Falkirk

We asked for your views on Falkirk's 3-0 defeat against Hearts.

Here's what some of you said:

Nathan: I thought we started off quite well, Calvin Miller gets a goal chopped off then we concede from a corner again like we've not learned anything from Saturday. John McGlynn really needs to bring in a defensive stalwart in the summer who can deal with crosses and set-pieces alongside Liam Henderson. From then on Hearts went into the ascendancy and deservedly won the game. I wish them all the best at Parkhead and hopefully they win for the sake of Scottish football.

David: We definitely need a central defender. I am sure John has ideas and guys in mind already. Losing Filip Lissah, Ben Broggio and Kyrell Wilson will be hard, but we will come back stronger.

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Hearts will be Scottish champions for the first time since 1960 if they avoid defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday after sweeping aside Falkirk at a raucous Tynecastle.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say on the game here.

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn told BBC Sportsound: "I thought we started the game well. We created openings and made it nervy for Hearts for a good 20 minutes, I would say.

"Hearts came into it and put us under pressure from a corner kick, which is our Achilles heel right now. Then Hearts have their tails up, are rampant and the place is buzzing.

"We just couldn't get to half time at 1-0.

"Overall Hearts deserved their win. They're top of the league for a reason, have good players and are all playing together.

"They've got a good manager and the place is bouncing. It's hard coming here on a night like that and for some of our players it was a game too far.

"We're not going to criticise our players, who have been magnificent all season. I'm proud of them for the season.

"We'll get a break after the last game, go on a recruitment drive and go again next season."

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• Lawrence Shankland has scored in both of Hearts' past two home league games; the last Jambos player to score in three successive home Scottish Premiership appearances was Shankland himself in May 2024.

• Hearts have won their past five top-flight matches against Falkirk, including all three this season without conceding, although the Bairns won the sides' Scottish Cup fourth-meeting in January on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

• Falkirk have only scored in one of their past seven top-flight matches against Hearts (D2 L5), netting twice but still losing in February 2010 (3-2).

• After beating St Johnstone 2-1 last season, Hearts could win their final home game in back-to-back top-flight campaigns for the first time since 2005-06/2006-07.

• In Falkirk's 17 away league games this season, they have never had the same result twice in a row (W7 D2 L8), losing 3-1 at Celtic last time out.

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Hearts have lost key duo Marc Leonard and Craig Halkett to ruptured Achilles but Harry Milne is set to return after a calf issue.

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon is back in training after a shoulder problem but midfielders Oisin McEntee, Calem Nieuwenhof (both hamstring), Tomas Magnusson and Ageu (both thigh) are still out.

Falkirk have issues in defence. Filip Lissah (ankle) and Leon McCann (hamstring) hobbled off on Saturday and on-loan Hearts centre-back Lewis Neilson is ineligible.

Goalkeeper Scott Bain (ankle) is set to remain out along with Louie Marsh and Ethan Williams (both thigh).

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Falkirk attacker Calvin Miller vowed his side will give their all to keep their slim hopes of European qualification alive when they face title-chasing Hearts at Tynecastle.

The focus will be on the home team, who will clinch the Scottish Premiership title for the first time since 1960 if they beat Falkirk and Celtic lose to Motherwell.

But the Bairns still have their own ambitions to strive for, despite seeing fifth spot – and a potential European place – drift from their grasp on Saturday.

Falkirk set out to leapfrog Hibs in the table but a 3-1 home defeat left them five points behind with two games left.

With Hibs holding a 20-goal advantage, Falkirk's European hopes depend on them finishing the season with wins over Hearts and Rangers while hoping David Gray's side lose twice, and Dunfermline win the Scottish Cup.

Miller told Falkirk TV: "Mathematically it's not done yet so we just need to go and give a good account of ourselves on Wednesday.

"I'm sure Tynecastle will be electric considering what they are going for so we really need to roll the sleeves up and get a big performance from ourselves."

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Like a number of Premiership clubs, we are facing a pretty big rebuild over the close season.

Several loan players will return to their parent clubs, while some of our standout performers will inevitably attract interest elsewhere.

There are also a handful of players nearing the end of their contracts who, for one reason or another, are unlikely to stay on.

However, Saturday's 3-1 home defeat to Hibernian again highlighted that bringing in a centre-half must be high on John McGlynn's list of priorities for next season.

Conceding from set-pieces continues to plague us, a flaw that dates all the way back to our League 1 days. It remains a glaring weakness and was exposed again early in Saturday's loss.

