Competition: Championship

Brechin City v Alloa Athletic

“The Wasps” recorded a 2-0 victory at Glebe Park against Ray McKinnon’s Brechin City side in the 1st Leg of the SPFL Championship Semi-final play off match. This indeed was the same score line they recorded in Season 2012/13 at the same stage of the play offs at Glebe Park in the 1st Leg. However, it is only half-time in the tie, but we are in a strong position. Michael Chopra, for the second game running opened the scoring and Kyle Benedictus scoring a last minute goal, his first for the club, a scoreline which was merited on the evening.

 

danny lennon at glebe park

Its only half-time and there is still a long way to go, we certainly applied ourselves very well, I thought with it being a tight pitch up here and a lot of rain had fallen recently, it was slippy tonight so after about 25 / 30 minutes that we adapted to the circumstances, but I can’t stress enough it is only half-time and we have given ourselves something, a good starter for Saturday, but that is all. We certainly faced a team tonight in Brechin City, that can cause teams problems, we handled that tonight but we have to be aware of where there threats come from. There is no doubt Michael Chopra he has ability, but it is just that matter of his match fitness, he is working incredibly hard in training, during the games and on his own, but you can certainly see the quality the boy processes and that certainly shines through, but for me tonight I thought all the way through it was a fantastic team performance with a lot of attempts at goal and to get two goals from that and another clean sheet, so it is very good and positive for ourselves in terms of going into the second leg on Saturday.
0 - 2
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Cowdenbeath

 

danny lennon after defeating cowdenbeath

We went out today and did absolutely everything that we had to do and we did it in abundance in every single department, I thought we were excellent from start to finish, so delighted we still have our own destiny, and our own future in our hands and as I have already said I thought we were different class today, the amount of opportunities we created, the way we defended, getting bodies on the line and it was an absolute all round terrific performance, taking care of our own house and keeping that in order and what you have to do is give a great deal of credit to Livingston who have been on a fantastic run of form and so congratulations to them, our focus and attention now and preparation turns to Wednesday night against Brechin City and we will prepare for that game in the same manner in the way that we did today. I was only aware of the Livingston result with probably about two minutes to go, but I think our own fans would have let us know and actually when I heard the Cowdenbeath fans having a wee disgruntle that sort of gave me an indication of things elsewhere. My heart goes out to Cowdenbeath, as one of my former clubs I have a great deal of respect for them and I really feel for them because I have some wonderful friends associated with the club. Today’s performance gives us great heart going into the Play-Off’s  and should help fuel our confidence by defeating Cowdenbeath and scoring three fantastic goals, a clean sheet to add to that and a clean bill of health as well and going into a very important game on Wednesday, the first leg away, and then back here on Saturday, as I said we are absolutely delighted to hold the cards in where our future lies. The second goal came about with a good quality ball into the box, it was a fantastic delivery and we had bodies in the box and Ben Gordon put his body on the line today and I thought he was a big influence in both boxes so for my point of view I hope he gets credited with the goal.
3 - 0
Full Time

Hibernian v Alloa Athletic

“The Wasps” will go into a final day decider next Saturday, with only one point separating Cowdenbeath, Alloa Athletic and Livingston. Having looked at the fixtures earlier in the season this was always a possible scenario. Danny Lennon’s side will know their fate is still in their own hands as victory at home against Cowdenbeath would at least guarantee a Play Off spot, while Livingston will be at home to Queen of the South, a result all Alloa Athletic fans will be listening in to. It was always going to be a big ask to take something from Easter Road against Hibernian in a game the home side needed to win to try and move into second place in the league on Saturday. On the day Hibernian deserved their victory, however “The Wasps” will look to bounce back on Saturday against Cowdenbeath, Kick-off 12.15pm.

 

danny lennon at easter road

Disappointing for us in terms of the fact we failed to show the qualities we have shown and the intensity we have played in our last two games where we really came out and showed what we could do, that certainly wasn’t evident in the first half but we addressed that at half time and in the second half we certainly showed a bit more of what we are capable of and started to get in about them and caused them one or two problems in the second half, by having a wee bit more bravery on the ball, but at the end of the day we have come here and certainly faced a Hibernian side firing on all cylinders, who certainly put in a five star performance.

It now comes down to next week, which makes next week’s game against Cowdenbeath massive in this mini league between ourselves, Cowdenbeath and Livingston, and I always said there would be a few twists and turns every single week and once again there were a few turns within that and now only one point separating each of the teams, so we have everything to play for and once again everything in terms of if we bring the qualities that we know we have, we have every opportunity and chance of playing in this very competitive league next season. Everyone of  the three teams now know their fate is in our their own hands and that’s all you can do, I certainly know what we need to do and we will be looking next week to get the level of performance which we showed against Dumbarton and Queen of the South again next week, if we get that we will give ourselves a great chance of picking up the points.

