Murrell's purple patch and a six-pointer: Falkirk host Kilmarnock on a high after Easter Road
Thursday 22 October 2026 · By Craig Lawson
Falkirk return to home soil on Saturday with a spring in their step. Last weekend's 2–1 win at Easter Road, their first top-flight victory there in more than 20 years, lifted John McGlynn's side from 11th to ninth. Now they host Kilmarnock in a game both clubs see as a genuine six-pointer.
Jacob Murrell was the star in Edinburgh. He opened the scoring from the edge of the box on 13 minutes after Strain's interception, then doubled the lead from a tight angle on 37 minutes. Elding pulled one back for Hibs before the break, but Falkirk held on, with Scott Bain making some important late saves from McGrath.
There were a couple of nervy moments. Barbrook had a goal ruled out for offside, and a VAR check moved a Hibs penalty award to a free-kick outside the box early in the second half. But Falkirk deserved the points.
McGlynn was quick to praise his forward. Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, he highlighted Murrell's "clean finishes" and his work rate, and it's not hard to see why. Two goals in an away win at a big ground is the kind of performance that can kick-start a season.
The win also completed an Edinburgh double of sorts. Falkirk had already beaten Hearts earlier this season, and now they've taken three points at Easter Road too.
The table, though, shows why Saturday matters so much. Falkirk are ninth with nine points from nine games, just one point above Motherwell and Kilmarnock, and two ahead of bottom side Hibs. A win would open up a gap. A defeat would see Killie climb above them.
Kilmarnock arrive in decent form themselves. They beat Motherwell 3–2 last Saturday, their first home league win of the season, with Greg Kiltie scoring twice. Neil McCann has also strengthened his goalkeeping options by signing Nico Mantl, formerly of RB Salzburg, on 16 October.
Don Robertson will referee Saturday's game (15:00), with Matthew MacDermid on VAR. MacDermid was the referee for Ayr's controversial home defeat by Partick Thistle earlier this month.
We haven't heard from McGlynn at a press conference this week, so team news is still to come. But Falkirk will want to keep the same attacking edge that served them so well in Edinburgh.
After Killie, the fixtures get tougher. Falkirk travel to Aberdeen on Wednesday 28 October (19:45), and then host Celtic on Sunday 1 November (13:00). That makes Saturday's game even more important, because points against the sides around them will count double come the end of the season.
Hearts may have been on the wrong end of a 7–1 at Celtic Park last weekend, but Falkirk's win over them earlier in the campaign still looks impressive. Combined with the result at Easter Road, it shows this team can compete.
The challenge now is to back it up at home. Win on Saturday, and Falkirk can start looking up the table rather than over their shoulders.
Falkirk Stadium sits on Grangemouth Road in Westfield, a short ride east of Falkirk town centre, and it has been the home of Falkirk Football Club since 2004. The Bairns left Brockville, their town-centre ground since the nineteenth century, and spent a season sharing with Stenhousemuir before moving into this purpose-built ground. For a visiting supporter it is an easy modern ground to read: three covered, all-seater stands and one open side. Official capacity is 7,937. The pitch is an artificial 3G surface, about 109 by 79 yards, so the playing area is a little longer than it is wide, with the goals at the north and south ends.
If you are with the away support, you will almost always be in the North Stand, directly behind the north goal. The club houses visiting fans in sections E and F, and on bigger allocations part of section D as well. A typical league allocation is a few hundred seats, though the stand itself holds about 2,000 and can take a larger following when the tie demands it. The rest of the North Stand is used by home supporters, including a family area, so stay in the blocks on your ticket. Views are close to the pitch, legroom is decent for a ground of this size, and you are near enough to hear every clearance. Turnstiles are electronic, so have the barcode on your ticket ready. Stewards keep the away section separate from home fans in the same stand.
Look across the pitch from your seats and the far goal sits in front of the Kevin McAllister Stand, still often called the South Stand or KM7. It opened in 2009, holds about 2,000, and is home supporters only. It was renamed in 2022 after the former Falkirk winger, and it is where the loudest Bairns gather, including the Gate 20 group in section E, where safe-standing barriers have been fitted. You will get most of the noise from that end. Between the two goals, running the full length of the west touchline, is the Main Stand, sometimes called the West Stand. It is the original 2004 building, a two-tier cantilever holding roughly 4,200, with hospitality, the media area, dressing rooms and the tunnel. That is the stand you see first from the road.
The east side, facing the Main Stand, is still empty. Locals call the gap the Grangemouth Gap. A temporary stand has appeared for the odd big occasion, but on a normal matchday it is open ground, which is why the place can feel unfinished even when the three stands are full. The record crowd here is 7,926, for the Premiership play-off against Dundee United in May 2017.
Getting there is straightforward. Leave the M9 at junction 5 from the east or junction 6 from the west and follow signs for Falkirk; the floodlights show up beside Grangemouth Road, postcode FK2 9DX. The main stadium car park is largely for permit holders. Away coaches usually park in the east section of the North Stand car park, and there is a paid away supporters’ car park off Grangemouth Road. Falkirk Grahamston station is about a mile away, a fairly flat 20-minute walk down the A904, and Grangemouth buses from the town pass the ground. Falkirk High is the wrong station if you are on foot.
Food and drink are limited right on the doorstep. Behind the Goal, at the ground, has been open to both home and away supporters; check on the day, because matchday arrangements change. The Mill Inn on Thornhill Road is a short walk towards town. Otherwise drink in Falkirk beforehand — Behind the Wall and the Carron Works Wetherspoons on Bank Street are the usual recommendations — and allow 20 to 25 minutes to walk out. Tickets for the away end are sold by your own club, not on the gate. Prices in recent seasons have been about £20 for adults in the North Stand, with concessions and free entry for under-12s when they come with a paying adult. Disabled spaces exist in the west, north and south stands; ask your club’s disability officer to book them.
It is not a fierce away day in the old Brockville sense, but it is a proper football ground with a goal at each end, a noisy home end opposite you, and a clear view. Get into the North Stand, face the Kevin McAllister Stand, and you are set.