Football Apr 07, 2026

Motherwell 2-3 Falkirk: Bairns seal top-six Scottish Premiership finish with win at Fir Park

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Motherwell 2-3 Falkirk: Bairns seal top-six Scottish Premiership finish with win at Fir Park

Falkirk secured a top-six finish in the Scottish Premiership after a 3-2 away win at Motherwell.

Barney Stewart opened the scoring with a fine header on three minutes and that set the tone for the afternoon at Fir Park.

Elliot Watt's fizzing volley levelled things up against the run of play but the Bairns pounced before the break to restore their lead as Ben Broggio gleefully tapped into an empty net after Watt's pass-back had gone astray.

Calvin Miller provided some breathing space just after the hour mark from the spot before the Bairns saw out the remainder of the contest to ensure they finished in the top half of Scotland's top flight for the first time in 31 years.

Tawanda Maswanhise netted with virtually the last kick of the match as the hosts fell to a third loss in four league games.

Miller was at the heart of everything for the Bairns as his pinpoint free-kick delivery found Stewart early on with the striker netting for the fifth consecutive match as his header nestled beyond Calum Ward.

The winger almost doubled his side's lead when an errant clearance from the 'keeper bounced off his face before rolling narrowly wide.

The hosts were far from their free-flowing best but did drag themselves level with a moment of brilliance on 35 minutes from Watt.

Falkirk half cleared a corner with the midfielder producing a thunderous volley from 20 yards that proved too strong for Bairns 'keeper Scott Bain despite the Scotland international getting both hands on the ball.

The contest took a huge momentum shift in the 44th minute as Bain brilliantly palmed away an Elijah Just free-kick, which then led to the visitors retaking the lead moments later at the other end.

Well's defence had looked jittery all afternoon and they were finally made to pay with Broggio the beneficiary of Watt's errant pass-back.

The Aston Villa loanee should have doubled his tally in the early moments of the second half but took too long to get his shot away before being barged off the ball by Emmanuel Longelo.

The Well full-back then produced a majestic ball over the top for Tom Sparrow, who did the hard work with fine control only to blaze harmlessly over.

Miller almost netted a wonder strike just shy of the hour mark as he spotted Ward off his line and produced a delicate chip from distance which the scrambling keeper was able to fingertip onto the woodwork.

He did not have to wait long for the goal his performance deserved as he casually sent the 'keeper the wrong way from the spot on 62 minutes after Filip Lissah had been bundled over in the box.

Motherwell huffed and puffed as they searched for a way back, with Maswanhise's heavy touch denying him the chance to slot beyond Bain before he bagged his 17th league goal in the dying embers as his side's six-month unbeaten home league run was brought to an end.

Tags:

football report

Share this article

Related Posts

Arsenal 0-2 Man City: Nico O'Reilly's double clinches Carabao Cup triumph and ends Gunners' quadruple hopes

Arsenal 0-2 Man City: Nico O'Reilly's double clinches Carabao Cup triumph and ends Gunners' quadruple hopes

Manchester City won the Carabao Cup as Nico O'Reilly's double clinched a 2-0 win over Arsenal to end their hopes of a quadruple.The full-back's goals,...

England 0-1 Japan: Kaoru Mitoma nets deserved winner as experimental Three Lions fail to fire again

England 0-1 Japan: Kaoru Mitoma nets deserved winner as experimental Three Lions fail to fire again

England's World Cup hopefuls did little to convince Thomas Tuchel of their worth when he names his squad in barely two months' time as another experim...

Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United: Harry Maguire sent off as Michael Carrick's side twice pegged back in Premier League draw

Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United: Harry Maguire sent off as Michael Carrick's side twice pegged back in Premier League draw

Harry Maguire saw red and gave away a penalty just hours after his England recall as Man Utd were pegged back to draw 2-2 at Bournemouth.Michael Carri...

Preston 3-1 Stoke: Alfie Devine at the double in mid-table Championship clash

Preston 3-1 Stoke: Alfie Devine at the double in mid-table Championship clash

Alfie Devine scored twice as Preston ended a seven-game winless streak with a 3-1 Championship victory over Stoke at Deepdale.The 21-year-old Tottenha...

Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (Agg:3-0): John McGinn and Leon Bailey goals send Villa into Europa League quarter-finals

Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (Agg:3-0): John McGinn and Leon Bailey goals send Villa into Europa League quarter-finals

Aston Villa are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League following a 2-0 win over Lille at Villa Park.Second-half goals from John McGinn and Leon...

FC Midtjylland 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Agg: 2-2 - Pens: 0-3): Forest reach Europa League quarter-finals with shoot-out victory

FC Midtjylland 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Agg: 2-2 - Pens: 0-3): Forest reach Europa League quarter-finals with shoot-out victory

Nottingham Forest have reached the Europa League quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Midtjylland.Forest boss Vitor Pereira benched a...