Competition: League 2

Clyde v Alloa Athletic

The Wasps recorded their second victory this week after a battling 1-0 victory over Clyde at Broadwood Stadium. Paul hartley’s side went ahead after only 2 minutes when Graeme Holmes scored his 2nd goal of the season. In the opening 30 minutes Alloa played some attractive football but the game changed in 32 minutes when defender Fraser Forrest was red carded for two hand ball incidents. This changed the game with the home side gaining lots of possesion but failing to break down a resolute Alloa defence. In the end Paul Hartley’s team held on for a deserved three points and now look forward to a trip north on Saturday to face Peterhead.#

 

paul hartley at broadwood

We started the game on fire, in the first 20 minutes we were outstanding, the passing and movement was perfect , then we went a man down again and that changed the game. We dug in and were very resilient, we defended brilliantly and Clyde never really cut us open at all – they had loads of possession, which you would expect, but to a man every one of my players played their part tonight. We are delighted.
In the second half we tried to get into a shape which we could defend the ball – but tonight I’m happy to take the 1-0 win. We are pleased to collect six points in our last two games and also have two clean sheets which is pleasing for us. Everybody played their part but it will be another big test on Saturday when we visit Peterhead and it will need another big effort before we have a break. I’m proud of my players tonight because at times we had to weather the storm a bit but we kept our shape and discipline and managed collect full points, which was the main objective.
On the sending off I’m not sure the first booking was merited, he was on the ground at the time and I’m not sure he could help it but these things happen in football, decisions can go against you, we aren’t a dirty team but we have has too many red cards this season already, which is something we need to address , we cannot afford to have players missing every single week through suspension. The biggest blow for us tonight was the injury to Stevie Masterton, it looks like ligament damage which will rule him out for a while, he was outstanding tonight and that would be a huge blow for us, we wish him well and he has a speedy recovery.
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Alloa Athletic v Stranraer

Paul Hartley watched his side win a vital three points in a game the win was the most important thing. The Wasps have played better this season and not always collected full points, yesterday was a gritty performance, which while wasn’t as easy on the eye was good enough to win. Stranraer had showed just how good a team they were when we visited Stair Park in the opening league game of the season and they will be a difficult side to beat this season. At times Alloa tried to take an extra touch or take the ball too far, when a more direct shot on goal might have benefited but no one could fault the commitment and determination of the players who battled to ensure the points stayed at Recreation Park. This was the start of a big week for the club with a midweek trip to Broadwood Stadium to play Clyde on Tuesday night, followed by a trip north on Saturday to play Peterhead.

 

paul hartley after stranraer game

It was a great win for us today but it would be fair to say we rode our luck at times, we defended in numbers and managed to get a clean sheet which we haven’t had too many this season. It was a game in which I could see the other side of my players, their fighting spirit and will to win and we will need to do that in some of our games this season. We will not be able to play well every week, we still had chances ourselves and at times I thought we wanted to walk the ball into the net but we scored a really good goal and hung on in near the end.
We are only looking at our own performances we are not looking at any of the other sides in this promotion race, I know other games were drawn today we only need to worry about our own performance and that will always be the case. We will try and win as many games as we can, this is a big week for us we now face Clyde on Tuesday at Broadwood and then travel north to face Peterhead on Saturday, so we know this week is going to be a tough week and it will take its toll on our players. So they will not get much time to recover, indeed some of our players will be training tonight while others will only need a warm down to recover.
So we look forward to our next games with invigorated spirit.
1 - 0
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Alloa Athletic v Berwick Rangers

This was two points lost today, after taking an early lead and then creating a number of good chances we lost a goal against the run of play which was a setback, there after Berwick Rangers looked to hit on the break and defended in numbers, at times throwing their bodies in front of shots which were goalbound. Equally Berwick Rangers had their own opportunities which could have puinished “The Wasps” even greater. Trialist, Steve Masterton came on after 53 minutes and added his direct firepower, with shots which at times looked to be goalbound but on the day the Berwick Rangers defence held firm and held out for a draw. This is a game Paul Hartley’s side should have won but lack a cutting edge inside the penalty box. Trialist, Steve Masterton signed after the match until the end of December, 2011.

