Falkirk

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Falkirk insist they are enjoying their "best season in decades" despite the "hurt and disappointment" of Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat.

The Bairns were denied a place in next month's final by bitter rivals Dunfermline Athletic, who progressed on penalties after a goalless draw at Hampden.

John McGlynn's side have been one of the stories of a remarkable Scottish Premiership campaign, securing a top-six finish on their return to the top flight.

That follows back-to-back promotions from the third tier, but the Falkirk board still acknowledge the "bitter disappointment" of Saturday's result.

In a statement, the Premiership club said: "Everyone at the club wants to acknowledge the hurt and disappointment we all feel after the semi-final.

"The fans put so much into the occasion. Financially and emotionally, the tifo and subsequent tidy-up, and impeccable behaviour at the stadium.

"We weren't at our best and the result is a bitter disappointment. We have to own that as a whole club. We stand together and fall together, from the boardroom to the dressing room.

"Fair play to Dunfermline who fought for everything. The rivalry and occasion makes a defeat like that tougher to take, but we have to process it, learn, and emerge stronger.

"We've learned the hard way that success isn't a straight line but a series of peaks and troughs, so we will remember this feeling and use it to spur us on.

"The focus now is doing our utmost in the final five league games to finish as high as we can and have a say in the title.

"It might not feel like it after Saturday, but this will still be Falkirk's best season in decades, one upon which we intend to build."

Ray Bradshaw will be joined by fans up and down the country on Monday for This Is Fans Only to discuss the weekend's biggest points.

Supporters will come on live and viewers will get the chance to join in on the debate, as well.

The show will be broadcast live on the BBC Sport Scottish Football YouTube channel at 18:00 BST.

To make sure you don't miss any bespoke video content, make sure to subscribe to the channel HERE, external.

Fans of Motherwell and Hibernian would have been watching the weekend's Scottish Cup action with a keen eye, given how the eventual winner of the competition could have a decisive impact on their European hopes.

Essentially, whether fifth place in the Scottish Premiership this season rewards you with European football or not depends on Celtic winning the trophy.

The chances of that are now greater after Martin O'Neill's side progressed to the final thanks to a bonkers extra-time victory over St Mirren.

And although Falkirk suffered heartbreak in their own semi-final a day prior, losing on penalties to bitter rivals Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic's win on Sunday gives a boost to the Bairns' hopes of European football next season.

However, a shock win for Neil Lennon's Dunfermline next month would mean European qualifiers for a club that could be playing in the second tier next term.

Given Celtic's continued underwhelming displays, that isn't too far-fetched a possibility.

Regardless of what happens in May's final, fourth place in the top flight will secure a spot in the second round of next campaign's Conference League qualifiers.

As it stands, that is also the prize for finishing third, but a Celtic Scottish Cup triumph would mean the team finishing fifth nudges in.

Motherwell are currently in the driving seat to finish fourth, three points clear of Hibs and eight ahead of Falkirk, with a superior goal difference over both clubs.

Falkirk are five points behind Hibs in fifth, with five rounds of post-split fixtures remaining. Still all to play for in the top half.

Falkirk fans, we asked for your opinions following the penalty shoot-out loss to Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Hugh: Disappointing display on the day but we have had such an entertaining time from these lads up till now. I thank them all for their efforts and look forward to next season. Filip Lissah and Connor Allan were the only players who performed yesterday in my opinion.

Ronnie: Has been a long time since I've cried over a football match. Well done Dunfermline reaching the finals and good luck to Falkirk in the Premiership. Hopefully Dunfermline will be there soon.

Kev: We were unrecognisable as the cohesive unit we have been for most of the season. Yes, nerves played a part but we couldn't get into the game at all. The attempts at goal stats tell their own story. Neither team played well and the difference at the end of the day was penalties.

The way we played was particularly hard to take considering the occasion. In the end both teams delivered a pretty flat performance. Hugely disappointing.

Gordon: Our worst performance of the season. Ditched our normal style to punt the ball aimlessly. Players heads were down in centre circle even before the first kick. We got the outcome we deserved.

