Competition: Scottish Cup

Alloa Athletic v Raith Rovers

Alloa Athletic continued their great Scottish Cup record against Raith Rovers which has now seen “The Wasps” win their last four times when drawn against the Kirkcaldy side in 2010/11, 2008/09, 2004/05 & 1965/66, indeed the last time Raith Rovers defeated Alloa in the Scottish Cup was back in Season 1961/62 when they won 2-1 at Recreation Park. This was a wonderful game of football in which Allan Maitland’s side turned on the style. The team had a boost prior to kick-off which the news that Michael McGowan’s clearance had come through from FIFA and this gave the side a boost. However make no mistake Raith Rovers came to Recreation Park desperate for a victory and in the first twenty minutes showed just how good a side they are, indeed the turning point in this game was Billy Gibson’s goal line clearance when Laurie Ellis so nearly put the visitors 2-0 ahead, which would have been a big ask. Alloa then started to win the 50/50 balls and started to show how they could play. Kevin McDonald was then to go on and score a hat-trick, the first by an Alloa athletic player for nearly three years, the last Alloa player to score a hat-trick was Graeme Brown in a League game at Central Park in a 4-1 victory on 16th December, 2007. Kevin McDonald produced a wonderful individual performance but the team started to play like we know they can and lets hope this form can be taken into our League campaign and we kick start our season. The scoreline no way flatters “The Wasps” – Bryan Prunty had a effort chalked off in the first half and Michael Dunlop had a wonderful chance in the second period to increase the margin. The club will now look forward to the Scottish Cup 4th Round draw and enjoy the occasion.

allan maitland after scottish cup progression

I thought we were magnificent, Kevin McDonald’s three goals were absolutely top drawer, we have brought him to the club because we felt we lacked a bit of flair and invention in the middle of the park, but he has added something else to the game which has been goals, he had scored six goals before today but his hat-trick today was absolutely fantastic, but I have got to give credit to Raith Rovers who are top of the First Division and for the first twenty five minutes you could see why, they were all over us, I don’t know if we gave them too much respect but in was 1-0 and if Billy Gibson didn’t clear the ball off the line I think the game would have been a long way back for us but Billy clears it off the line, I t was a great save and then we started to show a wee bit belief, we had changed it and went two up front at that stage rather than the three up front and that has helped us, Stuart Noble starts to cause them a bit of problem and then it was the Kevin McDonald show from then on in, I thought we thoroughly deserved it, stretched them all over the park and at half-time I was saying even although they were down to ten men they will still be very dangerous and rather than sit in I wanted us to have a real go at them in the first fifteen minutes and the third goal early in the second half just about killed it, but it is a great day for us, we have a good record against Raith Rovers here and a bit of pressure to keep that going, I cannot express how pleased I am,
I thought our players were fantastic, other than the first twenty five minutes when I thought we stood of them to much but we were playing a quality side and at times we horsed them off the park, maybe that’s a bit extreme but some of the movement and play was great and the sending off wouldn’t have helped them either but I thought the referee was excellent, great day for us, played really well, we need to make sure we can take that into our league season and built on the this, but fantastic.


20 November 2010 4 - 2 Full Time

St Mirren v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic can take great credit for their display against Premier League side St. Mirren in Saturday’s Active Nation Scottish Cup 4th Round tie at Paisley. The Wasps who had not played competitively since the 12th December and had struggled to find anywhere to train showed fantastic chatacter and put up a great fight. If the team had showed more composure in front of goal the result could have been so different, The home side took the lead in 26 minutes, when the impressive Billy Mehmet scored his first goal of what was to be a hat-trick on the day, Alloa battled back and richly deserved their goal, when Mark Brown vollied home Gilhaney’s cross, at this stage Alloa took the game to St. Mirren, never allowing their heads to drop after losing the first goal. Indeed there seemed no danger as we were playing time added on at the end of the first half, until Scot Buist hesitated and Billy Mehmet pounced to give St.Mirren an undeserved lead at half-time. The two defining moments of the game came just either side of half-time, losing the second goal just before half-time and then just into the second half, Andy Scott sent Mark Gilhaney clear, but his shot lacked belief and St.Mirren had survived the best chance of the game. The game still had chances at either end with Andy Scott, now playing further foward himself just failing, with three minutes left and Alloa still pushing for an equaliser, John Grant’s pass across field was intercepted and Billy Mehmet rounded David Crawford for his hat-trick. The Alloa fans stood and applauded their side from the field to cries of “SPL, you’re having a laugh”, St.Mirren go into the next round after taking their chances and hopefully Alloa will learn from this experience, but the fans enjoyed the day, on a negative note however, Mark Gilhaney did limp from the field with fifteen minutes left after injuring his hamstring which is a concern, well done to St.Mirren, who go through to the next round of the competition, but knew they were in a game.