On the injury front, Stephen Simmons has been out for a number of weeks, Daryll Meggatt has probably the better chance of making next week’s game, at this stage of the season teams are starting to pick up one or two injuries and suspensions which kick in but I have been very pleased with the last couple of weeks in terms of coming into the club and the application I am seeing, today is the first time I have been disappointed in the team, especially in the first forty five minutes because they have shown throughout the last two / three weeks qualities which they have in wanting to be on the ball and playing with great intensity but coming here today, I take nothing away from Hibernian who put in a five star performance, we have met them on a good day.

However all I am interested in now is our own destiny, like the players in the dressing room, we all want to stay in this league and we want to look up at the end of the season and say we have earned the right to play in the Championship and we are good enough to play in this division and we know what we have to do to make the dream come true.
4 - 1
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Queen of the South

Alloa Athletic and Queen of the South produced an excellent advert for the Championship yesterday, both teams looking to collect all three points for differing reasons. Ben Gordon headed “The Wasps” in front after 39 minutes, his second goal of the season. However Queen’s started the 2nd half brightly and were awarded a penalty, when the dangerous Danny Carmichael was adjudged to have been fouled in the box. Their top goal scorer Derek Lyle converted for his 19th goal of the season. Two minutes later the game had turned on its head when Mark Millar put the visitors in front. There were chances at both ends being created and it was no surprise to see “The Wasps” top goal scorer Liam Buchanan turn QOS defender Mark Durnan inside out both drilling his shot low into the bottom corner of the net for his 15th goal of the season. The team now have two games remaining this season and know their destiny is still in their own hands, on this display they again showed just how good a Championship side they can be and will go into the final matches in good form now unbeaten in their last two matches and scoring five goals.

 

danny lennon after qos draw

It was a decent game, it was very competitive with both teams going hammer & tong for different reasons, we find our self in the bottom section , a mini league between ourselves Cowdenbeath & Livingston, it’s exciting, I think there is now only one point which separates us from Cowdenbeath and three from Livingston with only four points between all three clubs – so with two games to go for us and Cowdenbeath & Livingston having three, we have everything to play for, I spoke to the players about it being a sprint race now and we are all trying to bust a gut to get over that line and the team which will succeed will be the team who collect the most points over the next games and they will then have the right to play in the Championship League.

There were certainly aspects of the game I was pleased at but there were also things which I wasn’t as pleased, we took the lead with a fine goal and I was delighted with that because the boys had worked hard at set pieces this week, but to come in at half-time and indentify one or two wee things, then see the same things happen in the second half, especially in the first ten minutes has punished us, although Queen of the South are a good quality side and play with high intensity and a team which certainly plays on the counter attack.

I thought the goals we lost were a lot to do with our own downfall but the reaction we got, showed I have the quality and character in that dressing room and with hopefully only 180 minutes of league football to play this season  it’s going to be the team who earn the most points from the final games who will stay in the Championship and the good thing is now we go and win our two games, it’s in our own hands we are not having to rely on anybody the only things we are relying on is one another.
2 - 2
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Dumbarton

 

danny lennon after dumbarton victory

Absolutely terrific today with three quality goals, a clean sheet and some very good football, coming in with such a short period of time, it is good to see, I know throughout the season the team have showed how good they can be and for me this week was all about building up their confidence and they certainly went out there with that and put on a very good display and showed just how good players they are.

The thing with the three teams at our end of the league, there will be more twists and turns before the end of the season, you have three highly motivated teams that are doing everything they can to try and make sure they can give themselves an opportunity to stay in this league, a league which will be every bit as competitive next season. Cowdenbeath have had a couple of decent, positive results and Livingston have had three very positive results lately and we had a very good win today so it is certainly in all three clubs hands.  I have no doubt there will be twists and turns from now until the beginning of May.

It’s important you look after your own performances and results and out of the three games left another two are at home and we need to make them count. At this stage I haven’t even worked with the players on Tuesday, Paddy and Jim Butter took the session, I observed the game on Wednesday night, there were pleasing things there,  the players had the night off on Thursday after the Hearts game, because it was important they were fresh for today’s game against Dumbarton, I thought it was important they recovered both physically and mentally before today’s game.

