Falkirk 1-0 Hearts
18.07.2012

Falkirk 1-0 Heart of Midlothian
From Hearts Media at Falkirk Stadium.

Hearts preparations for the new season suffered a setback as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Steven Pressley's Bairns on Wednesday evening.

The central belt was subject to torrential downpour throughout the day and the game risked being called off before receiving the all-clear following a 2pm pitch inspection.

Once the tie got underway, Hearts wasted several excellent first half opportunities before eventually succumbing to a second half strike from a Falkirk trialist.

In the wake of Saturday's 3-0 victory against Raith Rovers, John McGlynn was understandably keen to rotate his squad for the trip to Falkirk Stadium. The most notable selection was the pairing of the young McGowan brothers, Dylan and Ryan, in central midfield whilst fellow academy graduate Jamie Walker joined David Templeton and John Sutton in attack.

McGlynn's men, debuting their brand new all-white away kit, carved out a chance inside the first minute as Templeton fired narrowly over the crossbar after being teed up by Ryan McGowan on six yards.

The Jam Tarts had the upper hand throughout the opening 45 minutes, with Templeton, Sutton and Mehdi Taouil all forcing Bairns keeper Michael McGovern into action. Templeton in particular was in menacing form down the left wing, beating three men on the edge of the box before cutting inside only to see his effort pushed wide by the keeper on the half hour mark.

After a goalless first half, however, the home side took the lead on 52 minutes thanks to the efforts of their largely unknown strike pair. The man named only as 'Trialist' was released inside the box before cutting back to his namesake, Trialist, who had the easy task of tapping the ball into the empty net.

The goal scoring Trialist was on hand again on 75 minutes when his spectacular bicycle kick forced an excellent reflex save from Mark Ridgers.

McGlynn made six changes during the second half, but Hearts struggled to replicate the fine attacking play they produced during the first half. Substitutes Scott Robinson and Arvydas Novikovas both came close with long range efforts, but the Gorgie side failed to build up attacking momentum on the wet surface and eventually succumbed to defeat.

The Jambos can make amends this coming Saturday, however, as they travel to East End Park for a showdown with Jim Jeffries' Dunfermline.

Falkirk: McGovern, Duffie, Kingsley, Flynn, Smith( Dods 60); Faulds (McGrandles 45), Fulton, Murdoch, Trialist (Sibbald 78); Haworth, Trialist. Subs not used: Dick, Whyte, Bowman, Fulton, Turnbull.

Hearts: Ridgers; Paterson, Zaliukas (Prychynenko 77), Webster, McHattie; R.McGowan, D.McGowan (Holt 68), Taouil (Robinson 60); Walker (Novikovas 60), Templeton (Driver 60), Sutton (D.Smith). Subs not used: MacDonald.

Referee: Alan Muir

Top man: David Templeton

Hearts World