Season: 2009-10

Alloa Athletic v Stirling Albion

Alloa Athletic went three points clear at the top of the Irn Bru Second Division after a 1-0 victory over local rivals Stirling Albion. Alloa took the game to Allan Moore’s side and after 13 minutes the impressive Andy Scott lobbed Albion keeper Scott Christie for the games only goal. In the second half Stirling Albion came back at “The Wasps” and David Crawford, once again this season showed his worth between the posts. However Alloa themselves had chances to extend their lead and Mark Gilhaney and Iain Russell were unfortunate with efforts later in the game which would have settled the result. Stirling Albion although having a lot of the ball in the second half will be disappointed with their efforts in front of goal. Alloa gave debuts to Kevin Welsh at left back from Hamilton Accies, and later in the game Iain Russell on loan from Morton who replaced Brian Carrigan in the second half, both players can be pleased with their efforts as Alloa Athletic set out to build on their excellent start in the league this season.

  Alloa Athletic   Stirling Albion
1 David Crawford 1 Scott Christie
2 Mark Brown  Bkd 70m 2 Andy Graham
3 Kevin Welsh 3 Ross Forsyth Bkd 48m
4 Scot Buist 4 Craig Young
5 Scott Walker 5 Sean Roycroft Bkd 90m
6 John Grant    6 John O’Neil
7 Mark Gilhaney  Bkd 90m 7 Andy Gibson
8 Brown Ferguson 8 Stewart Devine Bkd 77m
9 Brian Carrigan 9 Martin Grehan
10 Scott Agnew 10 David McKenna
11 Andy Scott 11 David O’Brien
       
12 Marc McCafferty

 

 12 Scott Robertson
14 Gary Carroll (10) 68m 14 Paul Murphy (4) 56m
15 Hugh Kerr 15 Michael Mullen (7) 73m
16 Iain Russell (9) 68m 16 Nathan Taggart (6) 61m
       
GK Stephen Hall 18 Myles Hogarth

Referee : Brian Colvin   Asst: Gary Sweeney & Alan Newlands

                                                CROWD – 1,201

1 – 0    Andy Scott       (13 mins)

allan maitland after derby victory

I said in my programme notes that the team that can finish above Stirling Albion will win the league and I think today showed that, I thought they were excellent. In the first half I did not think there was anything in it, we scored a goal that I honestly didn’t expect us to score against Stirling Albion with just one clearance up the park and a lovely finish from Andy Scott who I thought was outstanding throughout the game and after that in the second half with the changes Stirling Albion made, they forced us back and you have a choice at that stage do you hang on to what you have got or do you have a go? We chose to hang to what we had and we sat probably too deep and allowed Stirling Albion too much of the ball – our goal keeper had a magnificent save down to his right hand side half way through the second half. We changed it by bringing on Gary Carroll and Iain Russell on, that helped us enormously, and got the ball back at their end of the park, the game then became a wee bit more even. It was a great game to win, there was nothing between the sides apart from a magnificent winning goal from Andy Scott. I thought the effort of our players which is all I can judge was fantastic today, adding Iain Russell and Kevin Welsh – Kevin had a great 90 minutes today, so adding the two of them to our squad is a statement of intent. We are sitting top of the league after 5 games, we have done magnificently well and we are going to keep working to try and win each game that we play. We have quality players at this club, this is perhaps the best squad of players I have had in the years I have been here and we are going to try and build on where we are just now.
1 - 0
Full Time