I could have gone on and talked about tactics but if they were not fit enough for today’s game then tactics go out the window. We came in today went over certain things on the tactics board before the game and I was absolutely delighted how the players showed great intelligence taking this on board and more importantly getting their rewards on the park, there was a lot of pleasing things today but there were also things I saw which we can improve on as well. I was asked if I was exhausted after my pitch side following of the game, but the thing is I have never had a bad game in six years, up and down that line winning headers, I don’t know how it finished 3-0 because I thought I had scored six!  Nobody expected us to go to Hearts and do anything, It was an opportunity for me watching some very brave performances at a ground that players like to go and test how they are doing.

After the Petrofac Cup game the players were certainly disappointed throughout the week but when I addressed the players on Tuesday for five/ ten minutes before training, one of the first things I said was “They would be bitterly disappointed about Sunday but they must make sure that goes out of the system very quickly and the players look forward, because what this club can do is that we can still have good success this season and surviving in this league would be a fantastic achievement for the club with the resources we have.

All our games will now be huge games, Queen of the South will be our next opponents and it is highly completive at the other end of the division, so we know it will not be a meaningless game for either club, but what we have to do this week at training is to build on today’s clean sheet and continue the good work of today. I freshened one or two things up today which gives me an opportunity to see the depth we have in the squad, I was delighted John Gibson came in and collected a few good balls, you can see the presence he has so I was pleased collectively for him and the team performance, it is always good to keep a clean sheet. There is no doubt they have showed just how good players they can be and deserve the right to be competing to stay in the Championship and all they need is a bit of guidance to build back their confidence.
3 - 0
Full Time

Heart of Midlothian v Alloa Athletic

 

paddy connolly at tynecastle

It has not been a good night in terms of Livingston and Cowdenbeath both winning, so it is not a great night, it was always going to be a difficult night coming to Tynecastle but I think there were still a lot of positives to take from the game, Danny was watching from the stand and we showed more of the things that we didn’t show on Sunday – playing with good shape but lost a goal at a bad time just before half-time which took a horrible deflection, I felt at times we could have kept the ball better but we are now at the stage in the season when all our games are “Must win games” especially with three home games, these home games are going to be vital for us now. The target now for Danny coming in is to give ourselves a chance, he will take the reins from tomorrow and give him a decent chance to keep us in the division. We are now at the business end of the season and we need the results on the board, the game against Dumbarton on Saturday has now become massive. We still have the belief we can get out of the situation, our goal difference is far superior to Cowdenbeath, so if we can get to within three points going into the last game of the season it would still be in our hands to still do that. However we need to start winning, starting on Saturday and we will need to throw everything into that game, hopefully the new manager coming in will give the boys the lift needed because we certainly have a squad of players capable of turning things around. We will go and be positive knowing that our home games are vital now, potentially we still need six or seven points from the remaining fixtures.
3 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Livingston

 

paddy connolly after livi game

We are disappointed with the result and it feels a bit like a defeat. That was certainly the feeling in the dressing room afterwards. We had the lead twice in the match and I felt we had control of the game, but it is two really poor goals we lose and I will need to sit down with the players and look back at what went wrong. The positive is that it’s another point on the board and a vital one at this stage of the season. Hopefully it can help guide us closer to where we want to be and we will just pick ourselves up now and go again for the cup final.

I told the players after the match that decision making at this time of the season is going to be vital because it could mean the difference between a win and a draw so we have to improve that aspect. I don’t think the game was pretty at times, but there was a lot of passion on the pitch with two teams fighting for their lives and desperate for the points. There was plenty of talking points and goals in the match, which might have been good for the neutral, but not for us in the dugout. Overall, we are disappointed to still not get the win despite scoring twice.

We are ready to fight for a trophy now and we will enjoy this week with a break from the tension of the league, but there is no doubt we will be ready to do battle on Sunday. It is hard to say what effect this game will have on Sunday because this one was so intense with what was at stake for both teams in terms of league survival. Hopefully this Sunday both teams can play with more of a freedom to allow for a better football match. Cup finals don’t come along too often for players or coaches so it is an occasion we will savour.

Bucks is on fire just now in terms of goal at the minute and the timing of that couldn’t be better for us at this point in this season so it is the other aspects of the game we now need to improve on. We have had to take the criticism about not scoring enough goals over the season, but he has four in his last four games now and I will take that everyday of the week. We now need to have an all round performance now for the final and look to cut out the errors that are costing us cheap goals.