 

paul hartley after berwick rangers

We had loads of possession again today but we could not quite find that second goal. The first goal was a terrific goal, great movement good football and a good finish from Graeme Holmes but we never really capitalised on it. I’m very disappointed, I feel it is two points dropped today. I was again pleased with the effort and the attitude, which was great. We are still making plenty chances – every single week we have made chances but today we could not find that winning goal. The hardest thing to do in football is score a goal, it has always been the hardest part of playing football but we will just need to work on that because we had the chances it is just that final little detail. The players effort and attitude first class as usual. We always thought that with our fitness levels that we would keep going to the end and felt that they would tire a little bit, but fair play to them they defended well, but we lacked a cutting edge today that wins games. We must move on and look forward to a cup tie next week against league leaders Annan Athletic which already has been described as the tie of the second round, therefore we will need to be at our best.
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Elgin City v Alloa Athletic

Saturday at Borough Briggs facing Elgin City was to be a historic day for the club, the first time the clubs had met in a competitive league fixture but ended for “The Wasps” a game in which we did ourselves absolutely no favours, we never got going in difficult conditions and allowed Elgin City to get ahead far too easily. However nobody could have for seen what was to turn the game in a three minute spell prior to half-time. Although we had been far from our best we still had a lot of possession in the first half but had no penetration, Elgin were far more direct and shot on sight, their second goal came out of the blue and the third on half time was horrendous defending which resulted in Mark Docherty pulling back Brian Cameron and a penalty and sending off. That left “The Wasps” a mountain to climb in the second half. The game was finished in the 56th minute when referee Barry Cook awarded Elgin a 2nd penalty after Craig Gunn had clashed with Scott Bain which looked harsh. Elgin scored their fourth goal of the game but Scott Bain persisted in arguing with the officials and foolishly added to the teams woes by being red carded. Now down to 9 players from there on in it was backs to the walls and damage limitation, all credit to Elgin City they took advantage of the situation and scored a 5th goal. Alloa Athletic need to take the result on the chin and learn from this result, regardless of who we are playing you have to give yourself a chance in the game and we didn’t do that at Elgin and suffered badly. Not since 23rd September, 1995 have we lost a Third Division fixture 5-0, on that occasion we lost to Inverness Caledonian Thistle at home.

 

paul hartley after black day in elgin

We didn’t deserve anything from the game, that’s for sure, the two sending offs killed us -If you don’t start the game well you get punished and we didn’t start it well, credit to Elgin they deserved the victory – we have to regroup, forget about this, take the break next week and then look forward to the next game. We need to get this game and result out of our system as quick as we can. We will be working hard on Tuesday at training, we will need to learn from this defeat– it’s disappointing and you learn a lot about your players after a bad result and I am sure I will learn a lot about the players over the next couple of weeks. The second sending off was disappointing it was silly – you cannot do that if you are on a yellow card, you cannot have a go at the referee and he knows that but it gives Craig McDowall a chance to come back into the side – this happens in football, I will speak to those that have been on the bench and frustrated at not being in the squad they will get their chance now and that is what happens in the game – we get two sending offs which killed our chance but we made in so easy for Elgin, we can do so much better than that, we let ourselves and the fans down.
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Alloa Athletic v Montrose

Alloa Athletic continued their recent good form in what was one of the most entertaining games at Recreation Park for a while. Montrose who were playing their first league game at the ground since season 1997/98 were always dangerous and although “The Wasps” could have won this game by an even greater margin, the visitors were quick on the counter and will look back just prior to half-time when they were denied a 3-2 lead to a tight offside decision. Alloa statrted the game brightly and were awarded a penalty after Dougie Cameron fouled Kevin Cawley in the box after only 4 minutes, Ryan McCord scored the resultant penalty kick. Alloa looked to press home their advantage but on 26 minutes Alan Campbell turned in the box and scored an unlikely equaliser. Two minutes later Kevin Cawley restored the lead before the lively Martin Boyle again equalised on the break, scoring his fifth goal of the season. In the second period “The Wasps” dominated the play and created numerous scoring opportunities, Ben Gordon put Paul hartley’s side back in front bulleting home a header from a corner kick, and Kevin Cawley scored his second double in a fortnight when he scored the final goal in a 4-2 victory for “The Wasps”. A great game to watch, as Paul Hartley’s team get stronger each week, although by the end the team might have taken more of their chances, no complaints however after winning last four league matches.