Clyde v Alloa Athletic

A Brian Carrigan goal was all there was between the teams at Broadwood yesterday, however there was plenty of opportunites with both ex Alloa players Paul McLeod & Adam Coakley given early chances for Clyde before Alloa took the lead. Indeed as early as the 3rd minute “The Wasps” were unfortunate not to go ahead when Scot Buist’s shot crashed off the crossbar. The goal came in the 16th minute when Scott Agnew worked his way in from the left and unleashed a shot which “trialist” keeper Andy McNeil could only push out and Brian Carrigan was in the correct place to fire home the winner. Seven minutes before half time Alloa had the ball in the net again, Scott Walker challenged keeper McNeil and Mark Gilhaney fired the lose ball into the net, but the referee gave a foul against Scott Walker. In the second half Alloa had far more of the ball but could not find the killer second goal, which gave the home side some hope and they certainly had their moments as well. Two minutes from the end Hugh Kerr did well to get away from the Clyde defence, and after rounding the keeper was very unfortunate when his goal bound shot was brilliantly cleared off the goal line by Mark Casey. Another important three points in a game which was important to win going into the International break and puts the team back to the top of the league.

Alloa Athletic                             Clyde
1 David Crawford                     1 Trialist – Andy McNeil
2 Scot Buist                              2 Alistair Park
3 Marc McCafferty                   3 Robert Halliday Bkd 57m
4 Mark Brown                          4 Mark Casey Bkd 36m
5 Scott Walker                         5 Alan Lithgow
6 John Grant                             6 Paul Stewart
7 Mark Gilhaney                       7 Trialist-Marvyn Wilson
8 Brown Ferguson                    8 Jamie Doyle
9 Brian Carrigan                       9 Paul McLeod
10 Scott Agnew                       10 David McKay Bkd 43m
11 Andy Scott                          11 Adam Coakley

12 Gary Carroll                        12 Steven Odunewu (11) 62m
14 Hugh Kerr (11) 76m            14 Scott Gair
15 Ross Philp                           15 Alan McFadden (8) 46m
16 Jason Thomson                    16 Jay Lang (3) 76m

GK Stephen Hall                      GK Jordan Allan
Referee : Steve Conroy           Asst: Paul Robertson & Robert Docherty

CROWD – 773

1 – 0 Brian Carrigan (16 mins)

Full – Time 1 – 0

 

allan maitland at clyde victory

First and foremost there is lots of talk of “The Bully Wee” having their difficulties over the summer and I understand all that, but there was no sign of lack of spirit in their game today, they made it a hard game, I thought Clyde particularly in the 1st half were excellent, had good energy, tried to get forward at every opportunity and get shots at goal, which I thought our goalkeeper did very well with, even pushing one onto the post but they did run out of steam a bit in the second half, but considering they have not had a pre season, they will get better and great credit to them today I thought they worked hard. For our point of view, I have been saying we haven’t been playing well but today I thought we were much better, first half I thought Clyde were spirited but the second half we kept the ball quite well, Mark Gilhaney was a problem to his old side, but Brian Carrigan was the best player on the football park, I thought he was miles above everybody in terms of his football brain and it was fitting he should score the goal to win the game. Shug Kerr was a wee bit unlucky with his chance at the end but as a team we have defended well and that is the reason we are where we are just now, a point last week at Cowdenbeath when we were under the cosh, no goals conceded today or against Peterhead and at Dumbarton the only goal was an own goal , so I’m very pleased with our start to the season. Very unusual for me I have to say, because this is the best start I have had since being manager of Alloa Athletic, although there is still a long way to go in the season. However although I am pleased with the start I believe we will still need to strengthen the side and hope to add to the squad in the next fortnight. I was again delighted with the attitude and application of the players and with four first team regulars missing – Stuart Noble, Chris Townsley, David McClune and Dougie Wilson who will all be fighting to regain their place in the side once available, I still think there is more to come from this Alloa Athletic side this season. It was nice to have Brown Ferguson back in the team albeit at right back, in an unfamiliar position he did really well and as always Davie Crawford was exceptional and I am pleased to win.
0 - 1
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Dundee United

The Wasps lost out to Premier League side Dundee United in this Co-operative Insurance Cup tie, two first half goals, which could have been avoided gave United a deserved lead at half-time. In the second half Brain Carrigan was introduced and that helped Alloa get a hold of the ball and be a bit more creative, to the players credit they never gave in and looked to have reduced the deficit when John Grant scored, only for the linesman to deny the goal raising his offside flag. Dundee united ended the game strongly and could have added to their lead, but the Alloa heads never went down and the players can take great credit from their second half display. In the final 17 minutes Brown Ferguson returned to action after having surgery in the close season which is a great boost for the team.

