Gretna 2-0 Falkirk

Jan 20 2008 Brian Welsh At Fir Park

CAPTAIN marvel Paul Murray lashed home a memorable first goal for Gretna then insisted their third league win of the season can be a springboard to safety.

Murray sealed a rare victory for Davie Irons' men with a second-half thunderbolt after Kenny Deuchar had headed them in front in 33 minutes.

The defence also played their part against misfiring Falkirk as the bottom club notched their first clean sheet of the campaign and edged to within nine points of Kilmarnock.

Now Murray - who can't wait to see his brilliant strike on television - says Gretna can take heart from the success and go on to perform a Great Escape act.

The man-of-the-match said: "It's a huge win and we believe we can do it now. We're just nine points behind and with the split still to come we'll have a great chance to stay in this league.

"It was my first goal for the club so I'm delighted. I'm not sure where it ranks - I'll have to see it again on TV."

Gretna had clearly taken confidence from their gutsy midweek performance against Rangers and were the better team early on.

Gavin Skelton was in shoot-on-sight mode and tried his luck from distance twice in the opening seven minutes.

His first effort sailed comfortably over before his second was held by the watchful Tim Krul.

The basement boys had an even better chance in 11 minutes when Deuchar's cut-back found strike partner Fabian Yantorno 15 yards out.

However, their top scorer fired over under pressure from Tam Scobbie.

Falkirk first threatened in 15 minutes when Pedro Moutinho's cross from the left was headed wide by Kevin McBride.

That sparked the start of a brief period of pressure from Bairns with Tony Caig diving to tip Graham Barrett's header round the post after the Irishman got on the end of McBride's low centre.

But Gretna stood strong and took the lead just after the half hour - and the goal came from an inevitable source.

Allan Jenkins found Yantorno on the right and his cross was the perfect height for Deuchar to leap and guide the ball into the far corner beyond Krul.

Falkirk should have levelled six minutes from the break when Jack Ross sent Carl Finnigan clear on the right.

But the striker failed to outfox Caig who stayed on his feet and parried Finnigan's close range shot to safety.

Bairns had the ball in the net two minutes after the restart only for McBride to be flagged offside as he tucked away Ross' diagonal ball.

Worse was to come for gaffer John Hughes as Gretna doubled their lead in 50 minutes. Darren Barr's defensive header bounced 30 yards from goal and Murray produced a superb first-time finish low past Krul.

Hughes tried to change things and sent on Stephen Bradley in place of Patrick Cregg but still his side toiled in the final third.

Barrett's 30-yard free-kick midway through the half was easily saved by Caig and was shot-shy Bairns' only meaningful effort in the second half.

All too often their defenders pumped high balls up to Barrett and Finnigan and they were easily dealt with by impressive Gretna central defensive pairing Chris Innes and Aurelien Collin.

The game's one sour point came just six minutes from time when Krul and Yantorno collided after the on-loan Newcastle keeper had raced to the edge of his box to clear.

Play was held up as both players needed treatment and Yantorno left the field on a stretcher.

The stoppage meant there were seven minutes of injury time but Falkirk could have played all night and still wouldn't have scored.

It was a day to forget for them but a real glimmer of hope for Gretna.

MATCH FACTS

4 SHOTS ON 4

5 SHOTS OFF 3

0 OFFSIDE 3

16 FOULS 5

5 CORNERS 5

1 BOOKINGS 0

REF WATCH

CRAWFORD ALLAN had few big decisions to make and relied on assistant Gordon Middleton to rule out Kevin McBride's second-half effort. Showed commonsense by immediately stopping play when Krul and Yantorno were floored late on. Can be pleased with his display. Rating: 7/10.