Falkirk 3-1 Kilmarnock: Three first-half goals hand the Bairns comfortable victory
Report as Falkirk beat Kilmarnock at Falkirk Stadium; three first-half goals were enough for the Bairns to earn all three points; Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell slammed his side for their 'naive' performance
Saturday 1 November 2025 22:07, UK
A sensational first-half showing helped Falkirk storm into fifth place in the William Hill Premiership courtesy of a 3-1 home win over Kilmarnock.
The Bairns blew Killie away with three goals before the break from Ethan Williams, Ross MacIver and Calvin Miller.
Despite an improved showing in the second half, Stuart Kettlewell's side were unable to avoid slumping to their fourth straight defeat although Tyreece John-Jules did pull a goal back.
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The first chance fell the way of the hosts as Miller pounced on some hesitancy from Dom Thompson and unleashed a low strike which worked Tobi Oluwayemi in the Killie goal.
Falkirk took the lead in the seventh minute after Williams latched on to Miller's defence-splitting pass before rounding the keeper and coolly slotting home his first goal for the club.
Williams' celebrations were initially cut short by the offside flag, though the goal was eventually awarded following a VAR check.
A long-range effort from MacIver drifted harmlessly wide as Falkirk looked to extend their advantage.
However, the home fans wouldn't have to wait long for the lead to double their lead.
With 22 minutes on the clock, Oluwayemi could only parry Kyrell Wilson's strike into the path of MacIver, who was left with the simplest of tasks.
After making a big impact in the opening stages, MacIver limped off on the half-hour mark to be replaced by Brian Graham.
The chances continued to come for the Bairns. Keelan Adams breezed past his man before arrowing a fizzing shot that flew just wide with Oluwayemi scrambling.
John McGlynn's side were cutting Killie open with ease and they capped off a brilliant first half in the 38th minute when Williams slipped the ball to Miller to bullet his low drive into the bottom corner.
Kettlewell made a triple switch at half-time in an attempt to somehow drag his team back into the game.
They thought they had a goal back five minutes after the restart but Robbie Deas' goal was ruled out for a foul on Scott Bain in the build-up.
Bain was involved again minutes later when he denied John-Jules and then George Stanger.
Tom Lowery had a goal ruled out for offside before the visitors cut their arrears with 21 minutes remaining.
A neat passing move between David Watson and Scott Tiffoney helped work the ball to John-Jules, who came up with an excellent finish.
Alfredo Agyeman could only fire straight at the Kilmarnock keeper in the closing minutes but it did little to dampen the spirits of the almost 7,000 home fans inside the Falkirk Stadium as their team claimed another impressive win.
Kettlewell: 'Naive' Kilmarnock produced worst 45 minutes I've ever coached
Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell:
"That was probably the worst 45 minutes from any team I've played with, coached or managed - as naive as it could ever be.
"What typified the whole thing was probably the third goal, as amateurish a goal as you are ever going to see conceded.
"There's no talk of officials, injuries or anything else. I believe that sometimes in football you have to hold you hands up, be a man about it and accept responsibility.
"I give them no credit or take credit myself for a better reaction in the second half.
"What I've learned about the team in the last four games, and I don't just pin this on them, I include myself and the staff, is that something has happened in there from being really confident, competitive and hard to play against.
"We now find ourselves in a position where something has changed in our heads.
"We have to take responsibility for that. It's my job to try and find out why that is."
McGlynn: Falkirk on fire
Falkirk boss John McGlynn:
"It's as good a 45 minutes that I've witnessed from one of my teams in a hell of a long time,"
"Our teams have played well in League One and in the Championship but that was an outstanding first half and the players never made a bad decision.
"They were on fire and everything they did was on the money, we wanted to put new energy into the team after the game against Celtic on Wednesday night so they brought their peak performance.
"The pace, drive and ability of the attacking players just blew Kilmarnock away."