Alloa Athletic                             Dundee United
1 David Crawford                     13 Steven Banks
2 David McClune                       2 Sean Dillon
3 Marc McCafferty                    23 Paul Dixon
4 Scot Buist                              15 Prince Buaben
5 Scott Walker                           5 Darren Dods
6 John Grant                              6 Craig Conway
7 Gary Carroll                           17 Morgaro Gomis
8 Mark Brown Bkd 9m              8 Scott Robertson
9 Andy Scott                             18 Garry Kenneth
10 Mark Gilhaney                      20 Andis Shala
11 Scott Agnew                         25 David Goodwillie

12 Brian Carrigan (7) 46m          7 Jennison Myrie-Williams (17) 87m
14 Brown Ferguson (10) 73m     21 Damian Casalinuovo (20) 81m
15 Hugh Kerr (11) 67m              25 Ryan McCord (6) 87m
16 Ross Philp                              19 Michael Kovacevic

GK Stephen Hall                         GK Nicky Weaver
Referee : Euan Norris       Asst: George Drummond & Stephen Mitchell
Fourth Official – John Beaton

CROWD – 1,442

0 – 1 Andis Shala (23 mins)
0 – 2 David Goodwillie (39 mins)

Man of the Match – Scot Buist

 

allan maitland after dundee united game

I thought in the first half in particular that Dundee United were just shaper, better than us, their attitude was excellent and they were first to most balls and we were chasing it a lot, in situations like that there will be a lapse in concentration and I have to say both their goals were soft, bad goals for us to lose which could have been avoided, and I think both goals were bad goals for us to lose, the second goal in particular, but great credit to them their attitude was great. In the second half when Brian Carrigan came on, we started holding the ball a bit better and I thought we played a wee bit better, but even allowing for that we never did enough to threaten them, they are a good side and we can hold our heads up because we played much better in the second half and took a bit of pride from the game, but in all honestly the game against Clyde on Saturday is a lot more important for us, to do well tonight we needed Dundee United to turn up and maybe not be in the right frame of mind, but unfortunately for us I don’t think that happened, I thought they were sharp, good players, good touch on the ball, people will complain about our surface but if you are a full time team that must be a dream surface for you, because they just passed the ball and passed the ball and we chased and chased and you cannot get the ball of them and having the belief and confidence to do that, it makes it a long night for any part time team and I think that’s what happened, but all kidding aside we were just on the verge of scoring when David McClune got injured and we had to play out the end of the game with only ten players, it was hard enough playing with eleven players but all credit to Dundee United they deserved their victory, but I cannot complain about the effort from my players on the night.
0 - 2
Full Time

Cowdenbeath v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic fought out a 1-1 draw at Central Park against Danny Lennon’s Cowdenbeath side. Cowdenbeath had the best of the first half which turned early in the game when Stuart Noble had to leave the find with a suspected dislocation to his shoulder, with Stuart Noble off and Brian Carrigan missing the game through illness, “The Wasps” missed their presence up front. Gareth Wardlaw scored an excellent goal for the home side after half an hour, but Alloa came back to equalise through Andy Scott just before half-time. Alloa opened more brightly in the second period but in the end a draw was a fair result, Cowdenbeath did end the gamestrongly but David Crawford stood firm in the Alloa goals. After the match, Alloa trialist, Mark Gilhaney signed for the club, while Stuart Noble’s injury might not be as bad as feared and will be given every opportunity for Tuesday nights game against Dundee United.

