Phillips double seals St Mirren victory as VAR controversy overshadows Falkirk fightback
Phillips double secures St Mirren victory; Falkirk furious as VAR rules out second-half equaliser for handball
Killian Phillips scored twice to give St Mirren a winning start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, but the visitors’ 2-0 victory at Falkirk was overshadowed by a contentious VAR decision that denied the hosts an equaliser.
A first-half finish at the near post put the Paisley side in control, though Falkirk appeared to have drawn level early in the second half when Ben Parkinson netted with his first touch of the ball. Video assistant referee Don Robertson then summoned referee Duncan Nicolson to the pitchside monitor to examine whether Deniss Melniks had handled before nodding the ball to Parkinson in the area. After a protracted review, the goal was disallowed - a ruling that sparked considerable debate.
Had the strike stood, it would have arrived against the run of play. St Mirren had already squandered two gilt-edged chances to extend their advantage after the opener and looked poised for a comfortable three points. Phillips should have bagged his second in the first half as St Mirren surged down the right, working the ball all the way to the penalty spot where the Irish forward waited, only to be thwarted by Falkirk keeper Scott Bain. Eseosa Sule also failed to capitalise on a sloppy back pass, unable to finish when one-on-one.
Late in the game, Roland Idowu broke clear and cut the ball back to Phillips, whose deflected effort rolled past Bain to seal the points.
Next up for St Mirren they play host to St Johnstone next Saturday, while Falkirk travel to Motherwell on Sunday.
Speaking after the game St.Mirren manager Craig McLeish was delighted with his team’s performance and securing all three points. He said: “This is a really hard place to come and we showed quality on the ball at times, we counter-attacked well, which was part of our game plan, and we dug in and fought when we had to.
“We could have had one or two more goals if the final action had been a bit better, but I’m absolutely delighted with the group. The boys coming off the bench gave us real energy.”
Falkirk manager John McGlynn added: “I thought we dominated the second half, we get a goal. It’s denied on a handball which I’ve not seen. We’re huffing and puffing and then from our corner kick, we lose a goal. It’s crazy. We’ve been punished for not doing an awful lot wrong.
“Have we done enough to really say that we deserve to win that game? Probably not. We’ve not created enough, we need a little bit more quality. But early days, there’s always going to be a quick turnaround. But we have to pick up points quickly.”