Scottish Championship: The Race for Promotion to the Premiership
Kai Watson 
The race for promotion to the Scottish Premiership is hotting up, with plenty up in the air as we enter the final weeks of the season with two teams still battling it out.
Falkirk have been heavy favourites with UK betting sites and most deemed it a foregone conclusion, but a recent stutter and some fine form from Livingstone in second has left The Bairns looking nervously over their shoulders.
Our Scottish football expert, Kai Watson, has had a closer look at the state of play in the Scottish second tier.
Is the race for the Scottish Championship title actually over? Falkirk were six points clear with only three games remaining before the last set of fixtures.
Livingston played Ayr at the Home of the Set Fare Arena on Friday night knowing that they had to win or Falkirk could have sealed the title on the following day. They really took the game to their opponents and were 3-0 up at half time against Scott Brown’s side. The game eventually finished 5-0 and really put the pressure back on to Falkirk who faced Raith Rovers at the Falkirk Stadium the following afternoon.
Calvin Miller put Falkirk 1-0 up on the 17th minute and their fans probably expected them to go on to a routine win and pretty much seal the title considering the disparity in the goal difference. However, Sean Mackie was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in a four-minute period on the 62nd minute.
Falkirk did still look relatively comfortable and decent enough value for their win until the 88th minute when Aiden Marsh equalised. The game then seemed set to finish as a draw until former Hibs captain Paul Hanlon scored on the 92nd minute and then Dylan Easton was fouled inside the box before stepping up to convert the penalty himself.
Much to everyone’s shocked Raith Rovers, who were 1-0 down on the 87th minute, walked away 3-1 victors and that helped them keep pressure on 4th place Partick in the promotion play-off hunt.
That result means that Falkirk are only three points clear of Livingston with two games remaining in the Scottish Championship season, they are however, 12 goals better off than Davie Martindale’s side.
The goal difference could be the title decider come the end of this season, Livingston have the best defensive record in the league, only conceding 26 goals. Falkirk have scored more than anyone else though, by a distance, they’ve scored 68 and the next highest is Ayr with 54.
The title is in Falkirk’s hands but that far superior goal difference gives them a bit of wiggle room and that’s with there being a seven-goal swing on the previous matchday. One of the most interesting things about the end of this title race is that both clubs have the same fixtures in their remaining two games.
Both clubs play Partick Thistle and Hamilton in their last games of the season, the former are fighting to keep hold of that last play-off spot and make sure they’re not overtaken by Raith Rovers. The latter are appealing their points deduction but, as it stands, they have already been relegated to League One.
A big factor could also be where the games are played, Falkirk have Partick Thistle away this upcoming Friday evening whereas Livingston play them at home the following Friday evening.
As it stands, Hamilton have nothing to play for but they could still potentially cause Livingston problems at New Douglas Park.
Falkirk have only one two out of their last five so are having a blip at the worst possible time, whereas Livingston have won four of their last five and will be reeling about their recent loss to Dunfermline considering Falkirk’s drop in form.
As previously mentioned, Falkirk are up first on Friday night at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill so it will be really interesting to see how they deal with the pressure that Livingston are currently piling on them.
Do you think Falkirk can see it out, will they be the champions?
There's plenty going on north and south of the border, and plenty of relegation and promotion fates to be decided in the coming weeks.
We've seen what Kai has to say on the Scottish Championship, so keep an eye on our Football League expert Gab Sutton for his EFL tips as we enter the final stages of another dramatic season.