We found ourselves behind almost immediately when conceding a cheap goal from a corner, leaving us with a mountain to climb and, ultimately, seeing our European hopes go up in smoke.

While they are a rare breed in today's game, we're in need of a proper old-school leader beside Liam Henderson - someone capable of organising the backline and bringing the aggression needed to deal with this ongoing issue from set-pieces.

Given the level of detail McGlynn puts into his work, you would imagine he is already exploring ways to solve this problem, but hopefully it is near the top of his summer shopping list.

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Hearts' Claudio Braga could win an awards double after he was shortlisted for the Scottish Football Writers' Association player of the year award.

The Portuguese forward is nominated alongside teammate Lawrence Shankland and Motherwell duo Elijah Just and Tawanda Maswanhise.

The manager of the year award could also go to Tynecastle or Fir Park, with Derek McInnes and Jens Berthel Askou both nominated.

Falkirk boss John McGlynn and Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill are also on the shortlist.

Four Scottish players are in the running for young player of the year - Falkirk striker Barney Stewart, Kilmarnock's on-loan Rangers winger Findlay Curtis, Dundee defender Luke Graham and Dunfermline's Andrew Tod.

The winners will be announced on Sunday, 17 May.

Falkirk fans, we asked for your opinions after the 3-1 loss to Hibernian on Saturday. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

John: Pathetic defending the first goal. Naive for the second. The third he took it well. Room for improvement on that performance.

Nathan: The game against Hibs and our semi-final against Dunfermline were two huge matches with very high stakes and we've failed to perform to the standard we know we are capable of.

Some terrible goals conceded and it looks like conceding free headers from corners is a bad habit we'll never get out of. Ben Broggio scored a brilliant goal and the subs did well off the bench considering the circumstances, but the game was unfortunately well done by then. Now we have two free hits against Hearts and Rangers.

Gary: Really poor, I think the guys are looking at their summer break rather than the games.

Pabs: Proud of the players. Top six is just incredible. In John McGlynn we trust. Thanks to all the players for a wonderful season.

David: Bad start, with all three goals the result of slack defending. Played better in the second half but needed Brian Graham or Ross MacIver to put some pressure on the Hibs defence.

Two games to go, can't complain. We achieved the aim - staying up - and the top six was an unexpected bonus. Let's be kingmakers in the last two games.

Hibernian moved closer to claiming European football for next season with a dominant win at Falkirk, arresting a run of three straight Scottish Premiership losses.

Have your say on the game here.

Read the match report here.

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "Yeah, you can't give Hibs the start that we gave them, a goal in two minutes, a very cheap corner kick we conceded and we didn't defend it, simple as that.

"You've got to be strong, you've got be powerful, you've got to be aggressive in the box and we weren't and they were.

"You give yourself a poor start in the game, you give Hibs a lot of encouragement, you give them a base to go from.

"Although I thought we played quite well after that, I thought we passed the ball really well, I thought we got down the sides, we got some balls in the box without maybe getting anyone on the end of it and didn't really force the goalkeeper into many saves, which was a bit disappointing.

"So we defended badly, Hibs were very clinical with the opportunities they got.

"Second half, we've had a bit of a go, we got a good go back with Ben [Broggio] and there's been other opportunities maybe with some headers.

"We tried to play, we tried to get back in the game, got to give the boys credit for not giving up and keep going.

"However, it was a little bit too late."

Falkirk winger Calvin Miller, 28, is not getting pre-occupied about a lucrative move or a Scotland call-up. (Sun), external

Saturday's Scottish gossip

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Falkirk welcome back Liam Henderson but Scott Bain (ankle), Louie Marsh and Ethan Williams (both thigh) are out.

Hibernian trio Grant Hanley, Raphael Sallinger and Felix Passlack return from suspension but Jamie McGrath drops out after his red card last weekend. Josh Mulligan (ankle) and Munashe Garananga (hamstring) have a chance of returning but Rudi Molotnikov (ankle) is out.

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Falkirk winger Calvin Miller isn't holding out much hope of being part of Scotland's World Cup squad this summer.

But the uncapped 28-year-old, who has flourished in the top flight with the Bairns this season, aims to one day represent his country.

"There's been talk but I don't see it happening, if I'm being honest," said Miller of a potential World Cup call-up. "The manager of Scotland, Steve Clarke, is very loyal to the players he has.

"If you were going to get a bit of recognition, I would have got it maybe in the friendlies beforehand. That could give you an inclination if you could be about it.