Alloa Athletic                                     Cowdenbeath
1 David Crawford                              1 Trialist – Artus Vaiculis
2 David McClune                               2 Mark Baxter
3 Marc McCafferty                            3 Kenny Adamson
4 Scot Buist                                       4 Craig Winter
5 Scott Walker                                  5 Joe Mbu
6 John Grant                                      6 Dene Droudge
7 Gary Carroll                                    7 Brian Fairbairn
8 Mark Brown Bkd 45m                    8 John Dempster
9 Andy Scott                                      9 Gareth Wardlaw
10 Scott Agnew                                 10 Jon Robertson
11 Stuart Noble                                 11 Jay Stein Bkd 52m

12 Hugh Kerr (11) 10 mins                   12 Paul McQuade (7) 75m
14 Trialist – Mark Gilhaney (7) 71 mins 14 Marek Tomana (8) 84m
15 Ross Philp                                        15 Scott McBride
16 Brown Ferguson                               16 Scott Linton

GK Stephen Hall                                    GK Kris Bower
Referee : Craig Chaleston Asst: Ross Haswell & John Gilmour

CROWD – 365

0 – 1 Gareth Wardlaw (30 mins)
1 – 1 Andy Scott (41 mins)

 

allan maitland after central park draw

I think today a point was probably the most we deserved from the game, the first half of the game was all about Cowdenbeath, I thought they were sharper than us, they were first to every ball, how much of that was down to Stuart Noble’s early injury I don’t know, but after that we couldn’t hold the ball up and I think that was a factor. Obviously with Brian Carrigan not being available, being not well today, with him not playing and Stuart Noble getting injured, we ended up with two runners on the park and neither two of them are adept at holding the ball in, that was a blow to us and in disrupted the way we intended to play the game, with nobody up the park to hold on to the ball, but during that period I thought Cowdenbeath were well worthy of at least one goal, to get back in the game just before half-time was a bonus, to get the players in at half-time for a rollicking for how they played in the first half was important. In the second half I thought we were miles better, controlled a lot of the game but never really created one clear cut chance. That’s when not having Brian Carrigan and Stuart Noble available we missed their craft, plenty of endeavour but not enough quality to win. Mark Gilhaney came on, and he gave us something a wee bit different, Gary Carroll although taken off, it was only tactical to let us try something else, but it was not our best day. I thought it was strange, the referee decided not to give a foul when Hugh Kerr was flattened by their goalkeeper, but these things happen, I thought the referee was fine, they scored a magnificent goal but also we scored a good goal as well, we are pleased to get a point in a game we haven’t played well and my final thought is last season we would have lost a game like this, there is a bit more steel about us but we can still do a lot better, it was a decent point on a day when we didn’t play well. Mark Gilhaney has now signed for us, the paperwork completed this afternoon to bring him to the club and he will be available for Tuesday night, Brown Ferguson is another step closer to getting involved again, Stuart Noble’s injury, initially it was feared to be a dislocation but the pain appears to be easing off a bit, a jar on his shoulder and we will give him every opportunity for Tuesday night he is so important to the team.
1 - 1
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Peterhead

Alloa Athletic kept up their 100% league record with a 1-0 victory over Peterhead, who had also won their opening league fixture. Although Alloa were not at their best in this game which had little opportunities for either side, Andy Scott could have opened the scoring inside the first fifteen minutes, but his rising shot went over the bar. Prior to the kick-off Alloa had to reshuffle their squad when Chris Townsley went over on his ankle in the warm up, unfortunately for Chris it might be worse than looked and he might have damaged ligaments. The wind did nothing to help either side but when the goal did come it took a piece of individual skill from Andy scott to supply the opening which Stuart Noble was on hand to score. Indeed shortly afterwords Alloa looked to have doubled their advantage in a near carbon copy of the first goal but the standside linesman raised his flag for offside. This is the first time since season 1999/2000 that “The Wasps” have won their opening two league games of the season, a season in which the team won promotion to the First Division.