Chopra came in and showed flashes of the quality that he has especially at the first goal. It was a difficult game for him to come in, but his fitness is not too bad and he just needs some crucial game time to get him up to speed now. He had a big part in setting up the first goal and hopefully we can see more of that for the rest of the campaign.
2 - 2
Full Time

Raith Rovers v Alloa Athletic

The Wasps display at Starks Park against Raith Rovers was probably a reflection on our league campaign this season. We’ve gifted too many goals and passed up too many chances in a league which was always going to be difficult. We again contributed to our own downfall when we lost a bad defensive goal after creating chances of our own. The players never gave in and Liam Buchanan scored a great equaliser only four minutes after the team had gone behind, his twelfth goal of the season and his second of the week. However losing another goal so early in the second half again put the team behind again. The team battled on and looked to get back into the game but the home side nearly caught us out as the team pushed forward for an equaliser, Craig McDowall had to be at his best to keep the Raith Rovers forwards from increasing their lead. We now go into a massive game next Saturday against Livingston, the important thing is not to think about other teams, but only look after ourselves and secure a victory which would be massive. There have been some wonderful highs this season but as we enter the final games of the season we have six league games and one cup final to look forward, let’s go and show what we can do.

 

paddy connolly at kirkcaldy

Gutted at losing the game, in the first half I felt we had a spell when we were on top in the game, we created a couple of better than half chances but didn’t take them and the goal we lose at any level, it is a poor goal to lose, that seems to be where we are at this moment giving away cheap goals, I have said to the players in the dressing room, just clear the danger and we will argue about it at half-time, obviously there was a wee bit of indecision, but the striker showed good instinct to get in between Michael and Craig but from our point of view it was a poor goal to lose. Then we worked hard to get back in the game and Liam took his goal well but at the start of the second half switched off, but we will pick the boys back up at training on Tuesday and go again, nobody has really gained any points today in terms of the teams in the bottom three and we are all fighting it out to gain eighth place in the table. The players are fighting hard and on another day in the first half if we could have edged in front then maybe we might have been able to hang on. In the second half we lost our shape a bit as we pushed to get back in the game, I put on Michael Chopra and Greg Rutherford later in the game and had to sacrifice a wee bit in midfield, Craig had a couple of good saves to keep us in the game as we had to go man for man at the back. Our best spell was in the first half but we could never edge our nose in front and I think the second goal so early in the second half knocked the stuffing out of us a wee bit. We changed our formation but really huffed and puffed and never created too much in the second half. Next week’s game now becomes massive. We cannot afford to give away cheap goals but for our goals we have to work really hard, Liam took his goal well, it was good goal from our point of view, Liam held the ball up well and turned and had a decent hit into the bottom corner, which was pleasing, good for Liam, but he is a player who never lacks confidence. For next week we will be as we were in the fact that the chairman has asked me to take care of the team in the meantime and until he tells me different, but I’m sure if something was to change the club would make an official statement but at this stage I will continue game from game,  the players are fighting tooth and nail, but I’d just wish we could get a win  even if it takes a scrappy 1-0 victory for us but it doesn’t seem to be the case at this time but we will keep our spirits up, they were down after the game today, but they will be ready again to go next week, although we will need to check on Jason who looked to pull up after getting a knock with his hamstring, we are hoping it’s a tweak but it might need time, in the short term he might have to miss a couple of games, we have some walking wounded and are maybe top heavy up front just now but we will be ready for another huge game next Saturday against Livingston.
2 - 1
Full Time

Rangers v Alloa Athletic

In a remarkable day for the club and their fans, Alloa Athletic not for the first time this season came back from behind and scored an equaliser at Ibrox, showing great character and more importantly collecting another vital league point which was deserved on the night. Alloa Athletic had already grabbed the headlines earlier in the day after unveiling Michael Chopra as their most recent signing. This was another game Rangers under their new manager Stuart McCall were looking to kick start their season, but “The Wasps” have their own need for points and stunned the home fans by taking the lead early in the second half when Ben Gordon scored with a header. Rangers upped their tempo and two quick fire goals by Nick Clark within five minutes of each other looked to turn the game in the home sides favour, but this Alloa side have shown in the past they can come back from going behind to the Ibrox side. Eight minutes from time Ryan McCord put through a superb pass between two Rangers defenders and into the path of Liam Buchanan who ran on and clipped the ball past the despairing Cammy Bell and into the empty net, no more than “The Wasps” deserved on the night.

