going down 2-0 to Hearts in December 2023.

• Falkirk have won two of their four away league games this season (L2); during their last top-flight campaign (2009-10) the Bairns only won three of their 19 away games across the entire season (D7 L9).

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Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers underwent Achilles surgery this week after joining Jota (knee) as a long-term absentee.

Daizen Maeda could return for Martin O'Neill's first game back in charge but Alistair Johnston and Kelechi Iheanacho both remain on the sidelines with hamstring injuries.

Falkirk welcome back Ethan Ross after more than two-and-a-half months out injured, but Lewis Neilson (ankle), Coll Donaldson (abdomen), Tom Lang (foot), Aidan Nesbitt (foot) and Jamie Sneddon (hernia) remain sidelined along with Leon McCann.

Caleb Akpo-Young
BBC Sport Scotland

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John McGlynn does not believe Celtic's new caretaker management team of Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney will have time to implement any major changes before Falkirk visit on Wednesday.

The Bairns will be the first team to face Celtic since it was announced on Monday that Brendan Rodgers had resigned.

Falkirk boss McGlynn, who was a scout for Celtic during Rodgers' first spell at Parkhead, said: "The only difference will be that Brendan Rodgers is not in the dugout. I don't think that changing manager will have a big difference on the team, basically because Shaun's only had today to do something with them.

"I don't suppose he would have had anything to do with it yesterday [Monday] so they've got one training session, not an awful lot of time, to organise the team in a different way.

"Our preparation regarding Celtic was going to be difficult anyway because I think they will have one eye on the game on Sunday [League Cup semi-final against Rangers] which is a huge game.

"Obviously they don't want to fall any further back in the league, but between playing Falkirk and playing Rangers in a semi-final, I think that's the game that's absolutely huge for them.

"And so whether they rest players or whatever, no matter who the manager was, that would have been something that we've been trying to overcome all week.

"But I don't think the style is going to change because I don't think Shaun will have any time to do that.

"I don't think they have the players to come in who would change the way they can play, and by that I mean it's not like they're going to produce a 6ft 5ins striker and kick the ball long to him."

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

It would be fair to say Falkirk are quickly establishing themselves as the comeback kings of the Scottish Premiership.

Mental strength is an important quality at any level of football, and it is something John McGlynn's team have in abundance.

This was exemplified in our 2-1 victory over Dundee on Saturday where we found ourselves 1-0 down at half-time before coming from behind to claim our maiden home win of the season.

That was also the case at Fir Park the previous weekend, not to mention we have fought back to earn points against Dundee United, Hibs and Rangers this term.

In fact, that resilience and fighting spirit has been part of our identity since we completed an invincible campaign in League One, and it was also on display during our Championship triumph last term.

While that knack for having a consistent ability to rally when losing is a priceless one, you can't help but feel it is unsustainable, particularly in the top tier.

McGlynn has said as much in his press conferences in recent weeks, often emphasising his eagerness to see us get in front in matches - something we have only managed to do in one of our opening nine league games.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Who else for the Bairns?

Connor Allan: First start of the season for a player who came through the ranks at Rangers and spent last season with Kelty Hearts. Showed sublime skill to slalom his way into the Dundee box before finishing perfectly in the 89th minute to deliver Falkirk their first home win of the season.

Watch Sportscene analysis of Falkirk's resilience after coming from behind to win a game for the second week in a row.

Watch highlights as Falkirk came from behind to secure a late victory over Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

Kenny Crawford
BBC Sport Scotland

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If Connor Allan is what John McGlynn can find when the defenders cupboard is supposed to be empty, then Falkirk might be onto something in terms of Premiership consolidation.

As the Bairns boss bemoaned "bare bones" at the back, there was a pre-match spike in search engine investigations into this 21-year-old former Rangers youth player deemed to be the solution, who was surely going to have a nervy afternoon keeping Celtic slayers Dundee at bay.

A couple of hours later, the stop-gap had staked his claim for being one of the first names on Falkirk team-sheets of the future.

"I picked up the ball and just kept driving with it," said Allan as he explained his 89th minute winner against Dundee to BBC Scotland post-match.

"It all opened up for me and I managed to slot it into the net. What a moment; it was a brilliant win for the team and to get that goal just topped off a really good day.

"I just want to keep pushing on, make more appearances in the Premiership and establish my name."

He can probably tick off the establishing his name bit after that incredible goal.

With the dearth of other defenders at the moment, it's likely Allan will start midweek and therein lies his next test; coping in the cauldron of Celtic Park.

Longer term, his versatility might prove key in keeping those first-team starts flowing.

"All last season on loan at Kelty Hearts I played in midfield," said Allan.

"I feel like I can always help the team out, whether it's centre-back, centre-midfield or I can play right-back as well.

"I can play in a lot of positions and thankfully the gaffer gave me a chance today. Hopefully I can get more chances, moving forward."

We asked for your views on Falkirk's 2-1 win against Dundee.

Here's what some of you said:

Kenny: Thought we were poor first half, lacking cutting edge and trying too hard to walk it into goal. Second half we were much better and more clinical in both passing and we pressed a lot better. The second goal was an absolute peach.

Ross: We seem to be something of a second half team at the moment, which is slightly concerning. However, if our centre halves can turn into prime Maradona and grab all three points in the end then who cares?!

Allan: Punching above their weight. Hope they can keep it up. John McGlynn has done a great job.

Paul: Two weeks in a row having a poor start but a turnaround in the second half. Bring on the Celtic!

Nathan: Down a few players going into this one. Step up Connor Allan with a great performance at centre-back and a phenomenal goal to add to that. Delighted to get six points from the past two games, overall a fantastic result for us before Celtic on Wednesday.