allan maitland after st mirren cup tie

Our objective was to get into the next round of the Scottish Cup and make sure we were in the 5th round, in that point of view we failed today, it was a lesson for us in the sense that if you are going to make mistakes at this level you are going to get punished, Billy Mehmet who was excellent last week against Kilmarnock was their best player on the park and I think he showed that again today, scoring a hat-trick and was unlucky when Davie Crawford made his first real save of the whole game, right at the end to deny him a fourth, when he touched his shot over the bar. Our players equipped themselves really well, we came here and tried to play, our view was to try and frustrate St. Mirren as long as possible, done that then gave away a sloppy goal, got back into the game, quite why Mark Brown was that far up the park I’m not quite sure, but done great with the goal, at that stage I felt if we got to half-time at 1-1 the job would be half done but then a really sloppy unnecessary mistake in time added on gave St. Mirren a second goal. In the second half we started really well and I thought Mark Gilhaney had a wonderful opportunity from a great through ball from Andy Scott, but it was not to be. At half-time we tried to regroup and get Andy Scott further up the park, but Mark really needed to score with that opportunity, if you’re hoping to beat teams at this level you need to take these chances. The two defining moments of the game – Scot Buist not putting the ball in the stand in Row Z in the build up to their second goal and Mark Gilhaney not scoring, but it is a learning curve, I said earlier I hope we will learn from that, I thought the team were well organised, well disciplined and can hold their heads up high, hopefully they can go on and progress in our league and I would wish St. Mirren all the best going forward into the next round of this season’s Active Nation Scottish Cup.


9 January 2010 3 - 1 Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Cowdenbeath

A goal two minutes from time against Cowdenbeath, in Tuesday nights replay earned Alloa Athletic a 4th round tie against Premier League side St.Mirren on the 9th January, 2010 at New St.Mirren Park, Paisley in this seasons Active Nation Scottish Cup. This was a tie which was very even with both sides cancelling each other out, Mark Gilhaney was the Alloa hero in a game which looked destined to go to extra time.

allan maitland after cup victory

Tonight in a situation where we were we had no Iain Russell who has played so well in the last two games, we had no Brian Carrigan who had been at the dental hospital trying to deal with an abscess, Stuart Noble who is not quite fit enough yet, Mark Gilhaney who is still not 100% fit and could not start the game, Andy Scott is not properly fit so our striking options tonight was very limited. I felt the only way for us to win the game was to keep digging in, battling away and hoping for a set piece and make sure we were still in the game late in the game and try and go for it. I managed to put Mark Gilhaney on for the last half hour of the match and I think that is the most he could have managed.

I presume that is the reason he was desperate to score the goal so that it did not go to extra time. It was a magnificent effort from our players over the two games and I know that it might not have been the prettiest game and you need luck in these games – Cowdenbeath had a really good spell in the second half and Scott McBride hit a magnificent free kick against the inside of the post and in any other day of the week it would have went in and deserved a goal. We got our break late in the game with only two minutes to go when Mark Gilhaney scrambled for the ball and found himself just eight yards out with the goal keeper to beat and if you are going to score a goal that’s the time to score the winner. It has been a great effort, another shut out which is the big difference from last season – a game to look forward to against St Mirren – I am hoping by that time obviously we will be in better shape for the game but I must say tonight I am very proud of our players and I obviously feel for Cowdenbeath as well because in their position I don’t feel they necessarily deserved to lose – the two teams cancelled each other out by and large in the two games.

