Falkirk keeper denies Ton
Jonathan Mitchell • Published 5 Dec 2011 10:30
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It was a game of two goalkeepers at the Falkirk Stadium on Saturday as Michael McGovern single-handedly defied Morton while Dominic Cervi dropped a clanger as Falkirk sneaked a 1-0 win.
In the match's clutch moment, Ton's loanee shot-stopper fumbled a David Weatherston cross, thereby allowing Farid El Alagui to turn home the winning goal.
The Bairns' Northern Ireland international keeper McGovern, on the other hand, won the sponsors' man of the match award after pulling off a string of stunning stops.
In a pre-match interview with the Tele's sister radio station, Your Radio, Allan Moore revealed his side's recent failure to keep a clean sheet would mean a change in defence.
As a result, Andy Graham replaced Kevin McCann in the back four and partnered Marc Smyth in central defence while Grant Evans moved to right-back.
There was also a switch up front, with Peter Weatherson earning a well-deserved start at Peter MacDonald's expense after scoring two goals in consecutive substitute appearances.
And within the opening five minutes, the Englishman had already forced McGovern into the first of many meaningful stops when he drove his laces through a free-kick from 25 yards, which the former Ross County custodian dived to his left to push wide.
Paul Di Giacomo was next up to test his resolve with a low drive from the edge of the box, but the shot lacked direction and his former Staggies team-mate smothered to make one of his more straightforward saves.
Falkirk then embarked on a short spell of sustained pressure, with the lively Kallum Higginbotham leading the charge, but like many of Ton's recent opponents, they were restricted to hopeful efforts from distance as the rearguard held firm.
It wasn't long before Moore's men were back on the offensive, as they, with the treacherous weather conditions in mind, continued to quickly fire the ball up to Weatherson to hold up and bring others into the game.
The tactic was proving extremely effective, and it was no surprise that when their next chance came in the 25th minute, it was through this route. Evans clipped a pass up toward the 31-year-old, who used his strength to hold off Darren Dods while simultaneously trapping the ball before firing off a shot which McGovern gathered at his midriff.
However, Ton were also more than capable of mixing up their style and attempting to cut through the home side with incisive passing moves.
One such passage of play saw Darren McGeouch stride forward from midfield, lift a neat pass over Stewart Murdoch's head to Weatherson and meet his cushioned lay off with a stunning left-foot volley which seemed destined for the top corner until McGovern, in an amazing feat of athleticism, flew to his right to flip the ball over.
In the 41st minute, McGeouch again charged forward into a vacuum of space in the Bairns' midfield, but decided to try an alternative method to beat the Falkirk keeper by shaping to blast before, at the last second, opening out his body to place a firm, side-footed effort towards goal.
But McGovern was in the form of his life, and stretched every sinew as he dived low to his left to touch the ball wide and ensure his side would go in level at the break.
The half-time interval came at the worst possible time for Moore's men, as it allowed the hosts to regroup and re-evaluate their strategy.
And it was Steven Pressley's side that took the bull by the horns in the opening 15 minutes of the second period, as Tam Scobbie, Mark Millar and Higginbotham peppered Cervi's goal with shots.
Cervi did particularly well to get his body behind Millar's drive, and to then race from his line to smother at the feet of Jay Fulton after he'd been put in on goal by El Alagui.
Yet it was the Celtic loanee who was culpable when Falkirk took the lead in the 57th minute. Substitute Weatherston sped down the right and flighted over a cross which Cervi, at 6ft 6in, should have collected despite a robust challenge from El Alagui.
However, he failed to gather and the Moroccan hooked home the loose ball after it dropped to the ground.
The goal was a severe blow to Ton, who, on the balance of play, did not deserve to be behind, but they refused to let the setback dent their confidence and were soon back on the front foot.
Weatherson saw a deflected strike from the edge of the box gathered by McGovern, while O'Brien and McGeouch flashed shots wide as the visitors queued up to have a pop at goal.
They were lacking any real penetration, though, and this prompted Moore to make a treble substitution in the 75th minute, replacing Jackson, Di Giacomo and Weatherson with Sean Fitzharris, MacDonald and Archie Campbell.
Fitzharris, in particular, made a huge difference as he tormented Scobbie and fired over a succession of dangerous crosses and corners, one of which caused pandemonium in the Falkirk box and eventually ended with Campbell prodding against the outside of the post from one yard.
In the final 10 minutes, the visitors laid siege to their opponents' goal, but the final word would go to McGovern.
With just three minutes remaining, he demonstrated lightning reactions to spring to his left and parry MacDonald's ferocious snapshot from eight yards to break Ton hearts one last time.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 05 Dec 11
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