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The fierce rivals came together with very different ambitions, Falkirk leading Scotland's second tier and looking for a return to the Scottish Premiership, while the Pars are fighting for survival at the other end of the table, sitting ninth on the 10-team standings.

After a scrappy but robust derby opening, it was Falkirk that went ahead, Callum Morrison lashing home a fine finish into the top corner to send the travelling Bairns fans into rapturee.

But just a minute later, some sloppy defending gifted the hosts a penalty, and Chris Kane dispatched it without fuss to level matters.

The teams stayed all square at the break, but Adam Nesbitt got Falkirk back in front less than 10 minutes after the restart, stroking the ball home after receiving a pass from a quickly taken free-kick.

However, another penalty, this time for handball, gave Athletic a second chance to equalise from the spot and Matthew Todd took it gladly.

Falkirk bundled home what it must have thought was the winner in the 87th minute through Liam Henderson, who got the final touch in a chaotic goalmouth scramble from a corner.

But a similar set-piece at the other end on 91 minutes saw Pars captain Kyle Benedictus rise at the back post to power home a header to earn his side a point, which was arguably the fairest result after a magnificent game in which both sides played their part.