Dundee kid Luke Graham earned a rave review from Falkirk boss John McGlynn despite his Bairns debut ending in defeat at Raith Rovers.
The 20-year-old moved to the Championship high flyers earlier this month to play first-team football.
Graham made his Premiership debut in the opening match of the season, helping the Dark Blues to a 2-2 draw in the derby at Dundee United.
But found himself on the bench since and, with the return to fitness of Clark Robertson, went out on loan to Falkirk to continue his development.
His Bairns debut was a tester as well, coming in to a highly-charged clash at Raith Rovers in the Championship.
Rovers won 1-0 thanks to an early penalty with Falkirk’s incredible 43-game unbeaten league run coming to an end.
‘He was excellent’
Despite that disappointment, Bairns boss McGlynn was full of praise for Dundee’s highly-rated young centre-back Graham.
“Luke was very good, I thought he was excellent,” the Falkirk manager said.
“Coll [Donaldson] has been coming into training late on in the week for a few weeks now and it was always going to tell.
“He trained on Friday for the first time in the week but he just wasn’t going to be right for Saturday.
“I am delighted with big Luke but I am not surprised.
“He’s played in a Dundee derby already this year and if Tony Docherty felt that much about him that he could put him into that game then that tells you it all.
“I was really pleased with his performance.”
Next up for Falkirk is a top-of-the-table clash with Ayr United this Saturday with the Honest Men leading the way by three points at the Championship summit.
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