Bairns Battle Raith in Six-Goal Thriller
Newly promoted Falkirk produced an impressive goalscoring display to overcome Raith Rovers in a feisty six-goal friendly. The Stirlingshire side defeated the Kirkcaldy visitors 4-2 at the Falkirk Community Stadium to continue their pre-season preparations for their first Premiership season in fifteen years. Yet, the visitors struck first through Lewis Vaughn, who stretched out a boot to poke the ball beyond Scott Bain. The Rovers were physically imposing throughout the match, and the match’s physical tone was set early on when Paul McMullan clattered into Liam Henderson, leaving the Falkirk defender needing treatment. Despite the bruising challenges, John McGlynn’s side stuck to their attractive, play-from-the-back approach that served them well in their title-winning Scottish Championship campaign. However, Raith’s aggressive pressing caused new goalkeeper Bain several nervy moments—none more so than when a wayward pass deflected back to him, forcing a mazy dribble inside his box to escape pressure, much to the crowd’s delight. However, the loudest cheer of the half came when Bain decided to go long. Tempers flared just before the break when Brad Spencer and Dylan Easton squared up, with Spencer entering the referee’s book. Falkirk levelled the score minutes before halftime. Ethan Ross capitalised on poor defending, muscling past a Raith player before slotting calmly past Raith keeper Joshua Rae, who was caught in no man’s land. Falkirk turned the game on its head early in the second half. New signing Brian Graham latched onto a precise Dylan Tait through ball and confidently found the bottom corner to put the Bairns ahead. Raith hit back ten minutes later. Calvin Miller fouled Dylan Easton just outside the box, and Easton’s pinpoint delivery from the free kick was met by Jordan Doherty, whose header easily went past a wayward Bain. Falkirk weren’t to be denied, though. Captain Brad Spencer restored the lead with a lovely curling effort from inside the area. Minutes later, substitutes Alfredo Agyeman and Ross MacIver combined brilliantly—Agyeman’s driving run and low cross found MacIver unmarked to tap in Falkirk’s fourth and seal the result. There was even time for an unusual moment of refereeing intervention. With Rae holding onto the ball too long, referee Ross Hardie awarded Falkirk a corner—a rare decision that drew bemused laughs from the crowd. Could this signal stricter timekeeping enforcement in the season ahead? Falkirk now turn their attention to a trip to Premiership side St Johnstone on Tuesday, while Raith begin their competitive season with a League Cup group stage tie away to Elgin City next weekend. Managers: John McGlynn: “I thought the overall performance was very, very good actually. I thought everyone had played their part. I think it was a really, really good team performance. Four different goalscorers. We look a threat, going forward, we look a threat. We look like we’re going to score goals. The downside is that we out of not an awful lot, we know we conceded two goals so that would be the thing that we’re still looking at to get better at. But having said that, I still thought there were some really good defensive performances. I thought Connor Allan, in particular, was really good.” Barry Robson: “I thought it was a lot of good stuff in it from both sides. There was also a lot of stuff, and we looked a bit tired. I think when you see the last 20 to 30 minutes. I knew today in the game that we would be tired coming to the end with all the miles we’ve put in our legs. It’s our third game in about seven days. I knew that would come, and you’ve seen that. The most pleasing factor is we’ve come through injury-free and that was another big thing because we’ve also got a few niggles at the moment. But yeah, tactically, we were good at times.” Starting XIs: Falkirk: S. Bain, K. Adams, L. Henderson, B. Graham, B. Spencer, A. Nesbitt, C. Allan, D. Tait, E. Ross, S. Mackie, C. Miller. Substitutes: N. Hogarth, O. Hayward, L. McCann, T. Lang, R. MacIver, A. Agyeman, G. Oliver, F. McCafferty, C. McCrone Raith Rovers: J. Rae, J.T. Rowe, P. Hanlon, C. Fordyce, R. Matthews, L. Vaughan, J. Mullin, P. McMullan, S. Brown, J. Doherty, D. Easton. Substitutes: A. Glavin, R. Li Hua Chin, J. Hamilton, Trialist, S. Byrne, K. Montagu, C. Hannah, Trialist. Referee: Ross Hardie | Assistants: David Roome, Dougie Potter Attendance: 1,204
Rangers complete the signing of Thelo Aasgaard from Luton Town
Russell Martin has made his fourth summer signing as Thelo Aasgaard joins Rangers from Luton Town on a four-year deal for a fee of £3.5 million. The midfielder came through the ranks at Liverpool before making the switch to Wigan Athletic in 2020 where he made 163 appearances scoring 30 goals with 11 assists in five years. The 23-year-old earned his first cap for Norway earlier this year in a 5-0 victory over Moldova and managed to find the back of the net on his debut. Speaking to the official Rangers club website, the Liverpool-born player believed that he would play under the new Rangers boss one day: “I am delighted to be here. I have been waiting for it, but I am glad to get it over the line. “When I heard about Rangers I was over the moon. I have played against the manager’s teams a few times and I always pictured myself in his team and to be here now is really good. “It was an easy decision, I love the number of games here, it is like the EFL and I love playing. The stature and history is enough as well.” Martin so far has signed Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell, Emmanuel Fernandez and now Aasgaard, with more expected to follow into the door at Ibrox.