Falkirk were left wondering quite how they managed to get themselves knocked out the SFA Youth Cup after outplaying Raith Rovers for the bulk of this tie. However, the visitors from Kirkcaldy marched on to the fourth round with a 3-1 victory.
It was Falkirk who had the first real chance of the match when Thomas Grant floated in a delightful free kick from wide on the left which was just out of reach for Lewis Small with the goal at his mercy.
It was Raith however who broke the deadlock when just 3 minutes into the match when Lewis Vaughan released Liam McCroary inside Falkirk full back Liam Rowan and he laid the ball perfectly to Callum Robertson who poked home from a yard out to put the Fifers in the lead.
This prompted Falkirk back into life and they proceeded to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and look for an equaliser. Kris Faulds skimmed the bar and also had a shot fly just over Raith goalkeeper Jordan Roberts' crossbar in quick succession. Falkirk were by this point looing the more composed of the two teams with both full backs being used to great success in attempting to penetrate the Raith defence.
As the first half settled down a little, Craig Sibbald really began to show why he is so highly thought of as a player . His fantastic through bal to Grant left the Falkirk number 10 clean through on Roberts but he only managed to fire his shot straight at the keeper.
Falkirk continued to press Raith and it looked only a matter of time before they drew the game level but they were once again hit by the sucker punch. Lewis Vaughan's free kick couldn't be kept out by Gregor Amos, with the ball bouncing off his chest and into the back of the net.
Less than two minutes later Vaughan lined up a free kick on the opposite side of the Falkirk penalty area. Vaughan curled the ball towards the near post and the attempted punch by Amos could only divert the ball into his own net.
As the first half started to run away from Falkirk, Craig Sibbald saw a wonderful long range effort tipped over the bar after doing really well to lose his marker.