We are obviously pleased to get through. Mark Gilhaney had to come off on Saturday when he pulled his hamstring and he had been out for four weeks and that was him just getting back into the team and I don’t think he was ready to start the game – he wanted to start but I thought it was too risky – we have big games coming up over the next three weeks and with Andy Scott not being 100% either both shared the striking role on the evening. We look forward to going to St Mirren’s new stadium in the next round with grit and determination and it’s amazing how far that can get you. Getting through to the next round of the Scottish Cup is also a financial boost for the club. We are not under any illusions what it means to a club like Alloa going to a Premier League ground – but hopefully we will have more striking options on that day which will allow us to be more open in our play. I am hoping that Stuart Noble will be fit for Saturday and Brian Carrigan to have his tooth removed by Saturday and that should give us more options.


8 December 2009 1 - 0 Full Time

Cowdenbeath v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic & Cowdenbeath fought out a goalless draw at Central Park in this Active Scottish Cup Third Round tie. Alloa had to do without the services of Brian Carrigan who was still suffering from the flu and had to sit in the stand, both sides had opportunies with Andy Scott first to go close, but the closest Alloa came to scoring in the first half was a Chris townsley header which Craig Winter cleared off the line. At the start of the second half the home side struck the woodwork and had their brightest spell, but late in the game Scott Agnew might have snatched a victory for “The Wasps” but his shot flashed just past the post. The replay will take place on Tuesday 8th December at Recreation Park, kick -off 7.45pm.

ALLAN MAITLAND AFTER SCOTTISH CUP TIE

Today wasn’t the best day for playing attractive football, but this was a game in the Scottish Cup which both teams put a lot of effort into trying to win, to the extent that they cancelled each other out. The effort and energy level from the players was great, we just cancelled each other out with our formations, two good teams, nothing between the sides, we are pleased to have the replay back at Recreation Park a week on Tuesday and pleased to still be in the draw for the next round, a bit like last season when we drew with Raith Rovers who were the team at the top of the league at that time, and we will hope for a repeat of that replay and progress , there is no doubt Cowdenbeath are a good side, work hard for each other and it will take a special performance from us to beat them, and that’s what we will try to do in the next game. For the replay I would hope to have Brian Carrigan fit again after his bout of flu and Marc McCafferty might well be fit as well, so that would be a great boost. I thought our two subs that came on Gary Carroll and Scott Agnew gave us a composure in the second half which was missing, Gary Carroll did particularly well and Scott Agnew was unlucky not to snatch a winner right at the end when his shot just flashed by the post, but it would probably been an injustice if either team had lost, equally I don’t think either team did enough to win the game but it would have been harsh on either team to have lost.


28 November 2009 0 - 0 Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Aberdeen

Manager Allan Maitland was very proud of his team after their Homecoming Scotland Scottish Cup tie against Premier League opponents Aberdeen at Recreation Park in front of a sell out crowd of 3,013. This was a game “The Wasps” did not deserve to lose, apart from the opening twenty minutes in which time Aberdeen took the lead, but the goal, a shot from Chris Maguire took a huge deflection of Lee Miller who has been recently named Clydesdale Bank Premier League Player of the month for December, 2008 to give “The Dons” a fortune lead. Alloa equalised three minutes before half time, Dougie Hill had put the ball in the net, but referee Steven Nicholls had already blown for a penalty which Andy Scott converted. Alloa restricted Aberdeen to only two opportunities in the 90 minutes, one which Darren Mackie cracked off the bar and the other when Sone Aluko nipped in to score the winner. Alloa had a lot of the game played really really well, showed great energy, pinned Aberdeen back for long spells of the game but did not have a killer instinct in front of goal. In the 5th round Aberdeen have been given a home tie against East Fife.

