Falkirk To Travel To The KINGdom Following Queen`s Passing

Last weekend`s SPFL Cinch League One matches, in conjunction with the rest of the UK`s professional football matches, was postponed following the passing of Great Britain`s longest reigning Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – Her Majesty passed away on Thursday 8th of September, with the confirmation of matches being stopped on Friday the 9th of September.

The Pars were set to travel to Hamilton to face Danny Lennon`s Clyde, while the Bairns were set to face Alloa Athletic in Grangemouth.

James McPake`s side were raring to go, having went top of the league the previous Saturday with a 2-0 away win over Queen of the South – coinciding with a loss for Airdrieonians: 6-0 at home to FC Edinburgh. John McGlynn`s men, on the other hand, found out that it won`t just be Dunfermline Athletic who find it tough travelling to New Central Park this season, as Falkirk lost 2-0 to Kelty Hearts.

Athletic`s arch rivals from across the Kincardine Bridge have plenty familiar faces within their ranks for travelling to KDM Group East End Park this weekend; mainly, these known-faces are ex-Pars, with a plethora of former Dunfermline defenders within the Falkirk squad.

Ryan Williamson joined the Bairns last season following his release by Partick Thistle while Brad McKay is also in his second season with Falkirk after his departure from Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The two most recent former Black & White centre-backs to have joined McGlynn`s men are Paul Watson, who signed on at The Falkirk Stadium for a second spell after his unsavoury exit under the tenure of Peter Grant, while former loanee Coll Donaldson also makes up a part of Falkirk`s squad.

As you go into the midfield, known-faces from a Scottish football perspective appear, with the experienced Stephen McGinn and Aidan Nesbitt appearing regularly under McGlynn, while Craig McGuffie and Gary Oliver also provide attacking threats for the Bairns this Saturday, as they make the short 18-mile journey to West Fife.

McPake`s side, on the other hand, have had a consistent look to their starting eleven throughout the campaign, with very few changes being made from match-to-match – in some part down to a lack of options to change players, but also because of the high level of performance being produced on a weekly basis: when a change has been made – for example Nikolay Todorov in from the start, in place of Lewis McCann – it has not disrupted the rhythm of DAFC.

In fact, Todorov has freshened up the attack for the Pars, providing a different style of play to McCann, but it is a style of play which has proven effective in recent weeks as the big Bulgarian grabbed another goal; the opener against the Doonhamers in Dunfermline`s last match was a typical `target man` goal with the ball floated into the back-post for Todorov to nod it home, but sometimes simplicity is best.

Last Saturday`s postponement may have given extra time for Craigh Wighton and Paul Allan to return from injury to boost the number of players available to McPake and different options to combat how the Bairns are expected to play.

It is the first Derby of the season between Dunfermline Athletic and Falkirk, McGlynn`s men know early on it`d be a small disaster to let the Pars get a further 3 points ahead of them as they travel to the Kingdom of Fife for their second consecutive away league game.

COYP!!!!

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