Beyond The Score

On Saturday afternoon, Falkirk host Livingston in a battle of the newly promoted sides.

John McGlynn’s men are level with Hibernian and Rangers in third place on 15 points. The Bairns have settled well into life in the top tier after a sixteen year hiatus.

Nevertheless, many questioned if they would need to adapt from their expansive style. While sticking to their principles, they have unsurprisingly suffered heavy defeats at Celtic Park and Tynecastle. However, against mid-table rivals and those below, they have found great success and been one of the league’s entertainers.

With just one victory in their opening seven matches, you could have forgiven the Falkirk faithful for fearing the worst. Since then, they have turned the tide, winning three of their last four. Only Hearts have more points in that period, with Aberdeen matching them.

Tactically, Scott Bain has proved an astute piece of business. While the former Celtic keeper’s shot-stopping ability can be questioned, the same can not be said for his distribution. This, paired with skilful midfielders, talent in wide areas, plus know-how up front, has gave them the tools to be competitive.

Contrastingly, as their league position suggests, Livingston have found wins hard to come by.

Last season, they modified their approach. Comfortably the second-best team in the Championship, it was their front-foot football that clinched immediate promotion.

Yet, upon their return, many expected Martindale to revert to the functional style that brought him success for so many seasons. While naturally they have found themselves in a different state off the ball, the 51-year-old has persisted with the wide-centre back and overlapping left-back possession set-up.

Since picking up four points in their opening two matches, Livingston have drawn three and lost six of their last nine outings. It doesn’t make for pretty reading.

Beyond the results though, they still sit just three points behind St Mirren in eighth. Trips away to Hibernian and Celtic are the only times they have lost by more than one goal, with the four other losses courtesy of stoppage time strikes. Moreover, their only win so far came against Saturday’s opponents, so they will be looking to repeat this feat.

On paper, Falkirk will fancy themselves, particularly with home advantage and high confidence. Yet, last week’s draw against Hibernian could prove to be a turning point for Livi.

Despite losing the title to Falkirk last year, Livingston won both games 1-0, meaning in this fixture they have won three games on the bounce. Expect this run to come to an end though, with the spoils shared in an entertaining 2-2 draw.