Falkirk turned in a dominant performance against a lacklustre Raith Rovers to move eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship.

Alfredo Agyeman’s poked double and a Keelan Adams’ header made it five wins from their last six in what John McGlynn described as a ‘professional job’ from his side.

The home side were not short on chances either, Calvin Miller and Ross MacIver unable to add to the goals.

Raith struggled under the intensity of the press, guilty of losing possession in the final third as Jack Hamilton struggled to get the better of his opposing defenders.

Injuries did not help either as captain Scott Brown and Fankaty Dalbo went off before half-time with Falkirk losing Gary Oliver just fifteen minutes in.

Intensity from the off was the name of the game for the hosts as they continued to cause Raith no end of trouble down the left hand side, Ethan Ross and Sean Mackie repeatedly combining to create chances.

Whilst they failed to add another in the first-half, they looked comfortable in possession and far more likely to add a second than to concede.

Alfredo Agyeman, coming off the back of a Man of the Match performance against East Kilbride, made sure they did just that.

The winger was electric as part of an attacking front line that interchanged with ease to drag the Rovers’ defenders out of position.

After Adams had put the game to bed, Raith struggled to create any meaningful opportunities despite the efforts of substitute Korede Adedoyin.

Now sat in eighth, they will look to bounce back in the upcoming derby against Dunfermline.

Falkirk rotations deliver

Like the T-1000, John McGlynn’s side seem to be able to take a variety of forms in attack.

Agyeman is just one example of the way players are able to slot in and out of ‘an exciting team’ whilst maintaining their league leading standards.

Ethan Ross and Calvin Miller were not able to grab goals themselves but they tired the Raith Rovers defence out to no end.

The manager was equally pleased by the way the side performed despite losing Oliver so early on, with Ross MacIver putting in a strong showing on the night.

It is far too early to tell who will top the table come the end of the season but off the back of tonight’s performance, Falkirk could certainly mix it with plenty of Premiership sides.

Rovers fail to find spark

A repeat of their victory over Falkirk in September was always going to be a tough ask for the visitors but they will come away thinking they could have had a better crack at it.

Left in possession in their own half, Raith were unable to match the creativity of their opponents, Jack Hamilton comfortably dealt with my the defence.
More worrying yet was the failure to take advantage of their set-pieces, a much needed outlet for goals when coming up against dominant sides.

Losing two players early certainly didn’t help but by that point they had already gone a goal down and looking less threatening by the minute.

Whilst they are teetering above the relegation play-off place, they are also level on points with three other sides and a win next week could see them shoot up to sixth.

Attendance: 6,248

Line-Ups:

Falkirk: N. Hogarth, S. Mackie, L. Henderson, L. Graham, K. Adams, A. Nesbitt (M.McKenna 81′), B. Spencer, E. Ross (C. Morrison 73′), C. Miller (F. Yeats 73′), A. Agyeman, G. Oliver (R. MacIver 15′)

Substitutes: C. Donaldson, O. Hayward, R. MacIver, F. McCafferty, L. McCann, M. McKenna, C. Morrison, F. Yeats

Raith Rovers: M. Dabrowski, L. Dick, E. Murray, P. Hanlon, S. Dabo (L. Stevenson 28′), R. Matthews, S. Brown (K. Montagu 24′), L. Gibson (J. Mullin 46′), S. Stanton (L. Jamieson ’67), D. Easton, J. Hamilton (K. David 67′)

Substitutes: S. Byrne, K. David, C. Fordyce, L. Jamieson, A. McNeil, K. Montagu, J. Mullin, F. Pollock, L. Stevenson

Referee: Graham Grainger