Season: 2008-09

Brechin City v Alloa Athletic

Yet again Alloa Athletic look back on a game and wonder why they did not take something out of it. A lack of fire power up front along with a defence which is still handing out presents. It is hard not to be frustrated in watching a game where the opposition were no better, however they did score a vital goal, in a game which early on looked like the first goal could be the winner. We still have some very important games left this season to consolidate our position in the league, but we must start creating our own luck and stop waiting for it to be presented to us, Brechin defended stoutly and blocked any efforts we threw at them late in the second half, with Jon Seeley and Barry Smith outstanding. No one could fault Alloa’s effort at Glebe Park but yet again it is another game which we did not deserve to lose, but did.

 

allan maitland at glebe park

Today we played against a good Brechin City side in a game there was nothing between the sides whatsoever, the two teams cancelled each other out playing very similar systems, Brechin had one shot at goal which our goalkeeper made a save from and we had a shot at goal in the first half which Craig Nelson had to pull of a good save, I thought the two teams competed very well without creating much in the game and we lost the game in what can only be described as a shocking goal. Defensively from our point of view whether it is the goalkeepers fault, Dougie Hill’s fault or Scot Buist, who ever, its terrible, what you do is you clear your lines and ask questions later and we didn’t do that, we allowed ourselves to get into a situation where there was no room for error and Rory McAllister sticks a toe in and scores his goal. We had handled McAllister really well today, so defensively we have been excellent, but for one lapse in the game, it has cost us dearly. From our point of view I don’t think we created enough chances to win but I would say exactly the same about Brechin City, from that point of view I think we deserved something from the game, probably haven’t done enough to win the game but we certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game either. When we had opportunities to create things, we didn’t have that quality from the edge of the box to create that opportunity, Brian Carrigan not playing today from the start due to his injury last Saturday probably didn’t help us, but even allowing for that we have battled really hard for 89 minutes, not 90 minutes, we did have that one lapse of concentration which cost us dear. On the other hand I felt we had two fantastic penalty claims, I understand people will throw themselves down to block the ball, just like John Terry does, but if you are in your penalty box and you punch the ball with both hands that must be a penalty kick in my book and when you have Jinky (Dougie Wilson) who is the smallest guy in the team, waiting at the back post and a player barges him in the back, that again is a penalty kick. So I’m disappointed with that aspect of it, but it is not the referee’s fault we lost the game, it is our fault, of course I’m disappointed not to take something from the game. The game was played in good spirit without creating many chances and we are disappointed to lose.
1 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Arbroath

Two goals at the start of each half helped “The Wasps” record a vital victory over Arbroath at Recreation Park. This was a vital game for the club and one in which the players showed a determination to win in a professional manner and by the end of the game could have extended the margin of the victory. The goalscorers on the day were Iain Campbell and David McClune, who both played exceptionally well getting forward from their wing back roles, indeed Alloa have now had nineteen different players who have scored for the first team this season. This was a great team performance with Stuart Noble picking up the sponsors “Man of the match” award. Prior to the game manager Allan Maitland signed youngster Gary Carroll, a nineteen year old midfield player who had been with Aberdeen since 2004 and stays locally in Sauchie, Gary is the nephew of ex Hibernian player Pat Carroll. Gary has joined the club initially until the end of the season.

 

allan maitland after arbroath victory

Normally we expect the wind, to be strong at Gayfield and our last game there was probably the windiest day of the season but today it couldn’t have been far away either. The first half in particular it was very poor but the important thing when it is poor is that you keep doing the basic things right and we scored a really good goal, which the referee deserves great credit allowing play to continue after Andy Scott had been fouled, allowing the advantage, it was a really good goal which involved both wing backs, one getting to the touchline and the other scoring at the near post is fantastic. At half time I was stressing the simple thing is, it doesn’t matter how good it is or how pretty it is, if we do the basics, we stop having holding midfield players getting caught on the ball and centre backs taking throw ins too far up the park, keep our shape, however it did help in the fact we scored so early in the second period, but we were very professional today, played the game out and in many ways, without being disrespectful of Arbroath, it was the most comfortable win we have had this season, I thought we did the professional things, getting them all right today and had enough threat up front to cause them problems, I thought Stuart Noble was great, and for him to win “Man of the Match” when David McClune set up the first goal and scored the second, took a bit of doing. We thought today was our most important game of the season and it was vital for us to go on and win it, this victory and Stranraer scoring late at Stair Park to draw with Queen’s Park helps and all in all its been a great day for us.

