Pressley sees bigger picture

Steven Pressley hopes Falkirk's Scottish Cup progression helps him retain the services of his young squad.

Last Updated: 03/03/13 at 13:26 Post Comment    Bet with SkyBet  Scottish Cup. Click here to bet.

Falkirk celebrate at New Douglas Park

Falkirk celebrate at New Douglas Park

Steven Pressley hopes Falkirk's progression to the semi-final of the William Hill Scottish Cup can help him retain the services of his young squad.

The Bairns clinched their place in the last four with a 2-1 victory over Hamilton at New Douglas Park - achieving their second major cup semi-final in two seasons.

Following last season's 3-1 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final, Falkirk saw Murray Wallace and Kallum Higginbotham depart the club and Pressley is looking to avoid a repeat of that this time round.

He explained: "I lost two players straight after last year's Hampden appearance and the one thing about this semi-final is I hope that we have breathing space so we don't have to lose players.

"It is one thing developing them but you want to be able to keep them to build a team. Playing at Hampden is a great chance for the players to showcase their talents on a big stage."

Pressley also praised the efforts of his side in holding on to their lead after Andy Ryan struck to reduce the deficit.

The Falkirk boss added: "I thought it was a wonderful game, great credit has to go to Hamilton because at times they put us under enormous pressure, but I thought we stood strong and we worked to a game plan.

"We tried to bring them on to us a bit more and utilise our speed on the counter-attack and I thought it worked to good effect. I thought we showed great resilience over the last 10 minutes."

Hamilton striker Ryan admitted he apologised to his team-mates after spurning a wonderful opportunity to get Accies back on terms.

Ryan somehow scooped the ball over the bar with the goal gaping just minutes after scoring to get his side back in the match.

"I completely misjudged it," said Ryan. "It was put on a plate for me and I have to score.

"I said I was sorry to the guys at full-time but they said I wasn't the only one to miss a chance.

"I don't think it will be hard to pick ourselves up from this disappointment, we have a great bunch of boys here with great character and spirit."


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