allan maitland after aberdeen deny alloa 5th round appearance

I’m very proud of the team, but obviously disappointed to lose the game, I felt in the 90 minutes of the game, Aberdeen hit the bar in the second half when they created a really good chance, but Aberdeen didn’t create much in the 90 minutes and we had a lot of the ball, I’m not saying we should have won it, but I don’t think we deserved to lose. In the second half the goal was just a long kick up the pack which Aberdeen won the flick on and it was a great finish but that was maybe the difference. We had a lot of opportunities in the second half when we one on one and the final pass wasn’t just right because we had no clear cut opportunities and I’m talking about our goalkeeper not having made a save Jamie Langfield didn’t have a save to make either but the effort was magnificent and I thought we played really well, we obviously had a plan today to set up against Aberdeen – trying to keep close to Mark Kerr and Sone Aluko and try and stop them playing and I think that worked really well for us, but we still got beat!
That is still a problem, great effort, fantastic effort, played really well, showed they can compete against Aberdeen , we can’t beat them yet cause we are still not at that stage, we lack a cutting edge to our game but I’m proud of the players, proud of the effort everybody’s put in and it was one terrible day out there. Its been a great day for Alloa Athletic Football Club, we would like to have won it but it wasn’t to be, all you can ask your players to do is give you everything they have on a Saturday afternoon and we give that every Saturday we won’t be far away, I’m pleased with the effort and everything else, disappointed to lose.
For the penalty there was no doubt it was a penalty because our player had been pulled back and in fairness the referee had blown before we put the ball in the net. I thought a couple of times later we didn’t get the advantage when the referee stopped the game but the referee had a hard task and he did well. Aberdeen have had their complaints about the park but in a day like today could you imagine playing at the old Ochilview or old Recs, my God, our parks fantastic for the weather so it was a great game of football for us, we would like to have won it for the supporters but it was not to be. The suggestion that Aberdeen should have had a man sent off at the penalty incident was unfounded, I don’t like to see anybody sent off and I didn’t think it was a sending off, it was like the situation at corner kicks or free kicks when someone is pulling but didn’t merit a last man sending off , no I thought the referee was fine, but I would have liked him to give us a second penalty , it might have been the only way we were going to score! I thought we had a lot of possession in the second half, breaking away and getting possession on the edge of the box but just didn’t have the final cutting pass or a presence in the box. You know you are always going to get one chance and our one chance came with five minutes to go when Andy Ferguson was at the back post and he saw it too late and headed past the post, you can only give your best and unfortunately that was our best and it wasn’t good enough, but a great effort and I’m proud of them.


10 January 2009 1 - 2 Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Raith Rovers

There could be few complaints as Alloa Athletic progressed to the next round of this season’s Homecoming Scotland Scottish Cup to set up a home tie against Premier League side, Aberdeen. After a game of few chances at Stark’s Park, Alloa knew they had a good chance in the replay at Recreation Park. The first half was again a poor affair, but in the second half Alloa took the game to Raith Rovers but as so often has happened, they lacked the killer punch in front of goal. Against the run of play Raith Rovers broke the deadlock, a hopeful ball into the Alloa box was not headed far enough out of the box and Gary Wales scored from 12 yards. Raith had their best spell of the game before Alloa Athletic scored twice within two minutes, substitute Andy Ferguson’s header came back off the right hand post and Brown Ferguson knocked the equaliser in. Two minutes later Jamie Stevenson was pulled down as he tried to burst into the box, Brown Ferguson took the free kick , curling a glorious shot in off the crossbar to set up a fourth round tie against Aberdeen on Saturday 10th January, 2009 at Recreation Park.

allan maitland after progression over raith

Obviously, I know people were disappointed we dug in the first game and didn’t make it an open game, the importance again tonight for the first 45 minutes was just to make sure we were still in the game, I thought there was nothing in the first half, it was a pretty drab affair in many ways but there is no doubt in the second half I thought we were the better team from the start and Raith Rovers scored against the run of play and then they had a 15 minute spell it could have gone 2-0 rather than 1-1 I thought I had made a couple of substitutions and it took 10 minutes or so for them to get into the game. We showed great character to get back in the game, great run from John Grant, great cross and Andy Ferguson was there to win the header, it helps having a centre forward in the box trying to win headers, for all the play we had we never had a real presence in front of goal and Bombers done great to follow it in, the second goal was a great piece of play my Jamie Stevenson, trying to burst into the box and he was pulled down, great free kick from Brown Ferguson, it was a free kick I was expecting Jamie to hit I must say, but it was a great free kick from Bomber and over the piece I felt we deserved it, I thought our second half was much more open, which is obviously what John wanted us to do, and having done that I thought we were the better team in the second half. It has been a good day for us, people talk about the incentive of Aberdeen in the next round, we can’t think of any of that because we were playing again a really good Raith Rovers side although I do think they miss something when Kevin Smith is not available, but for our point of view we like to play them here, we do well against them and I think that showed again tonight. I think Raith will be disappointed in their display in the first game but tonight we were the better team and deserved to win the tie in my opinion. I thought the criticism after the first game was unwarranted, having lost 4-1 there at the start of the month, if we had went to Kirkcaldy and opened up we could have got beaten, the importance of the first game was to make sure we were still in the tie, and after an hour had Pat Scullion not been red carded we had Andy Ferguson, Jamie Stevenson and Dougie Wilson all on the bench to bring into the game and that was the plan, Pat getting sent off scuppered that plan and then we had no intentions of coming out after that and we were determined to hang on in and bring Raith Rovers back to Alloa, but tonight we were much more open and more attack minded, it was a great opportunity to win playing at home and we were determined to take that. The next round will be a great game for the fans and also for me coming from Aboyne, it’s a good game for Alloa Athletic Football Club and that’s the most important thing and hopefully between now and then we can put a bit of form together, we were excellent on Saturday against East Fife, we need to take tonight’s result into the game against Ayr United this Saturday, it’s a big game for us.