Hopefully this result will give us confidence going in to our next game which is away to Brechin City, for that game we have John Grant suspended, John has been playing a holding role in the middle of the park but he starts a three match suspension next Saturday and he will be missed, it will be disappointing that he will miss the game. We have improved our record away from home recently, winning two and drawing one in our last three games so we can go to Brechin with a bit of confidence and see if we can win, another couple of wins would do the team the world of good and hopefully we can relax and enjoy the rest of the season.
2 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Stirling Albion

Alloa lost out today against local rivals Stirling Albion in a game they didn’t play badly, but failed to take chances in front of goal which ultimately saw them take nothing from the game. Stuart Noble opened the scoring for the home side after only five minutes after Brown Ferguson had burst into the box and supplied the telling pass. The turning point of the game, was when Stirling Albion were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute, a decision which Alloa certainly felt hard done by. However when they conceded a second goal four minutes later they still seemed to be thinking about the loss of the first goal. Pat Scullion did draw the match level again with his first goal for “The Wasps” but then Alloa conceded a third goal, which was to prove the winner from their own corner kick. Still Alloa looked like they would draw level but in their best chance Brown Ferguson headed narrowly past. It was a great advert for football and a game many would think Alloa did not deserve to lose but they need to take chances when presented and stop losing avoidable goals at the other end. Next week “The Wasps” will be desperate to get back on track at home against Arbroath, in a real six pointer match.

 

allan maitland after 3-2 defeat by stirling

Can I start by saying – I have been at Recreation Park now three years, and that is easily the best game we have had at the Recs this season, I thought that was a fantastic game of football, a great game of football, I thought Stirling Albion played really really well, I thought we created the best chances of the game throughout – at 1-0 I thought we were comfortable, I must say for my shout I didn’t think it was a penalty kick, in fact I’m convinced it wasn’t a penalty kick, I thought that was a poor decision. Stirling Albion got the benefit of that and it gave them a boost, we were still smarting for the second goal, which was a great finish, but got ourselves back into the game again and Stuart Noble had a great opportunity to put us 3-2 up, the third goal comes from our corner kick , the ball comes to the edge of the box and when we should try to stop the game, we allow Stirling Albion a break and to be fair they had had that the whole game and we spoke about it at half-time and still didn’t deal with it, and despite Jellie’s great save, they still score the third goal. Bomber then had a great opportunity to level the game at the end but headed it bye the post , I think Stuart Noble had one, but it was a great game of football, sometimes you win sometimes you lose, but if the players play like that all the time we will not be far away, Stirling Albion were great, the game was played in a great spirit, but by the end of the game there was a few dodgy tackles coming in but that was caused by frustration, because they feel as though decisions have gone against them, it was never a penalty and the penalty has changed the game, it gave them a bonus, given them a boost and they took full advantage of it, but there was not many things wrong with the team today, I thought Brown Ferguson was magnificent, constantly driving from the middle of the park, we created plenty of chances and the faults were the second and third goals which we didn’t defend, but if every game was like that at the Recs, despite the scoreline, I don’t think people would be complaining too much.
2 - 3
Full Time

Stirling Albion v Alloa Athletic

The first local derby of the week at Forthbank ended goal less in a game played in torrential rain, the visitors first threatened with a Chris Townsley header which Scott Christie had to look sharp to deal with. Ten minutes later Michael Mullen was allowed to run clean through from a suspiciously looking offside position, however after rounding Alloa keeper Raymond Jellema his shot was headed clear. In the second half Stirling Albion had the better of the early exchanges and will look to a Mark Docherty shot which struck the woodwork. Iain Campbell had a goal bound shot tipped over by Scott Christie and as the game drew to a close it was “The Wasps” who had the final chances, Greig Spence firing narrowly over and a Brian Carrigan effort in the final minute which Scott Christie managed to somehow keep out. Over the piece on the evening a draw was about right.