 

paul hartley after montrose game

That’s four victories out of four so we are delighted, it was another good performance today, we made a couple of mistakes in the first half and we let them back into the game, they were dangerous on the counter attack but we really should have scored more than four goals today, so of the football at times was excellent. We are creating lots of chances so for that and the way we are playing the game I have to be pleased at the start we have made. However we will still need to maintain the standards we are trying to set at Recreation Park. The players have been terrific, having only had them for three months now, we have brought 20 players in, they are all hungrier with a great spirit to do well which is first class. We must be in the mix at the end of the season and I have no complaints so far, their work ethics is terrific, their attitude to training, but only ourselves can maintain the high standards we are trying to set. Competition is a good thing in the team, I changed the team from last week, I made the one change this week, depending on what the game is – if it is a home game or an away game we might look to change the personnel, it’s all part of having a strong squad.
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Queen’s Park v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic continued their good run of form with an impressive victory at the National Stadium. The Wasps started brightly and took the lead after only nine minutes when Ryan McCord presented Kevin Cawley the chance inside the box and the striker opened the scoring. On 28 minutes he was to double his tally for the day with a great solo goal, curling a effort past the outstretched home keeper. Although Alloa were on top Queen’s to their credit always looked to play their own style of football making it a very open game. Kevin Cawley could have scored his hatrick, then Graeme Holmes missed an even easier chance. Michael Doyle did increase the score by adding the third goal before substitute Tony Quinn diverted a Jamie Longworth shot past Scott Bain for a late consolation goal.

 

paul hartley after hampden win

We were delighted to earn another three points today and in doing so managed to score three goals away from home. Queens Park are a good footballing team and like to play a similar way to ourselves, we are happy and want to keep the run going, that is three victories in our last three league games which is pleasing. Kevin Cawley managed to get our opening two goals before I had to take him off as he and Graeme Holmes had been feeling the effects of flu all week. Kevin was again terrific for us as he has been since the start of the season, his work rate if phenomenal he doesn’t just go forward and stand there but comes back and chases and harries and he got his reward with the two goals. I keep saying to him, even if you miss chances in other games you have to persevere to get your rewards. Kevin is a very talented player and he has been a bit unlucky – but we could see the qualities he could bring to the club, I knew that when I signed him – having worked with him at Celtic and I think he can only get better. In football management you live for a Saturday – we train on a Tuesday and a Thursday which is great, but when Saturday comes it is the real stuff and that’s what I live for! It’s a results based business and I know I will be able to sleep tonight! That’s the way football management goes no matter what level you are at, be it in the Premier League or the Third Division. Managers are under so much pressure to get a result but for myself we just need to keep winning games, it is so more enjoyable and I will enjoy this evening after that result and display.
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East Stirlingshire v Alloa Athletic

The Wasps won Saturday’s local derby at Ochilview against East Stirlingshire but the feeling at the end of the game was relief rather than joy in a game which should have been all over in a first half such was the gulf between both sides. The good thing is the way manager Paul Hartley has the team playing their football but for the supporters at Ochilview they had to hold on until the final minute to claim victory, it should have been so different. While East Stirling competed for every ball, we never punished them, with too many passes, especially in the final third not penetrating, the players are still finding their feet and are desperate to impress, there is no doubt we are moving in the right direction and another three points away from home are very welcome. A win is a win and the team are improving every week, Robbie Winters making his league debut was class and will be a great asset to the club.

 

paul hartley after east stirling game

In the first half the game should have been out of sight with some of the football we played but at times we tried to walk the ball into the net! Our two centre backs again were terrific, it’s our first clean sheet of the season – which is one of the things I had been stressing to the guys to strive for, but the main thing was to pick up full points and we are happy to achieve this. We didn’t expect this to be an easy game, conditions weren’t great – the wind was with us in the first half, but East Stirlingshire had that advantage in the second half. We still tried to play football and on another day we might have had two penalties in the second half, but we will take the three points. The team is still learning and getting to know each other and certainly winning away from home is always good. We will get better I have said that to the players – some of our decision making at times could have been better , but we will work on that in training this week. It is great to attract Robbie Winters to the club, he brings a bit class to the squad , some of his link up play was first class and we have only had one training session together so his understanding in the team we get better, he has a proven track record and he has quality written all over him.