Alloa Athletic                                 Peterhead
1 David Crawford                         1 John Bateman
2 David McClune                          2 David Donald
3 Marc McCafferty                       3 Stuart Smith
4 Scot Buist                                  4 Bobby Mann Bkd 82m
5 Scott Walker                             5 Callum McDonald
6 John Grant                                 6 Ryan Strachan
7 Andy Scott                                7 Graeme Sharp
8 Mark Brown                              8 David Ross
9 Brian Carrigan                           9 Martin Bavidge
10 Scott Agnew                           10 Dougie Cameron
11 Stuart Noble                           11 Zander Sutherland

12 Gary Carroll (9) 67m              12 Scott Michie (8) 82m
14 Ross Philp                               14 Peter Bruce (11) 58m
15 Hugh Kerr (7) 87m                 15 Paul Young
16 Jamie Hay                               16 Cameron Bowden

GK Stephen Hall                         GK Paul Jarvie
Referee : George Salmond       Asst: Willie Conquer & Steven Crichton

CROWD – 446

1 – 0 Stuart Noble (76 mins)

Sponsors Man of the Match – Scot Buist

 

allan maitland after peterhead victory

In the preview for today’s game, I had been saying all our previous games against Peterhead had been really open with plenty of goals, today I thought it was the complete opposite to that, neither of the two teams played well, we did improve after half time and created a couple of chances in the second half, however a least during these times when not playing well we are defending well, digging in, scot Buist and Scott walker did extremely well but it would be unfair to single these players out as the back four and the goalkeeper did well and at 1 -0 and Peterhead pushing for an equaliser David Crawford blocked a Martin Bavidge effort which Scot Buist cleared from the line. Even although we we are not playing well, we were defending well, and you always know with Brian Carrigan, Stuart Noble, Andy Scott and Hugh Kerr who came on late in the game, that we have something that might give us something different, and that’s exactly what happened Andy Scott provided the real quality getting away and creating the opportunity for Stuart Noble to score the vital goal. Then just right after the goal Andy Scott had another opportunity which was very similar to the goal but the referee ruled this effort as being offside, we are pleased to win but there is an awful lot more still to come from this team, we can play a lot better than that. I think the fact that it had been raining really heavy this week, but the park was really dry today with the sun and wind drying the park and the ball was really sticky on the park, I don’t think that helped. However not playing well and winning is a lot better than last year I can assure you, last year we played much better at times and lost 4-3 and 3-2, so I would take today’s result any day of the week. In the moment we are doing fine and I am pleased the way things are going.
1 - 0
Full Time

Dumbarton v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic opened their league season at Dumbarton and won 3-1 in a game full of emotion, this was always going to be a tough fixture after the death of the Dumbarton captain Gordon Lennon in the close season, however not playing at their best, Alloa’s performance in the second half merited their 3-1 victory although in the first hour the team toiled and needed a Dumbarton equaliser to bring them to life. Allan Maitland choose to leave Greig Spence on the bench in the midst of all the transfer speculation and allowed him only the last couple of minutes and a final cheer from the Alloa fans.

Alloa Athletic                                   Dumbarton
1 David Crawford                             1 David McEwan
2 David McClune Bkd 28m              2 Andy Geggan
3 Marc McCafferty                          3 Chris Smith
4 Scot Buist                                     4 Ben Gordon
5 Chris Townsley                             5 Michael Dunlop
6 John Grant Bkd 83m                     6 Ross Clark
7 Andy Scott                                    7 Chris Craig
8 Mark Brown                                 8 Scott Chaplain
9 Brian Carrigan                              9 Dennis McLaughlin  Sent Off 84 m
10 Scott Agnew                             10 Derek Carcary
11 Stuart Noble                              11 Stevie Murray

12 Gary Carroll (7) 61m  Bkd 62m   12 Iain Chishol (7) 80m
14 Hugh Kerr (11) 83m                    14 Roddy Hunter (11) 74m
15 Ross Philp                                    15 Martin McNiff
16 Greig Spence (9) 89m                  16 Ryan McStay