Falkirk manager John McGlynn suggested his team "were unrecognisable" from the side that is sitting sixth in the Scottish Premiership as they lost to second-tier Dunfermline Athletic after a penalty shoot-out in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

Neither side were able to score until the spot kicks that followed the 120 minutes at Hampden.

"I think the game started very scrappy," he told BBC Scotland. "It took a wee while to settle down and I think we then controlled a lot of the game.

"But the final bit of it, in the final third, it just broke down and, for a team that scored three against Rangers last week and scored three against Motherwell the week before, and score five against Kilmarnock and four against Hibs, today in 120 minutes, we couldn't produce any bit of quality that would get us a goal and win the game.

"I think both teams could have been playing until next Saturday and don't think anyone was going to score. Quality is missing today that has cost us.

"We managed to get through against Hearts on penalties and, if you keep going to that situation, you might end up not getting through and that's what's happened.

"We must have been going towards their end much more, but the quality was not there.

"The nerves were there early doors, but you have to overcome that. I don't think you can go through the whole game like that. We just didn't make enough of the ball."

Falkirk are left concentrating on the outside possibility of catching fifth-top Hibernian in the Premiership.

"It would have been nice to have something to look forward to at the end [of the season]," McGlynn added. "Five points behind Hibs is not impossible, but it is a bit ask.

"We have a big part to play professionally for the other teams who are fighting for the title."

Falkirk missed a chance to reach the Scottish Cup final for the first time in 11 years after a penalty shoot-out defeat by local rivals Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden.

The game finished goalless after extra-time, with the Bairns failing with their first two spot kicks against the Championship side.

Read the full match report.

And have your say on a remarkable match.

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We asked you to tell us who deserves to be Falkirk's player of the year.

Here are some of your comments:

Lucia: Dylan Tait is my all time favourite.

Dawn: Calvin Miller - whole season – 100 per cent every game.

Fraser: For me it has to be Filip Lissah. The lad is top drawer and I think he's got a great chance of playing at a high level.

Gordon: My player of the year is Liam Henderson. He holds our defence together and wins lots of challenges as well as distributing the ball out from the back. Also shout out to loanee Lissah who has been excellent.

Logan: Leon McCann, he's been excellent down the left and a key player for us this season.

Paul: Most underrated player is McCann. Owns the left-back spot, runs his heart out, crosses well, and chips in with a goal or two.

Callum: Another hard one this year, the boys yet again have been fantastic. Could mention a few this season McCann, Henderson, Scott Bain, Barney Stewart and Miller have been stand outs this season but for me I can't look past Lissah. He has been one of the best defenders in the country this season so he'd be my player of the year.

Greig: Miller. Best winger in the league, most assists, second top scorer at the club, quoted for Scotland and our best player.

Nathan: Player of the year?! Where do we start? I'll give special mentions to Henderson and Miller whose step up from League One to Premiership has been incredible, as has Stewart's journey from University football to the Premiership, lastly I'll give a huge shoutout to Lissah, a fantastic loanee from Swansea who has the potential to go far. I'd love to see us get him permanently but I think financially it's out of our range but I'll always hope.

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Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday has been blown away by Falkirk's rise through the divisions and says a Scottish Cup final would be the icing on the cake for John McGlynn's side.

The Bairns secured back-to-back promotions from League One to the top flight and have showed no signs of slowing down.

McGlynn's men have secured a top-six finish and will reach a first Scottish Cup final since 2015 if they defeat bitter rivals Dunfermline at Hampden on Saturday.

"You can't speak highly enough of what they've done this season," Halliday told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Being in League One two years ago, you could expect them to come up from the Championship and really struggle but it just shows you what good coaching and good recruitment does.

"It was two years ago in January that Falkirk played Edinburgh City in League One, it was a mid-table clash and now Falkirk are sitting in the top six and Edinburgh City are bottom of League Two.

"The trajectory of the journey they've been on is incredible and if they can follow that up with a Scottish Cup final and then dream even further about going on to win it, it's manager of the century never mind manager of the year."

Falkirk team-mates Scott Bain and Calvin Miller test their knowledge of each other's career as they prepare for Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Dunfermline.

