The Jambos battled in the driving rain to keep their title bid on track
21:57, 13 Dec 2025
Claudio Braga
They dumped the Bhoys last week to stay top of the class.
Now it was the Bairns who were given a lesson in their own playground by a Hearts side who are beginning to make their position at the Premiership summit look like child’s play.
Derek McInnes’ side took just 65 SECONDS to get their noses in front through Claudio Braga here.
And it was left to ex-Falkirk star Stephen Kingsley to climb off the bench to rifle home a trademark half volley to secure three points that edges Derek McInnes’ side six points clear of Celtic at the top.
This was billed as a banana skin for the Gorgie men, particularly with the Falkirk Stadium hit by a deluge of rain and wind. But they mastered the conditions – and breezed ahead with just a minute on the clock.
Lawrence Shankland’s 20 yard piledriver caused Scott Bain all sorts of bother and the keeper could only palm the ball onto the bar leaving Braga, following in, with the easiest of headers from two yards.
Falkirk grew into the game but were badly lacking Ross MacIver to provide an end product.
However, the Bairns fans were spewing two minutes from the break when Kyrell Wilson rounded Alexander Schwolow and saw his goal-bound effort blocked by the backtracking Harry Milne.
Replays showed the Jambo blocked the shot with his forearm. VAR Andrew Dallas took a look. And to Hearts’ relief he decided against sending ref Calum Scott to the monitor.
It was a huge call.
Braga forced Bain into a flying save with a 56th minute header as Hearts turned the screw.
And they got their killer second in the 77th minute when Kingsley, on for Milne just three minutes earlier, controlled Oisin McEntee’s header 20 yards out before unleashing a wonderful half volley past Bain. Here’s 5 talking points
Hearts beating fast
Can they do it on a cold, wet night in Falkirk? We got the answer to any doubts over Hearts’ mettle within 65 seconds. No wonder the punters are in a flutter as the Jambos storm six points clear at the top. The opener was all about Shankland’s strike from Alexandros Kyziridis’ lay off that was too hot for Bain to handle and Braga was alive to the situation to bury the rebound. Kingsley’s strike to secure the points on 77 minutes was all about the former Falkirk ace’s wand of a left foot.
In between? It was never going to be pretty in these conditions. But Derek McInnes’ side know how to dig in and weather a storm and defend their box when under pressure. Hearts were unchanged from the side that dumped Celtic in Glasgow six days earlier. And they are playing like a side comfy in each other’s company. They’ve only lost once inside 90 minutes in 22 games now. That’s title contender’s form.
Stu beauty
Stuart Findlay this week insisted it would be a “no brainer” to make his Hearts loan deal permanent in the summer. On the flip side it’s an absolute open goal for the club to tie the big defender down long term. There was no need for any Tony Bloom analytics involvement when Derek McInnes made the former Kilmarnock man a priority in the summer window. And he’s shown why. This win was as much about Hearts’ rock solid backline of Findlay and Craig Halkett who dealt with the horrendous conditions as much as what the Bairns could throw at them.
Findlay and Halkett were on point with their positioning and kept their clearances clean on an awful night for defenders. Forget any risky stuff with the wind swirling round the ground. They know when to keep it simple and provided the foundation for a well-earned win.
Blunt Bairns
It’s no goals in four games now for John McGlynn’s side who have slipped to seventh. The Bairns certainly got into good positions throughout and peppered the Jambos’ box with crosses particularly in the first half. But with Ross MacIver injured and Brian Graham on the bench it was left to Alfredo Agyeman to lead the line there was a lack of focal point as much as a missing clinical edge in where it hurt. Graham climbed off the bench in the second half but like those before him failed to trouble Alexander Schwolow on a night where Falkirk mustyerted only one effort on target.
What a Harry on
Andrew Dallas can forget any Christmas cards from Falkirk fans. The VAR took a good look at the 43rd minute flashpoint that saw Kyrell Wilson’s goalbound shot blocked by Harry Milne. It was a superb defensive effort from the Jambo to get back but replays showed he used his forearm to block the effort. His arm was tucked in but it was a clear denial of a goal and hard to argue he never still moved it towards the ball. Put this one firmly down to interpretation in the handball rule’s many grey areas. But you can bet every Falkirk fan in the ground will have it marked down as the wrong call.
Wet and wild
The horrendous conditions combined with Falkirk’s plastic surface made this a slippery, windy, scrappy mess and hardly the best advert for our game live on TV. Fair play to both sides for trying to get forward. But the wind made for a catalogue of unforced errors with simple passes flying out the park and shots skewing miles off target. It was like blow football at times but with the pressure cranked up it was Hearts who adjusted better to the conditions particularly defensively. When the chances dropped they were clinical. At both ends they weathered the storm better.
