Falkirk 1-1 Hibernian: Managers disagree over McGinn incident

Falkirk manager Peter Houston warned Hibernian's John McGinn he could earn a reputation for "going down too easily" in search of penalties.

McGinn went down in the box by Luke Leahy as the teams drew 1-1, but referee John Beaton was unmoved.

"John's got to be careful he doesn't become a player in the headlines all the time for going down," Houston told BBC Scotland.

However, Hibs head coach Alan Stubbs insisted: "It was a penalty."

A disputed penalty following a challenge on McGinn helped Hibs win their previous visit to Falkirk and Houston said: "John is a fantastic young football player, but he shouldn't be going down easily and I think that's what he did."

The Bairns boss stated his pride at keeping pace with the Championship title race.

Falkirk remain above the Easter Road side on goal difference, and are five points behind Scottish Championship leaders Rangers, having played a game more than both clubs.

"At the start of the season we were hoping to get into the play-offs, we were going to work hard," Houston said.

McGinn went down under Leahy's challenge before rising to regain possession

"We've been beaten once here by Hibernian when John went down easily and won a penalty kick.

"To be still competing with a club of their resources - they're bringing Anthony Stokes in, they brought Chris Dagnall in last week, they've got strikers aplenty - I'm proud of the players for the budget we work on that we're still there."

Hibernian counterpart Alan Stubbs, meanwhile, disagreed vehemently with Houston's assessment of the McGinn incident and his star midfielder.

Stubbs had spoken with referee Beaton after the game.

"[It was a] 100% penalty," he said. "I respect John Beaton for giving me his version of events, it was a very amicable chat, but no matter what, it was a penalty.

"I can't see anyone who can think it wasn't a penalty, apart from the referee and Peter Houston.

"John's got to be very careful, because he's getting a reputation for being too honest.

"As soon as he gets touched [by Leahy], instead of rolling around like other players can do, John's reaction was to try and get up.

"Because John tries to get up, does that mean it's not a penalty when there's been contact? I find that a bit difficult to understand."