Falkirk were too good for Dundee United

Veteran midfielder Russell Latapy shot the Bairns into an early lead after Carl Finnigan had been denied by a goal-line clearance.

Alan Gow's 50th minute strike doubled the lead, the midfielder running on to a pass from Pedro Moutinho.

Any hopes of a United comeback faded when Lee Wilkie was sent off for collecting two yellow cards.

The win secures seventh place for John Hughes' side and the vagaries of the SPL split means they now have more points than sixth-placed Hibs.

Falkirk were the better side right from the start and went ahead on five minutes when a poor back header from Sean Dillon allowed Finnigan to nip in and lift the ball over goalkeeper Derek Stillie.

David McCracken managed to hook it off the goal-line but straight to Latapy, who found the back of the net.

The home side continued to press and Vitor Lima blazed a drive a little too high from 20 yards, while Wilkie did well to block a Finnigan shot inside the penalty area.

Steven Robb was United's most lively performer and, having cut inside to make some space, sent a fierce effort from outside the box whistling over.

Finnigan had the ball in the net in the 35th minute after Gow had put him through, but an offside flag had already been raised.

This was Gow's final appearance for the Bairns in a Falkirk shirt as he joins Rangers in the summer so his shot from 12 yards was the perfect leaving present.

The home side were well on top and Gow found space in the box to set up Latapy, who unselfishly passed it to Liam Craig.

The United defence went missing as blue shirts queued up - but somehow Stillie was able to palm Craig's effort over.

Stille made another fine save to keep out a Gow free-kick before Wilkie picked up his second yellow card.

Substitute John Stewart hit a post for Falkirk late on and a mazy run into the danger zone by Gow saw him lose possession right at the vital moment as the home side finished as strongly as they had started.

Falkirk: Schmeichel, Ross, Barr, Milne, Scobbie, Thomson (Mcstay 77), Lima, Latapy (John Stewart 79), Craig, Gow, Finnigan (Moutinho 46). Subs Not Used: Lambers, Uras, O'Donnell, Twaddle.

Booked: Milne.

Goals: Latapy 5, Gow 51.

Dundee Utd: Stillie, Kalvenes, Wilkie, Dillon, McCracken, Conway (Easton 60), Kerr, Cameron, Robb (Russell 80), Robertson (Duff 69), Samuel. Subs Not Used: McLean, Mair, Andreoni, Goodwillie.

Sent Off: Wilkie (72).

Booked: Wilkie, Kerr.

Att: 4,161

Ref: C Boyle