Watch Dunfermline v Falkirk live on BBC One Scotland, BBC Sport website & iPlayer on Saturday at 12:30 BST on Saturday.

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn reiterated that a Scottish Cup final would be his finest achievement as a manager before Saturday's semi-final against rivals Dunfermline.

McGlynn told BBC Scotland on Tuesday that it would be the "pinnacle" of his managerial career to progress to the final - against either St Mirren or Celtic - despite winning back-to-back promotions with the Bairns.

They have already sealed a top-six Scottish Premiership finish on their return to the top flight and McGlynn wants his players to seize the opportunity for further success.

"It is way beyond our wildest dreams to be sitting here, qualified for the top six, a semi-final to look forward to," McGlynn said, who revealed captain Coll Donaldson will likely miss out with a thigh injury.

"We have had an exceptional season and this would be – icing on the cake would be an understatement – to get to a final.

"It is the pinnacle of your career if you can go and get that. Players will play their careers and maybe not get the chance to get to a cup final.

"The group of players we have got have been a tight bunch. A lot of them over the last three or four years, obviously one or two loan players and other players coming in, but they have all gelled together and have a great team spirit and that will help us on Saturday as well.

"It would mean everything to the players. Some of them might not get another opportunity like this, they really have got to grasp it.

"Obviously we have to try to focus on the game and make sure we are switched on with respect to Dunfermline as a team. No more warning than you need with the fact that they beat Hibs and Aberdeen, two Premiership teams."

What a first season back in the top flight it's been for John McGlynn's Falkirk side.

Top-six secured, still in with a chance of a European place, a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to this weekend and plenty of impressive results and performances sprinkled on top.

Manager McGlynn has done an impressive job, but what players have been a standout?

We want to know who's been your Falkirk player of the year. Tell us here.

Falkirk are eyeing a move for Scott Tanser from fellow Scottish Cup semi-finalists St Mirren, making the 31-year-old one of their top summer targets. (Daily Record), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Falkirk's Scottish Cup run this season has already given Ben Parkinson the best moment of his career. Now he is hungry for more heroics when the Bairns head to Hampden.

Striker Parkinson, who joined from Newcastle in January, opened his Bairns account on his third outing when he netted the opener in the fourth round against high-flying Hearts.

A late Lawrence Shankland penalty took the tie the distance - and it was 21-year-old Parkinson who scored the decisive spot-kick in the shootout to send John McGlynn's side through.

They went on to beat Dundee United in the quarter-finals to set up a derby semi-final against Championship outfit Dunfermline on Saturday - live on BBC One Scotland.

"I think that night at Tynecastle was probably the best of my career so far," Parkinson said.

"I want to try and replicate that on Saturday and ultimately going forward, try and play in more big moments, score more big goals and stuff, because that's what you want to do, especially as a striker.

"You come in, you get brought in to score goals, so yeah, that was a good moment."

Celtic or League Cup winners St Mirren await in the final. And Parkinson, who believed earlier this year Falkirk could go all the way in the competition, is even more confident in his claim.

"I think I said at the time, a bit tongue-in-cheek, we could go all the way, but I genuinely believe that and I think there's no point in playing in a cup competition and not having that mindset," he added.

"Ultimately you've got to want to try and win and I think that's what the boys can definitely do."

Parkinson was sidelined by an ankle injury for two-and-a-half months immediately after his exploits against Hearts but has returned to the fray for the past two matches against Motherwell and Rangers.

And having made just senior appearance before moving to Falkirk, he is loving life with the Premiership upstarts.

"It's been amazing," he said. "It's been a great start, obviously a few disappointments with the injury and stuff, but now that I'm back, it's great to be back with the lads.

"When I first came in, all I wanted to do was prove myself and I think I kind of did that. Obviously then getting injured, you've got to pick yourself back up and you've got to try and prove yourself again and that's ultimately what I want to do."

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Falkirk winger Calvin Miller is refusing to be sidetracked by talk of a Scotland call-up for this summer's World Cup.