 

allan maitland after derby stalemate

It was a very difficult night with two honest teams giving it their all , it is not the worst 0-0 draw I have ever seen , both teams were very committed, Stirling had a twenty minute spell in the second half when John O’Neil caused us real problems got in behind us and Ross Forsyth hit the post and John had a shot himself which skidded by the post and at that time they were on top but we got our selves back into the game, the subs helped us, Brian Carrigan gave us a bit of guile which was missing previously and Greig Spence was always a threat up front, while Pat Scullion did well in the centre of the park, by the end of the game Iain Campbell was unwell and Dougie Hill was struggling with his groin which allowed big Martin Grehan to get onto flick on’s all the time which was a problem because the ball was sticking at our end of the park to often for my liking. This was a game two months ago we would have lost, but we are digging in now and getting something out of games which previously we were unable to do, tonight’s result becomes a good result if we win on Saturday. Both teams worked really hard and a draw was a fair result but we will look to win on Saturday and take four points out of the two games. Thought Stirling had their moments, we were decent, worked really hard, so a draw is a fair result. We had a great chance at the end when their goalkeeper made a magnificent save from Brian Carrigan. Bit by bit we are dragging ourselves away from the bottom of the league, in Scot Buist we had the one outstanding defender on the park tonight and he covered up for Dougie in the second half when he was suffering through his groin injury.
Saturday will be a different game and one we will look to win.
0 - 0
Full Time

Stranraer v Alloa Athletic

“The Wasps” two early goals set them up perfectly in a game they just couldn’t afford to lose at Stair Park, especially after the huge disappointment of the East Fife game the previous Saturday. Ex Alloa Athletic player Keith Knox who played at Recreation Park between 2001 – 2003 before moving to Gretna had recently been named the new manager at Stranraer, but it seems they might be doomed already for relegation at the end of this season. Brown Ferguson returned to his best with a cracking goal after only 90 seconds, striking the ball into the top right hand corner of the net, two minutes later Stuart Noble showed great strength and determination to burst through the home defence and fire home goal number two. Alloa had more chances to increase their lead before a penalty award gave Stranraer a lifeline. Iain Campbell was penalised for dangerous play, raising his boot to clear, while Danny Mitchell the Stranraer forward certainly lowered his head to the ball as well. The Alloa players certainly were far more focused than the previous week, Greig Spence and Stuart Noble were linking up well and causing the home side numerous problems. The important third goal was scored by Iain Campbell straight from a corner, a goal he and the team thourghly deserved. This result sets us up nicely for two back to back local derbies against Stirling Albion who have now went on a seven match unbeaten run. Results in these matches and following home match against Arbroath can help the team accumulate more important league points.

 

 
1 - 3
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v East Fife

Alloa Athletic toiled to create anything of note on a frustrating afternoon at Recreation Park against East Fife today. The team appeared to have too many players which looked like they only had to turn up today and handed East Fife an easier three points than they could have expected. East Fife from the kick off were the hungrier team and had the desire to make things happen. After two back to back victories, the Alloa fans could have expected the home side to play with some confidence taken from these victories, but East Fife piled more misery on an out of sorts Alloa team who have still to score against Dave Baikie’s side in three outings this season. Greig McDonald scored the only goal of the game three minutes into the second half, while Alloa came closest through a Greig Spence shot which was saved by Willie McCulloch.

