Falkirk 2-1 Hearts

FALKIRK 2
McCann 3, Arfield 89
HEARTS 1
Stewart (72)

AFTER hauling themselves level, Hearts succumbed to a late Scott Arfield goal as their recent encouraging run of form stuttered slightly in the misty Falkirk drizzle. Michael Stewart had equalised Neil McCann's opening goal and Csaba Laszlo's side seemed certain to leave with a point, but Arfield's 89th-minute intervention was a cruel blow to the visitors.

Hearts recovered from an insipid first half to restore parity and dominated the second 45 minutes. A late Falkirk attack appeared harmless until Arfield emerged with a well taken winner minutes from full-time.

McCann's debut goal had accorded his side a justified lead at the interval. He wasn't the sole debutant on the glistening Falkirk Stadium surface. Adrian Mrowiec appeared for the first time in a Hearts shirt since joining on loan from FBK Kaunas. Inside three minutes, one of his predecessors made an instant impact. Graham Barrett scarpered past Lee Wallace with consummate ease and his low cross, which clipped Christophe Berra, landed kindly for McCann to stroke beyond Marian Kello from eight yards. Tynecastle may hold a place in his heart, but the winger wasn't for showing sentiment.

Hearts' reply was Larry Kingston's impromptu effort which Robert Olejnik palmed for a corner. Initially the visitors' rhythm was disrupted due to Falkirk's versatile 4-3-3 formation, which reverted to 4-5-1 whenever they ceded possession. Gradually Stewart began to assert himself and on 21 minutes an equaliser seemed certain when he executed a one-two with Mrowiec inside the opposition penalty area. The Pole steadied himself for a strike which eluded Olejnik but Jackie McNamara's sound positional sense allowed him to clear.

Referee Steve Conroy's decisions were often curious in the first period, none more so than the refusal to caution Arfield for a clear dive in the penalty area after knocking the ball past Berra. The thought arrived that Arfield would have been instantly booked and nationally derided thereafter had he been wearing a maroon shirt.

The game continued to simmer with Conroy hardly evincing control. On 40 minutes, Saulius Mikoliunas chased a through ball and slid into a 50-50 challenge with the advancing Olejnik. The Lithuanian was perfectly entitled to do so but collided with the Falkirk goalkeeper in the process. Having seemed to view the incident as the fair contest it was, Conroy belatedly booked Mikoliunas fully 90 seconds later as Olejnik received treatment. Understandably, this roused fury amongst travelling fans.

Stewart booted the ball behind the home goal as the half-time whistle sounded, summing up Hearts' frustration. They had suffered in the final third due to a lack of numbers and the isolation of lone striker Jamie Mole was doing little to alleviate the problem. He was replaced by Christian Nade early in the second half as the visitors began a period of sustained pressure on the home goal.

Falkirk were fortunate to escape when Berra appeared to be tugged back inside the penalty area. The hosts' overall performance betrayed no signs of their bottom-of-the-league status but for long periods of the second half they defended in numbers. Revitalised Hearts had assumed the attacking impetus and one sensed a goal was coming. When it did, it was quite spectacular.

Kingston's lofted free-kick was headed clear by Darren Barr, however the Falkirk players loitering on the edge of their penalty box remained static. Stewart didn't. He pounced to drive a glorious finish low into the net, taking the deserved acclaim from delirious Hearts supporters in the aftermath.

Steve Lovell, McCann's replacement, and Lee Bullen both watched shots fly wide of Kello's goal but it took until the final minute of regulation play for Falkirk to secure victory. Hearts perhaps sensed their job was done, however substitute Steve Lovell rolled the ball into Arfield's pass for a calm finish from 18 yards low to Kello's right.

Falkirk (4-3-3): Olejnik; McNamara, Barr, Bullen, Scobbie; Arfield, McBride, O'Brien; Barrett, Higdon, McCann. Subs: Flinders, Cregg 82 (for O'Brien), Latapy, Aafjes, Lovell 65 (for McCann), Stewart 84 (for Barrett), McCaffrey.

Hearts (4-4-1-1): Kello; Jonsson, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace; Mrowiec, Karipidis, Stewart, Mikoliunas; Kingston; Mole. Subs: MacDonald, Palazuelos 88 (for Karipidis), Nade 51 (for Mole), Makela, Thomson, Ksanavicius 51 (for Mikoliunas), Rapnik.

Referee: Steve Conroy.

Attendance: 5968.