GK Stephen Hall                               GK Michael White (1) 46m
Referee : Anthony Law                Asst: Martin Cryans & Alan Newlands
CROWD – 864

1 – 0 John Grant (44 mins)
1 – 1 John Grant OG (54 mins)
2 – 1 Brian Carrigan (60 mins)
3 – 1 Stuart Noble (62 mins)

 

allan maitland after dumbarton victory

I know today was a big day for Dumbarton and I thought for 60 minutes we tried to help them as much as we could, I didn’t think we started the game well, I thought Dumbarton were excellent and during that spell our goalkeeper was magnificent, having three or four super saves. We did have a couple of problems prior to kick-off with Scot Buist and Andy Scott both being sick in the dressing room prior to the match which obviously didn’t help us, they struggled with that throughout the game. The big thing that changed the game was Brian Carrigan’s goal, when he scored the second goal the whole game opened up for us, Stuart Noble scored a great third goal and after that we started playing. It has been a hard day for Dumbarton, obviously a very emotional day, they have played ever so well and ended the game with nothing and had a man sent-off. I think the rules of the game now, if you are going to tackle from behind you are going to go off, whether it’s a nothing tackle or not by the looks of things, I feel for them, but I said before the game, we need to focus on ourselves and get off to a far better start than we have in recent seasons. I was delighted to see my strikers scoring goals, it was a great result for us but not a fantastic performance.
1 - 3
Full Time

Airdrieonians v Alloa Athletic

On Saturday Alloa Athletic defeated Airdrie United for the first time in the clubs history in a competitive match, the game was finally won 4-3 to “The Wasps” on penalties after the game went to extra time, for the second cup tie in a week. However although Alloa Athletic probably played better against Ross County, this game should have been won in the first half when chances for Greig Spence and Stuart Noble were superbly saved by home keeper Stephen Robertson. The first chance of the game fell to the home side and David Crawford had to push a goalbound shot on to the crossbar. The club now progress to the 2nd round draw on Tuesday, with the next round ties due to be played on Tuesday 25th or Wednesday 26th August.

Alloa Athletic                                       Airdrie United
1 David Crawford                             1 Stephen Robertson
2 David McClune                              2 Darren Smith Bkd 100m
3 Marc McCafferty                           3 Paul Lovering Sent off 25m
4 Scot Buist                                      4 Kevin McDonald
5 Scott Walker Bkd 71m                  5 Bobby Donnelly
6 John Grant                                     6 David Nixon Bkd 40m
7 Andy Scott                                    7 Alan Trouten
8 Mark Brown                                  8 Scott McLaughlin
9 Greig Spence                                 9 Scott Gemmill
10 Scott Agnew                               10 John Baird
11 Stuart Noble                               11 Frankie Lagana

12 Chris Townsley (8) 46m               12 Ricky Waddell (11) 62m
14 Hugh Kerr (3) 63m                      14 Paul Keegan (9) 101m
15 Ross Philp                                    15 Kevin Watt (81m)
16 Callum Anderson (9) 101m           16 Patrick McCabe
Sent Off 110mins

GK Stephen Hall                                GK Lee Hollis
Referee : Charlie Richmond Asst: Don Robertson & Alan Hogg
CROWD – 756
Full Time 0 – 0
After Extra Time 0 – 0 Alloa won 4-3 on penalties

Penalties – Airdrie Utd                        Alloa Athletic
John Baird Miss 0 – 0                        John Grant Miss 0 – 0
Kevin McDonald Score 0 – 1            Andy Scott Score 1 – 1
Ricky Waddell Score 1 – 2                Chris Townsley   Score 2 – 2

David Nixon  Miss    2 – 2                   Agnew Score 3 – 2
Kevin Watt Score 3 – 3                      Scot Buist Score 4 – 3
Sponsors Man of the Match – Stephen Robertson

