Season: 2011-12

Montrose v Alloa Athletic

Saturday again proved that there as certainly no easy games in Division Three, “The Wasps” travelled to Links Park for their 1st competitive game since April, 1998 to visit a ground where Alloa Athletic had not lost since October, 1988. Paul Hartley’s team started well and both Graeme holmes and Kevin Cawley had early chances to put the visitors ahead. However, once again Alloa did not put enough pressure on the opposition keeper with players looking reluctant to shoot at goal. Montrose took the lead with one of their first attacks of the game, after Alloa had failed to clear their lines. In the second period again Alloa had a lot of possesion but only two great saves from Scott Bain kept them in the game. Eleven minutes from the end Ben Gordon scored a deserved equaliser after the team pushed hard for a goal and were rewarded for their never say die spirit. Results elsewhere confirmed just how tight this league can be when bottom club East Stirlingshire moved of the base of the league after defeating league leaders Annan Athletic 1-0.

 

paul hartley after draw at montrose

I thought we were the better team in the first half and probably in the second half Montrose shaded it, with the chances they had and our keeper did had two really good saves, but we should have one up early in the match, Kevin Cawley is disappointed that he didn’t make it count but he has been terrific for us all season. Overall it was another point taken away from home, we showed great character after we had lost a goal, not for the first time this season we have came back from going a goal behind, the players showed great spirit and determination.
In the first half we played some really good football and created some good chances but we need to learn to take these chances, if you don’t take the chances you are always vulnerable at the other end and that’s what happened, we didn’t stop the cross and didn’t pick up the forward, which is something that we have to address – cross balls coming in and not been dealt with, it was the same last week so we will work on that but overall I am happy to take a point.
1 - 1
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Alloa Athletic v East Stirlingshire

Saturday’s local derby against East Stirlingshire was frustrating because “The Wasps” couldn’t play football in the way they have this season, conditions in the weather were the worst possible for the game, but full credit to the visitors who were very hard to breakdown, very disciplined and on the day merited their draw, which could have been worse had Scott Bain not do well to save from Bradley Coyne shortly after “The Shire” had taken a shock lead. Another big disappointment was the megre crowd of 421 our lowest league attendance this season, on the day although Alloa had  large periods of possesion they didn’t create enough chances, they lacked shots on goal and need to be more direct. We are not scoring enough goals at present with only 20 in the league, which is less than Stranraer, Berwick, Annan, Elgin and Montrose – however we still maintained our unvbeaten home record in the league and will go to Links Park next Saturday looking to bounce back and keep pressure on Annan Athletlic.

 

paul hartley laments dropped points

Having been 1-0 down, I would then take a draw after that, we tried to push for the winner but credit to East Stirling, especially in the second half there was not a lot between us, in the first half we had most of the play and had three or four good chances but we just couldn’t get that first goal to go in front. I am disappointed because it was two points dropped for us, we had some good chances especially in the first half to go ahead, a victory today would have seen us go joint top of the league but it wasn’t to be today, we just need to move on to next week. Our goal keeper Scott Bain had a very good save at 1-0 which in the end was to gain us a point as we could have went 2-0 behind with a bigger mountain to climb. Craig Campbell did well to score and Michael Doyle also did well at left back, but too many players had an off day today, we didn’t play well as a team so we have to work on it. We are still undefeated at home but it could have been worse. It keeps the home record intact. We have to do better than that it was not a good performance
1 - 1
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Peterhead v Alloa Athletic

Its been a great week for the club picking up seven league points, however it looked like being a maxium nine points until late own goal denied “The Wasps” the chance of closing gap on Annan Athletic at top of table. Alloa were looking for their first victory at Balmoor Stadium since August, 2007 when they won 4-1 thanks to a Graeme Brown hat-trick and Stephen McKeown penalty, in the first half they played some good football and were unfortnate to see Ryan McCord’s effort come back off the cross bar. The home side did come more into things in the second half but substitute Armand One scored with a header from a Ryan McCord cross but three minutes from time Craig McDowall under pressure at a corner kick unfortunately punched the ball into his own net to deny “The Wasps” victory.