9 December 2008 2 - 1 Full Time

Raith Rovers v Alloa Athletic

“The Wasps” held Raith Rovers to a 0-0 draw in today’s Homecoming Scottish Cup 3rd round tie at Stark’s Park. Having lost 4-1 at the start of the month at the same ground manager Allan Maitland started the game with three centre backs in an effort to be defensively sound. This restricted Raith Rovers to very little goalmouths efforts, with Alloa having a strong bench, from which they could bring on players to win the game in the final quarter of the match. Two minutes into the second half Pat Scullion was dismissed for his second yellow card, restricting Alloa’s opportunities. We now can look forward to a replay, pencilled in for a week on Tuesday, 9th December at Recreation Park. The draw for the 4th round of this season’s Homecoming Scottish Cup takes place at Hampden Park on Monday and Alloa Athletic are very pleased still to be involved.

allan maitland after starks draw

First and foremost we are delighted to be in the draw for the next round , we would obviously have liked to win the game but it was always going to be a difficult game for us today. I thought Raith Rovers would play a high tempo game and on the back of that we decided to start with three centre backs and that was working really well, then Dougie Hill got injured and we had to change it, but our commitment and effort was excellent and it restricted Raith Rovers to only one chance in the first half, in the second half the early sending off didn’t help us, I had no qualms about it, he was a bit unfortunate in the fact he was the only player booked, but he appeared to catch Allan Walker a bit late so the sending off was fine. I thought the referee handed the game really well, so in the second half in was a case of hanging in, but we defended so much better than we have in previous weeks and our goalkeeper when called upon had one fantastic save at the bottom left post, but other that that I thought we restricted Raith Rovers to very few chances throughout the game – we didn’t have any, but a game at home to Raith Rovers is mightily more appealing to me than a game here at Stark’s Park, the replay a week on Tuesday should be an interesting game and obviously we will know by then, who we could play if we can win at Recreation Park. Raith Rovers are a good side, we respect that, we came here with a plan, it worked really well for us for the first 30 minutes that we didn’t lose an early goal, Dougie Hill got injured at a time when we would have changed it to a back four anyway, so that didn’t effect things too much, the sending off was disappointing, but the effort was tremendous, application tremendous and an unusual manner was our concentration which was tremendous and that has not been the case too often this season, we are pleased to be in the draw for the next round.

I anticipate Alloa Athletic will have a real go a week on Tuesday, it will be a completely different game from today, so I would expect us to have a real go at Raith Rovers and try and get at them, which we would have hoped to do late in the game today if we were still in it, but we didn’t get that opportunity. We all know Raith Rovers have a great threat up front with their three strikers, and I think Kevin Smith not playing today was a massive loss for Raith Rovers and a real boost for us I have to say, it will be a hard game a week on Tuesday, but it is one I feel we have a better chance than we did today.
We came with a plan to be defensively a lot better than at the start of the month when we lost 4-1, and the plan is that after an hour you are still in the game, unfortunately within that hour we had a player sent off, so that changes things, so it looks like that we came here for 90 minutes to pack the defence, that wasn’t the plan, the plan is to be defensively strong and ensure you are still in the game in the last 30 minutes and then have a go, on the bench we had Andy Ferguson, Jamie Stevenson, Dougie Wilson and Greig Spence, all attacking players to go on and win the game in the last 30 minutes, we just didn’t have that opportunity, unfortunately.