A run of four straight wins came to a halt for Heart of Midlothian with a 2-1 defeat away to Falkirk. The loss, which saw the Jambos slip to third in the standings, was characterised by defensive errors and what their head coach called a lack of proactive play.
Ben Krauhaus gave the home side the lead inside the first quarter of an hour, capitalising on a slow start from the visitors. James Wilson, fresh from a Scotland call-up, equalised for Heart of Midlothian midway through the first half with his third goal of the season, a positive note in an otherwise difficult fixtures run. The decisive moment arrived in the 68th minute when Owen Eames struck to secure Falkirk's first league victory in six attempts.
Vrancken criticises performance
Wouter Vrancken did not mince his words in his post-match assessment. "Poor performance, simple," he said. "How we started the game, with miscommunication, not enough concentration, too easy in the back and then we were too slow to get back into our organisation, it was not good enough. I saw some panic in the team actually in the first half. We were too reactive and not proactive and when you’re not proactive in situations, then you don’t show solutions and so then you cannot dominate the game."
The result leaves Heart of Midlothian on 12 points from their opening six matches, now six points behind leaders Celtic. This recent form, shows a team that had been in strong scoring form prior to this setback.
Opposite number John McGlynn was understandably pleased with his Falkirk side's long-awaited breakthrough. "It was good to get the monkey off our back," he said. "The fixture list wasn’t kind to us but I’m delighted for the players tonight." Falkirk will travel to face St Johnstone in their next outing.
This story first appeared at The Scotsman Football
Speaking to reporters on September 18, Heart of Midlothian head coach Wouter Vrancken reiterated his disappointment with the 2-1 defeat at Falkirk. He said, "It is a mental thing. We had to match their energy and we didn't do that." The Belgian dismissed injury issues as an excuse, stating, "We don't find excuses. Let's hope it is just a small setback." Heart of Midlothian, third in the Premiership with 12 points from six games, have scored 13 goals this season.