 

an angry allan maitland after east fife game

East Fife must love playing against us, because we have played three games against them this season and Greig Spence today forced Willie McCulloch to make his first save he has had to make against us in the three games, today I thought we were worse than at any other stage of the season, the first half we were flat and the second half we were dreadful, I think East Fife thourghly deserved their goal, it was a miracle it was only 1-0 but we can only get better than that performance. Having done really well in last two weeks we should have come into the game with loads of confidence, there was no sign of that, we allowed East Fife after a difficult game on Tuesday night to play the game at the tempo they wanted, we had no quality in the game and we got exactly what we deserved out of the game, which is absolutely nothing.
0 - 1
Full Time

Queen’s Park v Alloa Athletic

Today’s game at Hampden Park was a game in which Alloa Athletic were still seeking their first away victory this season and unbelievably their first win at the national stadium since winning 4-0 on the 22nd March, 1997, when goals from Paul Simpson(2), Willie Irvine and David Pew won that day. Queen’s Park had only lost 2-1 at Celtic Park in this seasons Scottish Cup last week and were still reflecting on this when Stuart Noble should have opened the scoring inside two minutes for “The Wasps”. Greig Spence making his full debut for the club put Stuart through on goals, but David Crawford in the home goal produced an excellent save, this was only to be expected as Crawford has now won the “Man of the Match” award in Alloa’s two visits to Hampden this season. Queen’s opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Iain Watt crossed and Paul Harkins to score his third goal of the season, all against Alloa Athletic. Alloa dominated possession but again at Hampden could not find a way past David Crawford. The second half opened in sensational fashion when Queen’s defender Barry Douglas was red carded after two bookable challenges right in front of the referee. Alloa took advantage and Greig Spence scored his first senior goal, not bad for a 16 year old player. Again Alloa should have killed the game off, Bomber Ferguson again being denied by a great save by Crawford. As is not unusual Queen’s played better with ten men and Alloa did not win this game until two minutes from the end when Stuart Noble, lashed a shot high past the home keeper for a deserved victory for Alloa Athletic.

 

allan maitland after hampden victory

This was our first away win of the season and our first away win since March, 2008 the difficult thing for us is we need to go behind, also need to create sixteen chances to score two, in the first half we played really well at times, Queen’s Park had one shot at goal and scored and I think with Stuart Noble through twice, there was a big scramble which should have been put away, Jinky was through and blasted over, we had created chances but missed them, but at half time I was saying to the players just to perceiver, keep playing, keep believing and it will come right for us, just keep doing the right things.
The sending off, obviously helped us, I thought the first tackle was a booking and having just been booked it was awfully silly, his adrenalin was running high and to lunge into a tackle which he didn’t need to do, but the referee was spot on giving another booking and a sending off and I don’t think anyone can have any complaints.

I know the complaint was that “Wardy” had reacted in a way which encouraged the referee to book him but when we played against Queen’s Park earlier in the season at the Recs and Raymond Jellema pulled their player down in the box the Queen’s Park people were right up saying “He has got to go” it’s just the nature of the game and I think when teams are at our end of the league table they look for any breaks they can possibly get its just part of the game. I think it was a sending off and we scored really early soon after this and I was delighted for Greig Spence on his full senior debut to score, we were creating chances at that stage, Bomber had a great chance which he must score, Greig had a free header in the box but when Bomber was right through but again their goalkeeper was magnificent, but after that the game died we couldn’t take advantage of the extra man, we had hoped to get Jinky and Andy Scott on the ball but it didn’t happen and out of the blue in our worst spell in the game Stuart Noble shows real strength turning the defender really well and I asked him about the composed finish, but he said gaffer there was nothing composed about that I had missed so many chances I just leathered it. We needed that away victory on the back of the Ayr United result last week we needed the belief of an away win to say we are ecstatic is an understatement we are absolutely thrilled.