john coughlin – east stirlingshire manager

Today it would be fair to say Alloa could have been three or four up in the first half, they missed some really good chances and I was hoping to get to half-time at 0-0 but then we gave away a silly free kick just on 45 minutes, we didn’t defend it and it has cost us the game in the end, because we have matched them for effort in the second half, we are a young team and just need a break. On another day when Steven Jackson hits his shot off the underside of the bar it would have went in the net instead of coming out but it wasn’t to be our day. We have a very young side and lots of inexperience, when I saw Robbie Winters in the Alloa team sheet today, my heart was in my mouth – because I knew he would be a problem for us, we have young centre backs learning the game and hopefully they will not have to face a player of his ability every week but it will help them learn the game quickly.
0 - 1
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Alloa Athletic v Peterhead

Today was a result of intent, bouncing back from the disappointment of last week at Annan, manager Paul Hartley changed his team formation and personnel to best cope with the potential danger from Peterhead’s dangerous strikeforce. This was an excellent three points in a game Alloa won more easier than the scoreline suggests, Peterhead going ahead after 30 minutes at a pooerly defended free kick. In the second half Alloa took the game from the outset and equalised in the opening minute of the second half when “Man of the Match” Kevin Cawley scored his first goal of the game, however his second goal was worthy of winning anygame and throughly deserved. The third goal did not arrive which “The Wasps” play deserved but in the end Alloa collected the three points which on the day was the most important statistic.

 

paul hartley after peterhead game

I thought the boys were terrific today, overall I thought we deserved to win the game. We played all the football and looked like we could score every time we went up the park. Although we were behind at half time I told the guys to be patient and the goals would come. Kevin Cawley was terrific again today, his work rate and overall play was great and his two goals he scored he made them out of nothing. He had easier chances in the first half but the two goals he scored were terrific for us. We are delighted and it is a great three points, we now go into a break and hopefully we can still keep the momentum going. The football was terrific and we will always encourage that – I have said that to my players we will not change for anyone the way that we play – we will continue to try and pass it and hopefully it will pay its rewards in the end, I must make a special mention for our two centre backs, I was very pleased with them, their understanding can only get better. I am delighted with the win a great three points for us. Michael Doyle also showed great energy getting up and down the park and that is what full backs have to do nowadays. Our two full backs were excellent today – but it was a good overall team performance today. The team showed great character – a goal down at half time other teams might have buckled but we told them to keep believing and passing the ball and we got there in the end. A great reward. We changed our system today and I was pleased to say it worked for us. We played 4-2-3-1 with four really attacking players and it worked for us today. We did change the shape of the team after losing at Annan last week but it was terrific today. We felt we needed to change the personnel a little bit and play a system we thought we could hurt Peterhead. In the last couple of weeks we have had lots of possession but not really a cutting edge but today we found that in a system that really suited us today.

john sheran – peterhead manager

For our second half performance we did not deserve anything out of today’s game, losing the goals we did – we didn’t deserve anything and that is what we got nothing. We had a couple of chances – they were easily preventable goals but we didn’t manage to keep the ball in their part of the park in the second half, which invited trouble on ourselves. The goals certainly knocked the wind out of our sails a bit, but at 1-1 the game was very much still alive – there is no reason why we couldn’t have kicked on and taken something out of the game. There is a lot of work to do and I need to pick them up and get them going – we have a fortnight to do that before the next game. We had been ahead with a good goal and no reason why we couldn’t have gone on and did something in the second half as well but you need to start the half properly – that is what it comes down to but instead we went backwards.
2 - 1
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Annan Athletic v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic suffered their first defeat in the league this season in a game Annan Athletic were more aggresive and took their chances in front of goal in a game “The Wasps” played a lot of good football but lacked any end product in front of goal. Annan, who played a similar style at Galabank at the end of last season in the play-off’s played to their strengths with great height, determination and played very direct. Alloa Athletic can play better, but will need to take lessons from this game and result and move forward. Next week “The Wasps” face Peterhead at Recreation Park, who are also still trying to find their feet in this division, but with Rory McAllister & Bryan Deasley in their side we know we will need to learn from Annan and regroup for another mouth watering game next Saturday.

