Falkirk charged back into the Scottish Premiership top six with a narrow win over Aberdeen that doomed the visitors to a fifth game without a win.
John McGlynn’s side leapfrogged their opposition thanks to Filip Lissah’s second-half header, which came after a first 45 minutes in which they absolutely dominated.
Jimmy Thelin had changed Aberdeen’s shape, starting with a back four for the first time since September, but all it resulted in was a fragile defence that were exposed to countless chances.
Falkirk, meanwhile, had only scored one goal in their last six games and it took them a long time to finally make the breakthrough.
They had 11 shots in the first half before Lissah’s 57th-minute header put them in front, as the defender ghosted past statuesque defenders in the Aberdeen box and powered in a header from a corner.
The result means Falkirk have beaten Aberdeen twice this season, and move into sixth place and closer to the 40-point target that McGlynn has set his side.
Aberdeen drop back to eighth with their fourth defeat in their last five games.
The scenes at full-time in the away end showed a fair number of irate Aberdeen fans venting their spleens at players and manager alike. It is not the first time this season that the television cameras have picked up those images.
A change to a back four was welcomed, with Thelin claiming he wanted to get another player forward to create more opportunities.
What happened was that Falkirk poured forward, exposing a frail defence and controlling the ball. By the 24th minute, the hosts had had four shots on target – more than their average per game this season.
Liam Henderson missed a header, Calvin Miller had a free-kick saved, Ethan Williams curled one too close to a busy Dimitar Mitov.
Had it been any other team, a goal would have felt inevitable but Aberdeen were relying on Falkirk’s recent profligacy.
The goal did come, eventually, while Aberdeen toiled to create much of note. They didn’t have a single shot on target throughout the game.
When they tried to play out from the back, the midfield was non-existent. The central pairing of Adil Aouchiche and Stuart Armstrong was short-lived due to an injury to the former, and when Sivert Heltne Nilsen came on, very little improved.
Kenan Bilalovic was given a first start for the club and made just five passes before he was hooked, taking just 15 touches in 45 minutes on the pitch. On the other side, Jesper Karlsson again looked exasperated by the quality around him.
It’s hard to pinpoint a style in this Aberdeen team at times, and even harder to identify any substance. Once again, it feels like this Dons team is at a crossroads.
They flew under the radar as they sorted their form out between October and early November. Maybe that’s because they’ve won just two games by more than one goal in the league this season, and both came against Dundee.
Now, that form has deserted them and Thelin must perform another act of escapology as he finds himself under the microscope.
Falkirk visit St Mirren next Saturday (15:00 GMT), while Aberdeen are in action on Tuesday night against Rangers at Ibrox (20:00), before hosting Danny Rohl’s side on Sunday at Pittodrie (16:30).
