Falkirk’s impressive return to League One continued as second-half goals from Finn Yates and Calvin Miller sealed a deserved 2-0 win over St Mirren at the SMiSA Stadium.
The Burns took the lead shortly after half-time when Yates crashed into the top corner from 25 yards after Saints keeper Shamal George found himself outside his goal.
Miller then made sure of the points just after the hour mark as he took advantage of St Mirren’s static defense to race onto his own blocked shot before slotting the ball over George.
It was an afternoon to forget for St Mirren, who lost Liam Donnelly, Killian Phillips and George to injury as they slumped to a third successive defeat.
Falkirk opened first on 18 minutes when Barney Stewart laid the ball off to Dylan Tait, whose curling effort from just outside the box took a slight deflection before cannoning off the top of the bar.
St Mirren finally threatened just after the half-hour mark when Mikael Mandron shot home from a tight angle, forcing Falkirk keeper Scott Bain to make a smart stop with his feet.
Falkirk then raced down the other end and the lively Miller was released and allowed to shoot from a similar angle but George saved comfortably.
The game was finally coming alive and Dan Nlundulu was next to fire on goal in the 36th minute after Burns had given away possession cheaply, but it was a routine stop at the near post by Bain.
Nlundulu then got behind and sent the ball home, although such cheers from the home fans were short-lived as the assistant referee raised the flag for what appeared to be clear offside.
The hosts had already lost Donnelly to injury midway through the first half and suffered another blow when Phillips, who appeared to have injured his shoulder in the opening period, came off at the interval.
The game was crying out for a moment of quality and in the 10th minute of the second half it came through Yeats.
A perfect ball to Tate released Miller, and although George came out of his own goal and timed his challenge well, the loose ball fell invitingly for Yates, who curled a stunning first-time curler into the top corner of St Mirren’s unguarded goal.
It got even better for the away side just after the hour mark when the Burns doubled their lead.
Miller’s initial shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Scott Tanser but, with the home defense hesitating, Miller was first to react and run onto the loose ball and lift a right-footed shot over the onrushing George.
St Mirren suffered another blow shortly after as the goalkeeper was forced to be replaced by Ryan Mullen.
Forced changes and quick goals seemed to rattle the hosts and they never threatened a comeback, their afternoon summed up in the 89th minute when Tanser completely misfired his volley attempt from six yards.
What did the managers say…
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson:
“The performance was completely unacceptable. Last week against Motherwell, I stayed nice and calm because it was one off, we believed. But today we had the same level of performance.
“The decision-making was incredibly poor for two goals and really poor throughout, so it’s inexplicable in the decisions we made as a group.
“The performance levels in the last two games have really dropped.
“I can put it down to injuries. If you lose Alex Gogic, Keanu Backus, Mark O’Hara, John Ayung and then lose Killian Phillips at half-time with a dislocated shoulder and Liam Donnelly and Shamal George – I defy any team in the league to deal with those injuries.
“But these guys are knocking on my door every day. They’re those poor faces who don’t play. They’re well paid compared to our club and it’s time to step up and get us out of trouble.
“I don’t recognize the energy and the play and the quality from the cup final just a few weeks ago in the last two appearances.”
“You’re in the fight for relegation as long as you’re in the top six and that hasn’t gone away. We have to raise our performances and results.”
Falkirk boss John McGlynn:
“When we won the championship last year, I said that staying in this league would be equal to anything we’ve ever done because it’s a big challenge. So to find ourselves where we are, of course, you raise expectations.”
“But I don’t think there are too many European places to win. You’re talking about two teams from Edinburgh and two teams from Glasgow.”
“There’s not enough empty space. It’s quite difficult to break through, but we’ll do our best, that’s what we’ve done so far.”
“We’re comfortable where we are. We’ll keep our feet on the ground and keep trying. To come to Paisley and leave with a 2-0 win – I’m delighted.”