 

paul hartley after draw with peterhead

I thought we deserved to win the game as we were terrific today, in the first half we passed the ball well and created chances but just couldn’t score, i was disappointed going in at half time at 0-0, there was always a danger that Peterhead would come back into the game in the second half and they did but our overall play away from home was great, the team effort, the work rate, passing, I was pleased with the team performance.
Armand has had to wait a while for his first competitive goal for us, but he has been patient, it has not quite worked out for him yet, but he is off and running now, he scored 23 goals last season and that’s the reason I brought him to the club, the goal will help his confidence, but our overall play today – the way we passed the ball was outstanding, its been a great week for us, the players have been absolutely terrific their attitude was first class and I’m proud of them again today.
Craig is obviously disappointed at losing the goal we lost, I don’t need to tell him, it was just a bad mistake from him but he has kept us in games last Saturday and again on Tuesday night and had a good save today again near the end , it’s one of those things which happens, he has to pick himself up again, his confidence will be fine – It’s been a good week for us.
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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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Annan Athletic v Alloa Athletic

For everything that was good about last weeks Scottish Cup tie against Annan, yesterdays game was the complete opposite, Alloa manager Paul Hartley made changes to freshen up the team but it just didn’t work. The Wasps had the advantage of a strong wind in the first half but they failed to trouble the home keeper and as Annan have did in the past, hit us on the break to take the lead. Annan played their usual strong defensive unit and pacy direct attack and for our third trip to Galabank since May, 2011 we have returned without a victory. Alloa will now need to regroup and concentrate on the league and get back to playing our own style of football which has been pleasing on the eye but we now need to start collecting vital league points to maintain our challenge in the league.

 

paul hartley after cup exit

Disappointed, not a lot in the game but they got the goals, we had a couple of chances but it was disappointing. We knew what to expect when we came here, we know the way they play – they play to their strengths, it wasn’t a pretty game that’s for sure – it is how football goes at times , we must concentrate now on the league. We didn’t want to go out of the cup but it can happen in football , we didn’t play as we can play – so no complaints!
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Alloa Athletic v Annan Athletic

This was a game which was picked out after the cup draw as the tie of the round and it didn’t disappoint. in a four goal thriller both managers felt they might have won the game but in the end a 2-2 draw means they will need to do it all over again next Saturday at Galabank. The Wasps took the lead through top scorer Kevin Cawley after only 16 minutes but could not get that 2nd goal. Then two goals either side of half-time turned the tie on it’s head before substitute Stevie Masterton scored a terrific equaliser.

 

paul hartley after cup draw

Players were terrific in the second half especially the last half hour, I thought we then got well on top – it was a good cup game, we just couldn’t get that third goal. So that means we will need to travel down to Galabank next Saturday and look to get a good result.
Great to see Stevie Masterton get his goal, we sign him during the week until the end of the year, he has good qualities but has just not played a lot of games recently so we are trying to build on his fitness, building it back up, he scored a good goal today which shows you the quality he has got when he gets near the box so I was pleased with that goal to get us level again after going 2 – 1 behind, the team showed great character. We had made a good start when Kevin Cawley put us ahead but then allowed Annan to come right back into the game with two goals either side of half-time.
People were calling this the tie of the round and I thought it lived up to that with the game ending 2-2 and both teams showing what they are capable of, we kept going for the full 90 minutes and thought we might have got something just at the end. Our fitness levels are great and your attitude was terrific again.
We knew when the draw was made it was going to be a hard game and that’s how it turned out, there is not much between the sides, so next Saturday we will now go to Annan knowing that the game will be decided on the day and we will need to be at our best to make sure we can progress in this season’s Scottish Cup.

harry cairney – annan athletic manager

We hadn’t done enough to win the game at 2-1 and we knew Alloa would put us under pressure, they brought on big Armand who is a handful for anybody. Certainly disappointed at the way we lost our goals – one ball through the middle beats us for the first goal and Kevin Neilson who is 15 stone and six foot five is beaten by a 9 stone, five foot four guy in Kevin Cawley, I was not happy about that and for the second goal we never cleared our lines and it was a fair strike from the boy Masterton , but we should have done better before that. Although the replay is back at Galabank we cannot take anything for granted – because we came here and got a draw, Alloa are a very dangerous side and like most games in the Third Division, the team who does best on the day tends to win the game and it still will be a tough game next Saturday.
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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.
5 - 0
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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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