"I just need to continuously keep doing well myself. You never know if he's going to be there after the World Cup or if there's a freshening up with a new manager in at that time and I could get on the radar of whoever comes in next."

Miller swept the boards at Falkirk's player of the year awards and is expected to be the subject of interest from elsewhere this summer.

The former Celtic youngster, who has a further year left on his Bairns deal, has relished showcasing himself in the Premiership after spending most of his career in the lower leagues of Scotland and England.

"On a personal level, I've done really well in terms of goals and assists and stuff," said Miller, who was coy on the possibility of leaving Falkirk in the summer.

"The numbers are looking good, I've played a lot of games and it's always nice that your name can get thrown out there for different things in terms of Scotland, and speculation and all that.

"You see players all around the world, they go to different clubs and it maybe doesn't work out and then they eventually find their feet and start to flourish. That's probably what I've done here under the gaffer.

"I think it was just about getting to showcase it. I've been continuously doing it for the last three years now.

"I was always confident I could consistently play at a high level and I think I've showed that this season. I don't want to stop there, I want to keep continuing to play to the best of my ability."

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John McGlynn insists there's "no pressure" on Falkirk as they bid to pip Hibs to fifth place and possible Conference League football.

The sixth-place Bairns, currently two points behind, can leapfrog David Gray's side with victory at the Falkirk Stadium on Saturday.

Fifth place will bring entry to the second qualifying round of the Conference League if Celtic defeat Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup final.

"It's great to be part of this, we've got a chance to jump Hibs and we're delighted to get ourselves into this position," said McGlynn.

"It's game on. Hibs will recognise that and I would expect them to be well up for it. We're ready to go, bring it on.

"It's a great opportunity. If we can get above Hibs and see it out to the end of the season then fine.

"We understand Hibs are a massive football club and they've got great resources, but then we've come off the back of a really good performance and a really good result against Motherwell, so we're in a good place.

"We're playing well and there's no pressure on us whatsoever. We're delighted to be where we are and we've got an opportunity to get a space higher, which would be incredible."

Defender Liam Henderson returns this weekend after missing the last two games through injury. But Scotland goalkeeper Scott Bain – although back in training – will not be available and is unlikely to be ready for Wednesday's trip to Hearts.

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• Hibs have had a player sent off in three consecutive Premiership games, the first side to do so in the competition since St Johnstone in September 2024. On Opta's records (from 2005-06), no side have received a red card in four successive Scottish top-flight matches.

• Hibs have lost their past three league games, last losing four in a row in April 2023 under Lee Johnson.

• Falkirk won for the first time in their past 13 top-flight meetings with Hibernian (D5 L7) when the two sides faced off in January (4-1).

• Hibs have only won two of their past 12 away games at newly-promoted opponents in the Premiership (D5 L5), beating Dundee 2-1 in November 2023 and Dundee United 3-1 in February 2025.

• After drawing five of their first eight home league games of this season (W2 L1), Falkirk haven't drawn any of their last 10 on home soil (W5 L5) since a 0-0 stalemate with Motherwell in December.

Celtic are keeping tabs on Falkirk striker Barney Stewart and have the 22-year-old on their radar as an option to bolster their attack this summer. (Football Insider), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Max Stryjek - Kilmarnock

A clean sheet for the keeper who underwent heart surgery earlier in the season - a remarkable story.

Findlay Curtis - Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann put him at right-back and it proved a masterstroke as Curtis scored when Killie blew Dundee United away.

Craig Halkett - Hearts

A giant performance from the Hearts centre-back in a seismic victory against title rivals Rangers.

Ryan Astley - Dundee

Solid showing as Dundee earned a clean sheet and a vital three points.

Stephen Kingsley - Hearts

Great reactions to grab that vital Hearts equaliser.

Yang Hyun-Jun - Celtic

Celtic were not scintillating again, but Yang was a bright spark against 10-man Hibs.

Brad Spencer - Falkirk

The captain set the tone as his side once again got the better of Motherwell.

Aaron Tshibola - Kilmarnock

Great overall performance at the heart of the Killie midfield.

Joe Westley - Dundee

A big goal that takes the heat off any Dundee survival anxiety.

Kelechi Iheanacho - Celtic

He brought that scalpel-like sharpness in the Celtic penalty box that the defending champions sorely needed.

Lawrence Shankland - Hearts

The Hearts captain underlined his credentials as an inspirational leader once again with a goal of seismic proportions. His ability as a striker is clearly never in question, but even by his standards the left-foot finish to sink Rangers was outstanding.