First Team
Saints 1-0 Falkirk
24th July 2018
Tuesday 24th July
Saints moved to the top of Group B this evening with a 1-0 win at home to Championship side Falkirk.
The only goal of the game came on 31 minutes as Richard Foster’s through ball found Stefan Scougall in space and he slotted the ball home past Leo Fasan in the Bairns goal.
Saints played some neat football as they passed the ball around well but they were unable to add to their tally.
Next up for Saints is their final group game this Saturday when they travel to Angus to take on Jim Weir’s Forfar Athletic at Station Park.
MATCH REPORT
Saints had their third game of this season’s Betfred Cup this evening as they welcomed Falkirk to McDiarmid Park. The visitors had lost their opening game 1-0 at home to Montrose before winning their second game 2-0 against Forfar Athletic last midweek.
Saints made 3 changes from last Saturday’s win over Montrose, with Steven Anderson, David Wotherspoon and Stefan Scougall all coming into the team in the place off Blair Alston, David McMillan and Jason Kerr.
Dennon Lewis got the game underway for the visitors.
Saints opened brightly and a foul on 26 minutes by Scott Harrison on Tony Watt lead to a David Wotherspoon free kick, the cross came to nothing as Steven Anderson was penalised for a foul.
A well worked corner between Liam Craig and Stefan Scougall led to a chance at the edge of the box for Wotherspoon, whose effort rose over the left-hand side of the goal. Saints playing well as the game approached the half hour mark.
A quick one-two with Richard Foster and Stefan Scougall down the right-hand side flank was neat, and Scougall collected the return ball beating 3 Falkirk defenders to tuck it in the net at the near post. Saints deservedly leading after the first half an hour.
A Saints free kick on the edge of the by-line was taken by Craig whose cross was met by Tony Watt however his shot was deflected and taken up by the Falkirk defence whose counter attack lead to nothing.
A Drey Wright cross just before the half time whistle fell to Murray Davidson whose effort was audacious however it found the target and brought out a good save by Leo Fasan to keep the score 1-0.
Saints got the second half off underway and a surging run from Foster down the left flank resulted in a great cross towards Tony Watt however, the ball was flicked away by the visitors defence. Watt narrowly missed on doubling the lead for Saints.
A run from the half way line saw Falkirk with their first real chance of the game with them attacking down the right-hand side, however Deimantas Petravicius’s powerful shot was easily caught by Zander Clark, with 66 minutes played Saints were still one up.
As the match ticked towards 90 minutes a cross into the box from a Saints corner saw substitute David McMillan challenge for the ball, however his shot was only cleared into the feet of Davidson whose shot was cleared away from the goal by the Falkirk defence.
Then play very quickly switched to the other end as the visitors got a chance in the dying embers of the game. A corner lead to a scramble in the box however Zander Clark safely collected, in what was the last action of the night.
Saints comfortably controlled the first half, however Falkirk had most of the ball during the second half but not much came in terms of chances for the visitors. All in all, an end to end came with Saints narrowly winning it.
Saints: Clark, Foster, Anderson, Gordon, Tanser, Wright (Kennedy 82), Davidson, Craig, Wotherspoon, Scougall (McClean 69), Watt (McMillan 77)
Unused Substitutes: Hurst (GK), Alston, Comrie, Kerr
Booked: None
Scorer: Scougall (31)
Falkirk: Fasan, Muirhead, Harrison, Dallison- Lisbon, Brough, Petravicius, Paton, Robson (Turner 80), Sammut (Mackin 71), Owen- Evans, Lewis (O’Hara 80)
Unused Substitutes: Mutch (GK), Kidd, McGhee, Froxylias
Booked: None
Referee: Craig Thomson
Attendance: 2,379
Match Report by Ruairidh Smith
Picture: Stefan Scougall scores the only goal of the game