It was more in mischievous jest than genuine expectation last November when Neil Lennon floated the idea that Falkirk might allow him to field loanee Barney Stewart in Dunfermline’s Scottish Cup campaign.
The striker had just scored four goals in the first four starting appearances of his spell at East End Park and Lennon already knew he was dealing with a special talent rich in potential.
Unfortunately for the Dunfermline manager, his Falkirk counterpart John McGlynn had long since reached the same conclusion and was never going to allow Stewart to become cup-tied.
McGlynn’s belief in a player he plucked from the obscurity of seventh-tier football at Heriot-Watt University has been vindicated to such an extent that Stewart is now arguably the most effective front man in the Premiership and is even being touted for a place in Scotland’s World Cup squad.
The 22-year-old’s run of six goals in his last five outings for the Bairns has helped seal their outstanding top six status in their first top flight season in 16 years.
Striker Barney Stewart has scored six goals in his last five games for Falkirk
Barney Stewart heads home in Falkirk’s 5-1 win over Kilmarnock back in February
Stewart is likely to be a key figure as they bid to finish it in style by qualifying for Europe for only the second time in their history, either through their final league position or by winning the Scottish Cup.
Fate has determined that Falkirk will face their fiercest rivals Dunfermline in next Saturday’s semi-final at Hampden, pitting Stewart against a manager and group of players who significantly helped accelerate his development when he was in Fife.
It was a crucial step on what has been a highly unorthodox football journey. Born in London to Scottish parents, Stewart showed natural sporting aptitude from a young age but it was first noticed in tennis, where he was a highly ranked youth player in Middlesex, and Gaelic football to which he was introduced by an Irish school friend.
Stewart also played rugby for Ealing Trailfinders, yet football was his first love as he grew up as a passionate Chelsea fan and always harboured notions of playing professionally one day.
Falkirk boss John McGlynn signed Stewart from Heriot-Watt University
From age 14 to 16, he trained with Queen’s Park Rangers, but it wasn’t until he turned his attention to his academic future that his unusual pathway in the sport began to emerge.
The middle of three siblings, Stewart’s elder brother Logan was a maths student at Oxford University, while the younger Toby is currently taking law at Cambridge.
Stewart’s sporting passion, however, lured him back to dad Peter and mum Paula’s home city of Edinburgh where he decided a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport and Exercise at Heriot-Watt was the one for him.
His cousin was already at the University and was assistant manager of the football squad who compete in both the East of Scotland League and the British Universities and Colleges Sport league.
Stewart played in a friendly match against Penicuik and did enough to convince Heriot-Watt’s head coach Banji Koya he could be a mainstay of his side. Koya already had a track record of helping university footballers progress into the senior ranks.
Anton Dowds, currently with Ayr United, credited Koya for earning him a move from Heriot-Watt to East Fife in 2018, while the university’s football scholarship programme also has a formal tie-up with Montrose who have signed several of their players.
After a first year at Heriot-Watt when Stewart admitted his enjoyment of student life away from the football pitch prevented him from knuckling down on it as much as Koya wanted, he started to flourish.
As his 6ft 2ins frame filled out, the goals flowed and senior clubs began sniffing around when Stewart became the first player since Dowds to score over 40 goals in a season for Heriot-Watt. In October 2024, Falkirk took the plunge and handed Stewart a full-time contract while initially loaning him back to Heriot-Watt.
‘Barney is a player we have been keeping our eye on for a wee while,’ said Falkirk boss McGlynn at the time. ‘There’s a lot of raw material there and he’s definitely one for the future’.
It remained unclear, certainly in Stewart’s mind, whether that potential would be realised and how quickly he could progress. He has since admitted to something of a crisis of confidence during his early months of training with a Falkirk squad who were pushing for the Championship title, even describing himself as ‘a headless chicken’.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘Uni boy’ by his new team-mates, he made his Falkirk debut as a late substitute in a goalless draw at home to Queen’s Park in January 2025.
Stewart’s first senior goal came in a 3-0 win at Airdrie two months later but while he made 17 appearances in total as Falkirk made it back to back promotions, only four of them were in the starting line-up.
Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon praised Stewart’s predatory instincts
Determined to be ready for the challenge of Premiership football, Stewart undertook extra training sessions with Falkirk assistant manager Paul Smith in the summer of 2025. Studies of a different kind also saw him devour YouTube videos of his striking idols such as Diego Costa and Fernando Torres as he tried to take on as much information as possible.
His hopes of hitting the ground running this season were dealt a major blow, however, when he suffered a stress fracture foot injury which required surgery in August. On his return to fitness, it was decided a loan spell in the Championship would best serve his development.
Stewart was completely oblivious of the historical enmity between Falkirk and Dunfermline supporters but his temporary switch across the Kincardine Bridge divide proved fruitful for all concerned.
He quickly endeared himself to Pars fans who had reservations about having a Bairn in their midst. Stewart scored eight goals in his 12 appearances for Dunfermline, his first in a Fife derby win at home to Raith Rovers in October and his last against the same opponents at Stark’s Park on December 27.
‘He is a great penalty box player,’ observed Dunfermline manager Lennon. ‘He is one of the best in the league when it comes to that. He scores from all types of finishes too.’
It was a period which also saw Stewart called up to the Scotland under-21 squad for the first time and he was quick to pay tribute to Lennon’s influence.
Stewart was a prolific scorer on loan at Dunfermline in the first half of the season
‘Dunfermline took a risk taking me just off the back of my injury and the fact I hadn’t really proven myself in the Championship yet,’ he said. ‘I really appreciated Neil Lennon putting faith in me. He is similar to John McGlynn in the sense that he pushes you, sees the best in you and expects things from you.’
Dunfermline would have loved to extend the loan but McGlynn knew Stewart was now ready to make an impact for Falkirk in the second half of the season.
He made his top flight debut in a 1-0 win over Aberdeen on January 3 and then really announced himself on the big stage three weeks later with a stunning hat-trick in the 4-1 demolition of Hibs at the Falkirk Stadium. Stewart hit double figures for Falkirk with the opener in their 3-2 win at Motherwell last Saturday which confirmed their top six place.
He will look to continue his hot streak against Rangers this afternoon and it would be no surprise if his goals have an impact on the title race as we head into the split. You get the sense that Barney Stewart’s tale of the unexpected is only just starting.