 

allan maitland after cis cup victory

Obviously we are pleaded to win , two weeks in a row now we have managed to take our games to extra time, both goalkeepers were excellent today, Davie Crawford’s save early in the game when he touched the ball on to the crossbar was magnificent, it looked a goal from where we were and during that spell when it was eleven against eleven, I thought we played well, but Airdrie had the best chances, they went down to ten men, I thought, Airdrie then were the better team. They passed the ball well, but strangely enough in that time we had great chances, Greig Spence had two, maybe three chances when he should have scored, Stuart Noble had a chance which Stephen Robertson hurt himself saving, but we didn’t play well. So having said all that I was quite relieved to get to extra time and also penalty kicks. The problem getting to penalty kicks against Airdrie, with Stephen Robertson in goal, is you think he will save at least one anyway, because he is an excellent keeper. What we have is a goalkeeper who saved a penalty kick last week against Ross County and he goes one better today by saving two against Airdrie United, Davie has done great for us today and we are delighted to be in the next round and I think in the effort the team has put in over the past two games, I think we deserved success somewhere in one of the games, so we have achieved it today. Disappointed for young Callum Anderson, making his debut today, that he gets himself sent off, I don’t think the referee has much choice, I think it was a rash challenge and his boot was up, Paul Lovering’s tackle was a disgrace, an absolute disgrace and our player is marked from the knee all the way down his leg, it was a terrible challenge, I like Paul Lovering, I just think he has that wee element in his game, but we are pleased to get through, it was a decent day for us, not the best game of football, but plenty of chances for both teams.
0 - 0p
Full Time

Ross County v Alloa Athletic

“The Wasps” can hold their heads up after narrowly losing to last years beaten finalist, Ross County at Victoria Park in a five goal thriller. Alloa started brightly and attacked from the start, which was rewarded after 4 minutes when Stuart Noble caught Steven Watt trying to pass back to his keeper and nipped in to lob the ball home. Alloa maintained their positive style as often as possible throughout the game and in the end could well feel aggrieved not to hang on for penalties. Manager Allan Maitland did suffer a setback prior to the kick off when he discovered Stephen Hall, who only had signed for the club on Thursday evening, had been in a car crash on Friday night and suffered whiplash, making him unable to sit on the bench. In the end the full time fitness, especially in the 2nd period of extra time, when Alloa had been reduced to ten men was to be the difference on the day.

 

allan maitland after alba cup exit

First and foremost over the one hundred & twenty minutes I thought it was a good game, I thought we started well, scored a goal in the time we were on top and the players passed the ball well, there after I have to say Ross County played really well, had a lot of possession, didn’t create that many chances to be fair but were still causing us problems, especially when we were sitting in too deep. Again we started the second half well but early substitutions, with Steven Craig and Michael Gardyne coming on changed the game, with Michael Gardyne playing in an area, in which John Grant, who had already been booked and Mark Brown did start to tire, so Gardyne was causing us all sorts of problems, he took his first goal really well. We got to extra time and you could see we were tired, but my main problem at this stage of the game was that we were getting an awful lot of bookings, in a game there was hardly any dirty tackles, the sending off was a challenge, which I can understand why the referee sent Gary Carroll off, but in general the bookings were very soft. Then of course the referee produces a red card to Greig Spence before he realised he hadn’t been already booked and he had picked the wrong player, at times he couldn’t wait to produce a card. The penalty kick ..….lets just say it was in the soft category again, but David Crawford pulled off a magnificent save, our efforts by all our players on the day were excellent. I don’t necessary feel we deserved to win the game, Ross County scored good goals, so they deserved to win, but we deserved not to lose and if we had got to penalty kicks I would have been pleased with that. A great effort by the boys for our first game of the season and we just need to learn to keep a hold of the ball a bit better. A special mention to the Alloa Athletic fans who travelled to Dingwall and gave us great backing, it was really appreciated by the players, a big thank you.
3aet - 2
Full Time