A massive result for us and something we can start to build on this year, it’s the first time we have had back to back wins this season, with our two strikers scoring the goals this helps but we need to build on that. We hope to extent Stuart Noble’s stay, he has done really well for us, today was his first goal and obviously he missed chances which he did last week as well but he has been great for us and he needed the match sharpness which we have been able to give him and I think that has helped. Brian Carrigan has been ill all week, he is now feeling better but he said his head was still bursting, he hadn’t trained all week so there was no way I could play him which created an opportunity for Greig Spence, people might look at it throwing a youngster into the team but Greig has played coming on as substitute and we have deliberately had him in the squad for most of the season because I think he has something and I have played him on Tuesday night games against Junior sides pacifically to be ready when his opportunity came along, he has trained with the first team all season getting him physically stronger and he was excellent today, I think Stuart Noble helped him but scoring a goal on his full first team debut certainly helps.
1 - 2
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Ayr United

“The Wasps” showed great character and fantastic fighting spirit to come back in a game they took to promotion chasing Ayr United and deservedly lead by two goals in the first half, however as we have seen to our detriment this season the game has to be played for at least 90 minutes and sometimes even more. John Grant was given the honour of captaining the side on his 100th first team game for the club and also to mark that on Tuesday 10th February when he will turn twenty one. This was also Brian Carrigan’s home league debut since joining the club from Linlithgow Rose on loan and his class was evident and he also scored two goals to send the Alloa Athletic fans home very happy after the game, which is why manager Allan Maitland brought him to the club. Alloa had many heroes on the day and Stuart Noble was also involved in many of the good things on show. Ayr united never really got started in the first half but this was due to Alloa Athletic players being first for every ball. In the second half Ayr united did get back into the game when David Gormley scored twice, the first goal was a great strike, but the second goal could have been avoided due to a lack of communication. Alloa Athletic heads never went down and Dougie Wilson pulled the Ayr defence all over the place , before sunstitute Greig Spence sent a great pass through for Stuart Noble and the forward was pulled down to give Alloa Athletic the chance to regain their lead with only two minutes left, Brian Carrigan stepped up and made no mistake to record our first victory over Ayr United this season and set us up nicely for next weeks game against Queen’s Park who did exceptionally well against Celtic at Parkhead in the Homecoming Scottish Cup with ex Alloa Athletic player Adam Coakley on target for them. Lets go to Hampden Park and claim our first away victory of the season.

 

allan maitland after ayr united victory

I thought we were fantastic in the first half, played really well, first to every ball, thought Brian Carrigan and Stuart Noble were magnificent, held the ball up for us and allowed Jinky and Kyle MacAulay to get forward and give great support, however we took a few knocks in the game, Bomber, Carrots, Chris Townsley and Kyle MacAulay were all struggling at half time and later in the game Dougie Wilson also got injured. However you can see why Ayr United are there at the top end of the league, the spirit they showed in the second half was absolutely fantastic, got back into the game at 2-2 and had a fantastic opportunity to go and win, but Ryan Stevenson shot the ball over the bar.

At that stage we could easily have folded and we probably would have previously but I’m pleased we got ourselves into a situation when there was enough bodies up the park to support Stuart Noble and got ourselves a penalty kick, I’m pleased because we deserved to win the first half and probably Ayr United will feel they deserved to win the second half, however I am delighted to win the game, any way we can and very pleased to win the three points, our games at home this season have been exciting games, having previously won 4-3 in local derby against Stirling Albion and today’s game was another fantastic game and hopefully that will be the start to drag us up the league. With five minutes to go we might have settled for a point and a 2-2 draw, we have struggled to score goals this season and two penalty kicks today have helped ease this, there is no doubt with Brian Carrigan and Stuart Noble we have something different up front and I thought Brian Carrigan was absolutely fantastic, I know Dougie Hill won the “Man of the Match” award and I’m pleased for him, John Grant on his 100th game for the club could easily won it, but for me Brian Carrigan was head & shoulders above everyone else as far as Alloa were concerned, although I thought David Gormley played well for Ayr United after he was introduced for Alex Williams in the first half. Ayr United are a good side, we are pleased to win but now we have to do the same thing next week against Queen’s Park. A good game of football for everybody, what a difference it is to play when the wind is not blowing a gale like last week, we are very pleased a good day for us.
3 - 2
Full Time

