Falkirk maintained their unbeaten start in League One after a comfortable win over East Fife as Storm Aidan lashed the Falkirk Stadium.
The Bairns were impressive throughout and never looked like losing to an East Fife side who struggled to offer anything of note to the game.
It was the hosts who adapted to the fierce wind quickest, carving out a couple of early chances through Anton Dowds and Blair Alston without managing to get either on target.
The Bairns really should have been 1-0 up after eight minutes after some excellent work by Akeel Francis to win the ball back in a dangerous area but his delightful cross had no takers and was cleared for a corner.
Dowds was next to go close, the former East Fife star firing low into the bottom corner but Long was able to get an outstretched arm to it and push it clear of goal.
The worsening conditions hampered the game as any sort of spectacle with both sides doing their best to combat the swirling wind and rain.
With six minutes until the break, Falkirk’s dominance of the game eventually paid dividends when Robbie Leith got on the end of Morrison’s cross and blasted the ball home from close range.
Both managers will no doubt have spent the break trying to figure out how to get on top of the conditions and use them to their advantage after the restart.
Just minutes after the restart it was 2-0 as the Bairns used the wind to their favour from a set-piece through Akeel Francis.
YESSSSSS!!!! pic.twitter.com/MvouYnRpsa
— Falkirk FC (@FalkirkFC) October 31, 2020
Alston’s corner hung in the air before being headed back across goal for Franis to nod home and double the Bairns lead and really put them in the driving seat.
With East Fife looking short of confidence before a ball was even kicked, Francis’ header left the Fifers looking to minimise the damage and keep the scoreline reasonable with the weather getting worse.
Falkirk kept flooding forward looking for a third and Dowds had a good opportunity to put the game to bed but fired high into the stand behind Long’s goal.
Both sides largely seemed content to see the game out after that and draw a line under a wet and wild afternoon at the Falkirk Stadium.