Alloa Athletic Women’s side were on the end of a 3-1 defeat at Recreation Park on Sunday, November 16.
Cumbernauld United, who sit at the summit of the league, came out on top of a closely fought battle in Alloa.
Frankie Fern opened the scoring for the visitors with a looped effort over the Wasps goalkeeper inside the opening ten minutes. That lead was then doubled by Robyn O’Neill who slotted home after a high press from Fern, once again.
The Wasps had moments in the game but were unable to take advantage initially.
Devyn Thompson was on the end of a great through ball to find herself one-on-one with the keeper. Her effort on goal was matched with a fine save from the United number one.
Opportunities also fell to Rihanna McMinimee, who picked up great space in the box but only to be denied once again with a smart stop.
The Wasps continued the charge with Jenna Woods showing great trickery, a nutmeg and drive into the box saw the number nine fouled for a penalty. Composure personified as Woods rifled the ball into the bottom corner for her eighth of the season.
United would bite back immediately to restore their two-goal lead as Fern grabbed her second of the game just before the break.
It was a spirited Wasps team who came out in the second half at the Recs. The young side showed great maturity in their second half performance with a raised intensity and quality on the ball.
The goal just didn’t come for the Wasps despite their pressure and with Emma Allison’s saves at the other end, the game ended as it was at half-time, 3-1.
It was defeat for Allan Milne’s side but plenty of encouragement in the second-half performance. The Wasps will look to build on that 45 minutes with a trip to Drumchapel and a home tie against Dumbarton before the winter break.
We are never happy to lose and we can be frustrated in the goals we lost in the first half.
Allan Milne
However, I can’t fault the players’ attitude and work-rate in the second half. They were brave, showed real quality and maturity in the way they played.
We need to use that second-half performance as the standard going forward to put more points on the board before Christmas.