Arbroath v Alloa Athletic

Today’s game against Arbroath at Gayfield Park was played in horrendous conditions, with high winds making a mockery of such an important game for both sides. The game was in doubt even before kick-off with conditions at the ground making it impossible to play a meaningful game of football. David McClune had injured his hamstring at training on Thursday and missed the game, while Brian Carrigan was on the bench. Throughout the match the ball was either in the air or out of play, it was near impossible to play constructive football. Once the game reached half-time and the score line drawn at 0-0, the surprise was that the teams emerged for the second period, the referee had wanted to abandon the game at this point, but Arbroath manager John McGlashan wanted to play on. In the end the game was decided on a missed place challenge, when Colin Cameron burst into the box and referee Colin MacKay deemed Dougie Hill had caught the ex Scottish International player and awarded Arbroath a penalty which Steven Weir scored to give “The Red Lichties” a valuable three points and push Alloa Athletic back down into the relegation zone. Brian Carrigan did come on for the final nine minutes but this was not a game to judge any players ability on, as the only winner was the weather.

 

allan maitland at gayfield

Today’s a simple thing, I don’t know how many times the ball went out of the park, I don’t know how many times they had to get a different ball it was ridiculous, the game should never have been on from the start.
There was a lot of doubt at the beginning, there was a long chat with the referee and at half-time, the referee wanted to put it off, but John McGlashan, the Arbroath manager didn’t want the game called off, quite rightly his team had battled against the elements of the first half and he felt they could have an advantage in the second half, but if there is a spectacle there for the spectators I’m missing it?
I think the game was a joke, I didn’t think it was a penalty kick either, I thought the whole thing was a farce from start to finish. Both teams tried their best, couldn’t do anything about it, was there a shot in the entire game, I don’t remember any? And any one who paid their money to see that game should be refunded it was a joke, and I would have said the same thing had we won it was just never a game of football. The game should not have been on, it is as simple as that, they played better in the first half than we did, the second half we were better and the penalty kick, I didn’t think it was!
1 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Raith Rovers

In a game of few chances “The Wasps” battled hard to earn a draw against league leaders Raith Rovers, indeed in the second half the best chance of the game fell to Dougie Wilson who had been put clear by a pass from Stuart Noble who was making his home debut since coming on loan from Airdrie United, but Jinky’s shot was pulled wide off the post, indeed not long after Brown Ferguson went closer, but his effort was cleared off the line by Raith Rovers defender Craig Wilson. It was a game of few chances for either team, Raith Rovers had started the game brightly but in the second half Alloa Athletic had the best of the play and with more presence in front of goal could well have taken full points. Manager Allan Maitland is hopeful to have at least one new signing before next Saturday’s important game against Arbroath, but as has been pointed out before, the club will only post details on signings when it has happened and not purely speculation. However Steven McKeown did join Albion Rovers on loan till the end of the season on Saturday morning prior to their game against Cowdenbeath at Central Park. Steven like Fraser Forrest is another player who has been a great servant to the club but needs to be playing games and hopefully his period with Albion Rovers will help him achieve this.

 

allan maitland after raith rovers game

There was not a lot in this match to talk about, but for out point of view we are near the bottom of the league and Raith Rovers are at the top of the league and I don’t think there was anything between the two teams today, we said before hand it was going to be important we matched up against them in all areas of the park, we thought Iain Davidson would make it difficult in the centre of the park and it was important we had somebody in there to battle against this and Pat Scullion did really well in breaking things up today, might have been better when he was on the ball creating things but he certainly dug in for us, in games like this there are always one chance in the game for either team which could win the game, today our chance fell to Dougie Wilson, a great ball from Stuart Noble, who I thought was excellent, a great ball through from Stuart but Jinky didn’t have it in his locker to put it away and that was our one chance but I’m pleased with the effort, delighted to have a clean sheet, which is something in recent times we do not have, so pleased with the effort, commitment and most aspects, but I’d like us to turn these draws into victories if we could but at least we are showing a bit more about us now, we don’t look like a team who are in the bottom two any longer, who look like a team who are capable of stringing some results together, so for this to be a good result for us we need to go to Gayfield, against Arbroath next week and need to win, but no complaints with any of the players today, I thought they were great.
0 - 0
Full Time