A GOOD old-fashioned cup tie with much blood and thunder, some occasional skill, and plenty of controversy ended with Falkirk grimly hanging on for a single goal victory over ten-man Inverness.
The home side played the final hour without Lionel Djebi-Zadi after the Frenchman conceded the penalty which put Falkirk into the semi-finals. Curiously, Inverness improved as the match went on and were denied a replay mostly by Dani Mallo in the Falkirk goal.
A delighted Falkirk manager John Hughes said: "For the first time in the club's history we've made two semi- finals in the one season. Once again we're rewriting the history books."
Missing the suspended Scott Arfield and Michael Higdon and with veterans Jackie McNamara and Neil McCann out injured, Hughes still sent out an attacking side. Basking in the glow from the midweek defeat of Rangers, Inverness stuck to a 4-4-2 formation.
Falkirk showed their attacking intent from the off, and Steve Lovell should have put the visitors ahead after two minutes when he was clean through with only Ryan Esson to beat. The goalkeeper blocked his effort and it was to be some time before he was troubled again.
Inverness began to come slowly into the game and Ian Black's snapshot from 20 yards brought out a superb save from Mallo after 15 minutes, while the goalkeeper did well to clutch a stray deflection off a Dougie Imrie cross. Falkirk were under the cosh at this point, and Mallo preserved parity with a magnificent one handed save after Ross Tokely headed the keeper's own clearance back over his head.
Djebi-Zadi suffered his first rush of blood to the head when Carl Finnigan fouled him with a kick low down, belting after the Falkirk midfielder with injurious intent clearly in mind. Referee Steve Conroy calmed the Frenchman down, but had no option other than to send him off five minutes later on the half-hour mark. Esson looked to be covering Finnigan's break deep into the penalty area but Djebi-Zadi decided to make sure and hauled back his erstwhile target. Finnigan himself did the needful from the penalty spot for his first goal of the season. "I was in behind him and the referee saw it as last man, so it was the right decison," said Finnigan.
"Lionel got that (low] kick earlier and I was tempted to give him one later on in the dressing room," quipped Butcher.
Butcher soon reorganised his team, sacrificing forward Eric Odhiambo for Richard Hastings.
Inverness upped their game and Steven Pressley was forced to haul down Dougie Imrie, earning a booking which will rule him out of the semi-final. Had Patrick Cregg done better with the chance provided for him in the first minute of the second half by the useful Mark Stewart, blasting over instead of picking his spot, Falkirk might have coasted home, but Inverness threw themselves forward. Russell Duncan shot narrowly over from the edge of the box after 50 minutes, and the same player was involved five minutes later in a clash with Darren Barr, going down as if punched by the Falkirk captain, who clearly thought Duncan was pitching for an Oscar. A real brouhaha ensued with players squaring up to each other, and Mallo ran from his goal to halfway to join in. That rashness earned him a booking, along with Duncan and Barr.
As Inverness continued to press, Butcher sent on Brian Kerr for Black, which almost did the trick.
In 77 minutes, a long Grant Munro throw-in eventually made its way to Kerr and his fierce shot looked goalbound until Barr inserted his head bravely into its path. Seconds later, Kerr's glancing header was again cleared by the Falkirk defence.
Deep in injury time, Mallo came to the rescue again, throwing himself full-length to block Foran's touch from a Tokely header. "We got that one real chance and the keeper made a great save," said Butcher. "But credit to Falkirk and I wish them well in the semi-final."
A rousing cup tie, then, and no neutral would have grudged Inverness a draw for their efforts with ten men, but Falkirk hung on and made it to their second semi-final of a topsy-turvy season. In a fortnight they play Inverness in the league at home. Managers and players alike conceded yesterday they would have settled for three points rather than a place in the semi-final.
MAN OF THE MATCHNumerous contenders, but despite his yellow card, Dani Mallo's saves kept his team in the cup.
QUICK FACTBlack Watch soldiers were guests of Inverness, shortly before they depart for Afghanistan. Their pipers received a standing ovation from the whole crowd.
TALKING POINTHaving stopped a scoring opportunity, Lionel Djebi-Zadi had to walk. But this law, applied with maddening inconsistency, is far too harsh.
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Watch a slideshow of pictures from yesterday's Scottish Cup matches