 

paul hartley at annan

I don’t think there was much in the game especially the first half but Annan play to their strengths and caused us problems with their height at set pieces and fair play to them we know the type of team they are, the killer goal was the second when they hit us on the break with a wonder strike. We know we can and will need to play better to win football games so we will go back to training on Tuesday with plenty to work on, but it certainly was a little bit of a reality check for us, we knew what to expect when we came here today, Annan are good at what they do, but we know we can play a lot better, some of our decision making at times wasn’t quite right but we will improve over the coming weeks

harry cairney – annan manager

It was a very tough game for us because Alloa are a very good passing team and there is no doubt they passed the ball well and had good possession but we managed to get the goals which is really important and what the game is all about, we managed to the goals at good times one either side of half-time. We have had a good start to the season and obviously the players are keen to keep that form going, their attitude was great, even when we went down to ten men – although Alloa had the ball and were passing it around we restricted them to very few clear cut chances. We have good defenders at this club and losing Scott after the sending off was a blow but we regrouped , he paid the price and punishment when he brought down their player, it was their best chance in the game and it was a last ditch tackle on the guy.
2 - 0
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Alloa Athletic v Clyde

Alloa paid the price after dominating possession but failed to make the most of their supremacy, the team is still in a transitional period but no one could doubt or complain about the football on show in fairness at times from both sides, “The Wasps” could have had the points tied up before Clyde scored totally against the run of play. Ryan McCord did bring the sides level and at times Paul Hartley’s side were a joy to watch but too many final passes went astray. In the second half the home side again dominated play and took the lead through Mark Docherty who knocked the ball past the advancing Filip Mentel in the Clyde goal. At 2-1 although in front “The Wasps” could not find that important third goal and paid the price when Clyde broke upfield and Scott Bain fouled Stephen McDonald, a penalty but a red card seemed harsh as Michael Doyle appeared to have run into goal covered. Even after going down to ten men “The Wasps” were still unfortunate when Peter Innes struck the post with keeper Mentel well beaten. A great game but a game Clyde will be more happy with the draw, The Wasps need to turn theses draws into victorys to ensure a return to Second Division at the end of this season.

 

paul hartley after clyde draw

Disappointed, thought we created enough chances to win the game and overall were the better team, even after going down to ten men we were still the team which looked the most likely to win the game and still pushed for a winner. However as we know that’s what happens in football sometimes, you don’t take your chances and have to pay the cost, they score a thirty yarder and a penalty kick but I was pleased with the way the team played , some of the football was excellent again and on another day we would have scored four or five goals. No argument about the penalty kick, but not sure about the red card, I’m sure “Doyley” was back to cover but that’s the way it goes, I was trying to say that to the players we have got to watch these situations we are not a dirty team and that’s us lost two players with red cards in two weeks, you think you have a decent size squad but we will now have to be without Scott Bain next week, he is a good young goalkeeper and will learn from the experience and it gives Craig a chance next week at table topping Annan.
A 2-1 score line is very dangerous, we didn’t take our chances to increase our lead and that’s what has came back to haunt us, in the first half the amount of chances we created we should have taken the lead earlier, but it is pleasing the way we are creating these openings but we need to be more clinical in front of goal and finish teams of.

jim duffy – clyde manager

This was an excellent point for us at Recreation Park because I thought Alloa Athletic played some excellent football particularly in the first half, they moved the ball really well in midfield and built from the back and at times we were up against it, although we did have two or three good chances and we have to thank a magnificent goal from John Sweeney but for us it was more about nicking things as overall Alloa had most of the play. We know they are a very good side and I have said already at the end of the season they won’t be far away so for us to come here and get a point is a terrific result but the desire and work ethic from my players, although some of them were absolutely shattered by the end of the game, but they kept chasing back and working, and got a wee break here and there towards the end of the game, even though we had the extra man we still had to work for the point. There was loads of chances in the game – it was a really good open game – unfortunately the Scottish Third Division doesn’t always get the publicity that other leagues get and some people can be too negative about Scottish football but some of the football played by the McCord brothers and their passing style of play along with Kevin Cawley who is an exceptional player and in our team we have a good number of under 21 players so plenty of optimism for Scottish football – we just need to shout about it a bit more.
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