Peterhead manager Jim McInally had no qualms about the final result as his side went down 2-1 at Falkirk however he remains disappointed that his side were not allowed to put pressure on the home side after two strong penalty claims were ignored.

The Bairns, who benefitted early when a Leon McCann challenge went unpunished, led at the break through Craig McGuffie’s goal and when that was added to early in the second half by Paul Dixon a long afternoon could have been in store.

Despite this the Blue Toon rallied and after a handball in the home box went unpunished Jordon Brown pulled a goal back deep into injury time however it was too little and too late.

The Balmoor outfit continued with Brett Long in goal and Andrew McCarthy at right back with Jason Brown returning at centre back and Josh Mulligan moving into midfield to replace Lyall Cameron who dropped to the bench.

It looked like McInally’s side would get an early chance to take the lead when Mulligan arrived unannounced in the home box and was felled by Callumn Morrison however referee Matthew MacDermid delighted the noisy home support behind the goal when he waved on.

The Peterhead players were incensed by the decision however their mood lifted when Long produced a fine save from Morrison with Aidan Keena not able to get onto the loose ball.

Paul Sheerin’s side opened the scoring on 14 minutes when Morrison crossed and McGuffie rose to head home. Falkirk looked to quickly add to their lead with Morrison again forcing Long into a fine stop and Keena sending a good chance wide.

Former Hearts striker Keena sent another chance wide before the break however nine minutes into the second half it was all smiles for Falkirk as Paul Dixon netted via the crossbar after Aidan Nesbitt’s shot had been deflected.

It looked like Falkirk would now cruise to victory however the visitors started to believe they could get something and Russell McLean looked set to net as he bore down on goal however Ben Hall popped up to end the danger with a timely tackle.

Long denied Falkirk’s new recruit Samuel Ompreon a debut goal before referee MacDermid surprised everyone again by missing a handball in the home box however Jason Brown ensured that the Blue Toon got some consolation when he took advantage of slackness in the home defence to pull a goal back in injury time.

Jim said: “If you look at the 90 minutes you would have to say that Falkirk deserved to win. However we should have, in my opinion, had a penalty in the first couple of minutes. That would have allowed us to have Falkirk worried and have their fans getting on their backs so it was disappointing not to get that chance.”

“It was the same with 15 minutes left. Our goal was too late but if we got the penalty on 75 minutes we would have created a nervous atmosphere. The players deserve credit for sticking at things however I am irked by a couple of things.”

Peterhead – Long, McCarthy, Jordon Brown, McDonald, Conroy, Mulligan (Strachan 66), Ferry (Cameron 52), Scott Brown, Payne (Jordon Brown 85), McLean, Ritchie

Unused substitutes – Kesson, Lyle, Wilson (G/k)