 

paddy connolly at ibrox

Obviously delighted to get a point, for teams like ourselves in the position we are in the table, we knew it was always going to be difficult coming to places like Ibrox, especially with the new management of Stuart McCall & Kenny Black coming in, you always get a reaction when a new manager comes in, especially at a massive club like Rangers. So from our point of view, great to get a point but maybe I’m being a wee bit greedy thinking we could maybe of stole all three, obviously delighted but I said to the players in the dressing room, you gave your lot, but I know our players always give everything, the one thing which has maybe let us down is results, in terms of points on the table, because we have always been in games, it is a great point and hopefully it will lift the spirits of the players, it feels like a victory coming here and getting a point, but I think it would be fair to say, we deserved it. We scored two great goals from our point of view, the first goal is a great header from Ben, if I am honest it is something he should be doing more often this season, he laugh’s as Ben is sitting next to him at time. My plan when we went 2-1 down in quick succession was to bring on a forward, we lost two goals maybe playing a bit deep at times, because we managed to get a goal in front it’s only natural and I was about to change it and go with another striker up top to try and get back in the game and it scuppered my plans when Buck’s equalised and that changed the mentality again. So delighted for the club and the players and we roll on to Saturday now when we will face Raith Rovers. Michael Chopra coming to the club was a no brainer, once I knew it could happen, a player with his Premiership experience and still only 31, I am hoping he can add something to the team and maybe give us these extra points we need to stay in this division. It’s good to move back up the table above Cowdenbeath but they still have a couple of games in hand, but there are massive games ahead, we know it is still in our hands but I don’t want to look further forward than Saturday’s game at Kirkcaldy, so there is a long way to go there are still seven league games to go which means 21 points to play for, so when you are down at our end of the table every point is a prisoner. The Chairman has asked me to take the manager’s position on a caretaker basis but I cannot look any further than Saturday, so at this time I am picking the team on a game to game basis, but our guys are a great bunch who have worked under Paul & Barry, Barry has added to the great work done by Paul, the players give an unconditional work rate no matter who the manger is, me in a short term and that’s great credit to the players.
2 - 2
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Falkirk

Saturday’s game against Falkirk was another game this season where we will look back and wonder why we didn’t take something from the game – caretaker manager Paddy Connolly looked on and said “It was another sore result to take”. The Wasps had started the game brightly with Kevin Cawley, Daryll Meggatt, Mark Docherty & Ryan McCord having efforts on target, however it was Falkirk who would take the lead with their first effort on goal. Ryan McCord then had an effort ruled out for offside before the interval. Twelve minutes into the second half “Man of the Match” Kevin Cawley scored a deserved equaliser with a 25 yard solo effort, at this stage the home side were on top but were to lose top goalscorer, Greig Spence with an sickening head injury. The Wasps pushed for a winner and again were caught out against the run of play when John Baird was left in acres of space to put “The Bairns” back in front. Substitute Alex Cooper made it 3-1 with three minutes left to extend the margin which was cruel on the evening. However at this stage of the season it has to be all about results and the team moves on, facing another difficult fixture on Tuesday evening when they will meet Rangers at Ibrox Stadium.

 

paddy connolly after falkirk game

A bit of a sore one, first half I thought we played reasonably well, but it is the same again, losing the first goal was vital, a set piece, from a corner, decent finish but the boys switched off a wee bit. Peter did change his midfield, taking off one of his attacking midfielders and put on a defensive midfielder, which maybe tells you in terms of the midfield I believe we were winning the battle, but it’s still the same again in the goals we lost were really poor, I will need to see them on the video again, the second goal especially was really disappointing and then found it so hard to get back in the game, but I have spoke to the boys after the game and we just need to keep going, we are still in there fighting, we obviously know how difficult it is, there is no easy games but we will battle on, although we have a few walking wounded but we will pick ourselves up and go again on Tuesday at Ibrox , the boys gave their lot, it’s all I ask for.

When Kevin brought us back into the game with his goal, at that stage in the game it was deserved and at that point I thought we were in the ascendancy and my thoughts were to go and win the game but switching off for the second goal, although there are debates in that the player came short and they went with the runner and it left a big gap and john Baird had the freedom of the city and the time he had and it looked a poor goal to lose from our point of view, especially in how the players had worked so hard to get something out of the game. We knew at the start of the season how difficult it was going to be, but there has hardly been a game this season where we haven’t been in the game but the 3-1 score line is an unfair reflection on the way the game was but I will be in there battling with then until the end but we will keep battling until we turn it around.

Just now I am short term caretaker role, the Chairman has been great to work with, in the time I have been here, but it is now a decision for him to make, I’m just doing the job that he has asked me for the time being, so it is week by week at the moment and we will see how it goes but the main thing is the team is still fighting and we will keep going, it will be another big week for us facing Rangers on Tuesday and Raith Rovers next Saturday another two vital games for us.
1 - 3
Full Time