Manager John McGlynn has been full of praise for the 28-year-old and suggested he should be in manager Steve Clarke's thinking for the tournament.

But Miller insists he has "not thought about it once".

He added to BBC Scotland: "I've just tried to focus on myself. If that happens it would be incredible but I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself to then be disappointed if I don't get picked."

Miller, who began his career with Celtic, joined Falkirk in 2023 and has helped the club secure back-to-back promotions and a top-six finish in the Premiership this term.

They are hoping to crown an already memorable season with Scottish Cup glory and can reach the final by defeating Dunfermline at Hampden on Saturday - live on BBC One Scotland.

Winger Miller feels he's finally coming into his own after spending much of his early career labelled as a left-back, the furthest position from what he grew up playing.

"I was surprised when I was getting labelled as a left-back because I didn't have one defensive attribute in my body," he added.

"To try and change that was a bit tough because growing up all I wanted was to score goals and take players on.

"I'm an attacking player so the first thing I want to do is go and take someone on. People say I don't pass the ball in training because I don't want to pass the ball. I want to be direct, I want to show a bit of flair."

Falkirk chief executive Jamie Swinney has insisted that the Scottish Premiership club have no need to sell striker Barney Stewart or any of their top players this summer. (Daily Record), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Captain Coll Donaldson is desperate to vanquish his semi-final hoodoo and reach the Scottish Cup final with Falkirk.

The Bairns' Hampden meeting with fierce rivals Dunfermline on Saturday - live on BBC One Scotland - is the defender's fourth attempt at going beyond the semis.

He lost out on penalties to Hibernian as a Dundee United player in 2016, missed Inverness Caledonian Thistle's defeat by Hearts three years later through suspension and then suffered a 3-0 defeat to Caley with Falkirk three years ago.

"The hardest one probably is the one I actually never played with Inverness," said Donaldson.

"We had a chance that year, I feel like, against a Hearts side which wasn't going too well in the league, to maybe get to the final with that Inverness team, and being suspended for that one was a strange sort of feeling, not being able to play.

"But as much as it's a great occasion to be involved in, it's horrific when you get beat, so I'm just looking to put that right on Saturday and hopefully get through to a final."

Donaldson and his team-mates were thumped 6-3 on Sunday by Rangers, despite leading 2-0 at the break, but Donaldson insists it has been analysed and they are ready to move on.

"We're so excited," he added.

"As soon as you win the quarter-final and the draw comes out and it sets up this tie, you're buzzing, it's in the back of your mind.

"But we've had really important league games to take care of in between that. We were obviously desperately disappointed with how Sunday transpired, but we've dealt with that and now it's just excitement."

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Throwing away a two-goal lead and shipping six goals against Rangers were obvious frustrations, but there is another bugbear that I, and I'm sure many other Falkirk fans, will share from that defeat.

What is becoming a particularly bad habit - especially in home games - is we are conceding goals right before half-time.

That was the case again on Sunday. Had we gone in at the interval with a two-goal buffer we would have given ourselves a far better chance of avoiding the second-half collapse that followed.

In fact, Rangers' first goal was the 15th time we have conceded between the half-hour mark and half-time whistle in the Scottish Premiership this season - more than any other side in the division, and by some distance.

It was the same against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals last month when we came flying out the traps and raced into a two-goal lead, only to let Jim Goodwin's side back into the game just before the break. From there, it was backs to the wall for long spells in the second half.

On top of that, there's been a tendency to concede quickly after scoring. That was evident on Sunday when we pulled a goal back to make it 4-3 from the penalty spot, only to be 5-3 down less than five minutes later.

If we can iron out these inefficiencies, we'll put ourselves in a far stronger position in matches. It's certainly an area of game management John McGlynn will be keen to see improvement on between now and the end of the season.

Calvin Miller hopes the top-six run-in with Falkirk will provide him with one last stage to audition for a Scotland World Cup role. (Daily Record), external

Falkirk are to rethink their ticketing policy for the final game of the season against Rangers following complaints about visiting fans in the home stands for Sunday's meeting. (Daily Record), external

Read more: Tuesday's Scottish football gossip