Falkirk trio sent off

24 Aug 1989

Falkirk 1, Hearts 4

SPORADIC bookings and sending offs broke out at Brockville last night as Hearts won a torrid Skol Cup tie against a Falkirk side who finished with only eight men on the field.

Derek McWilliams, David Beaton, and Tom Callaghan were all given their marching orders by referee Douglas Hope in a game which had the tone set in only 25 seconds when Callaghan was booked for a late challenge on Scott Crabbe.

Callaghan was eventually sent off when he committed his second bookable offence on David Kirkwood.

He had been preceded off the field by McWilliams, ordered off for a swipe at John Colquhoun, and David Beaton, sent off for an off-the-ball incident with Iain Ferguson.

The white-hot atmosphere took away any remote possibility of a free-flowing match, and although Hearts enjoyed superiority of possession they did not turn this into goals until the last 10 minutes, when Falkirk were visibly beginning to wilt through effort.

Hearts now face Celtic at Tynecastle next Wednesday night and will be hoping to avenge their opening match of the season defeat at the hands of the Parkhead men.

In seven minutes the visitors went ahead when Brian Whittaker broke through the flat Falkirk defence.

Keeper Gordon Marshall rushed out well to block but could not smother the ball and it fell to Eamonn Bannon who easily curled it into the empty net.

Hearts moved into what looked like an unassailable lead just five minutes later and again a defender was crucial to the move.

This time Craig Levein, playing at right back, found space on the right wing and sent over a perfectly-flighted cross on to the head of Scott Crabbe and the young striker gratefully accepted the chance to nod the ball past the helpless keeper.

Falkirk were almost down and out now, but totally against the run of play they got one back to add even more spice to the tie.

It came from their first corner in 28 minutes when McWilliams' cross was met perfectly by the incoming Stuart Burgess and his powerful downward header skidded on the slippery surface and could only be pushed into the roof of the net by Henry Smith.

Hearts came close on a number of occasions to increasing their lead but did not do so until just nine minutes from time, when they made their three-man advantage pay.

David Kirkwood wriggled free inside the box to latch on to a John Colquhoun cross to slide the ball home from close range.

And in 86 minutes an Eamonn Bannon cross found veteran defender Walter Kidd in acres of space only yards from goal and he headed strongly past Marshall.

FALKIRK -- Marshall, Holmes, McWilliams, Callaghan, Beaton, Burgess, Robertson, McNair, Baptie, Rae, McGivern.

Substitutes -- Rutherford, Houston.

HEARTS -- Smith, Levein, Kidd, Whittaker, Berry, McPherson, Colquhoun, Kirkwood, Musemic, Crabbe, Bannon.

Substitutes -- Ferguson, MacLaren.

Referee -- D Hope (Erskine).