A lacklustre sort of defiance

YOU HAVE to be thankful for small mercies at the foot of the SPL, and mercies don't come much smaller than the point Falkirk took from this drab and deeply disappointing contest. Their solitary achievement was to drag Hearts down to a level at which the Tynecastle club looked like relegation contenders as well, rather than a side with European aspirations.

At the end, though, Falkirk manager John Hughes livened things up considerably as he launched a scathing attack on members of the Bairns Trust, an umbrella supporters group who wrote to the club's board last week calling for his sacking.

Demanding action from the board, Hughes seemed to suggest his position was being undermined from within the club, but he backtracked when asked to expound on that.
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"The timing was absolutely abysmal," said Hughes. "We know the people responsible. I reckon the Bairns Trust only has about 114 supporters. I think the club doing a press release saying they're right behind me is not enough. I would like the club and board of directors to do a further investigation into it and take action against the people responsible for it. I wouldn't like to think it is just going to be swept under the carpet.

"That was not helpful at all to my team today. It was absolutely diabolical what they did. When you look at the true Falkirk fans, I don't think they have the backing they believe they have."

Falkirk's own charter gives official recognition to the Bairns Trust at Board level, and the ire of Hughes was clearly heightened by their special status. His claim that the letter had actually galvanised his team was not entirely convincing, but he was still obviously relieved to avoid the defeat that would have poured more fuel on the fires of the supporters' rebellion.

It might be harsh to say that the most exciting thing that happened during the first half was Andrew Driver's switch from the right flank to the left a few minutes before the break, but it would not be entirely inaccurate. Referee Eddie Smith somehow found cause to book four players during the period - Falkirk's Arnau Riera and Michael Higdon; Ruben Palazuelos and Bruno Aguiar of Hearts - but his stern approach suggested he saw a spicier contest than anyone else had noticed.

Hearts had the better opportunities in that opening half, and certainly moved about the park with more purposeful intent. Had Driver shown more composure in front of goal he could easily have put his side in front after 11 minutes, but his feeble left-foot shot was a disappointing finish after some good work in the build-up by Christos Karipidis.

Soon afterwards, Marius Zaliukas failed to convert an even better chance, the ball shooting past his foot after Higdon's clumsy swipe in the six-yard box had set him up with what should only have been a toe-poke into the net. If anything, that miss served to shake some sense into Falkirk, as they finally began to respond to the bellowing of Stephen Pressley and tightened up their defensive effort considerably.

They were no more resolute at the other end of the pitch, though, tripping into slapstick when Higdon mistimed a volley, fell on his backside and then failed to notice the ball was still bouncing around behind him. Neil McCann bustled about with purpose but to no great effect, and it said everything about their overall efficiency that the header Higdon screwed wide in the 48th minute was their first serious attempt on goal.

Another 20 minutes were to pass before we witnessed their second, Patrick Cregg rifling a shot over the bar from 15 yards out after the ball had broken to him on the right side of the box. The opportunity was fair reward for the more purposeful movement Falkirk had injected into their game after the break, but an even better chance had fallen to Hearts a few minutes earlier when Driver's shot into the arms of Dani Mallo did no justice to the buccaneering run by Lee Wallace that had brought the ball to his feet.

Those incidents pretty much ended the on-field action and the match all but petered out in the last few minutes. How Hughes must wish that his players could summon the righteous indignation and defiance he feels at the moment.

Taken from the Sunday Herald