Alloa converted 3 times in the second half to secure their most comfortable league win of the season.

The Wasps are unchanged from the 1-0 win over Peterhead and look to gain a rare back to back result against East Fife. The Fifers before the start of play were sitting just 3 points from Dumbarton after hauling themselves back into survival contention in recent weeks.

The first half was a timid affair with the Wasps often wasteful in attack. Sammon would have possibly the chance of the half early on but as he dragged the ball wide a vital foot knocked the ball away and the forward’s spinning effort was not threatening to Jude Smith’s goal.

East Fife’s focus on the first half was probably on the penalty shout that was very reminiscent of the award at the Indodrill where Durnan caught Connell with a forearm. Today, Durnan was luckier and despite jumping with an outstretched arm there was no penalty decision from the referee. Danny Swanson would have their only memorable effort of the half after deftly flicking the ball up and looping an effort into the side netting but Alloa goalkeeper PJ Morrison was happy to let it go after determining early it was off target.

Alloa’s other golden opportunity of the half fell after a corner from Scougall landed nicely for Howie. The centre half come left back managed to scoop the ball up awkwardly and his second touch finish was struck at an awkward height contributing to blazing the ball into the car park from 8 yards.

The second half did finally bring the breakthrough as Kevin Cawley struck home after a determined cross from Boyd found him in the box. It was a simple route one ball aimed for MacIver – he headed to Henderson who held the ball up and rolled it to the byline for Boyd to slide back for Cawley’s 71st Alloa goal.

Scougall struck another blow for East Fife as he won a penalty after driving through the East Fife box to draw a foul. Moving like a crisp packet in the wind Scougall danced around 3 East Fife defenders before being tripped. Stepping up to the responsibility himself, he drilled the penalty low into the corner past Smith.

East Fife had another big penalty shout denied after this and to be fair, Boyd looked to have tripped Denholm inside the box but this was immaterial to the result as Alloa continued to threaten a third.

It would soon arrive with a massive slice of luck. Henderson driving into the increasingly stretched East Fife defence smashed a shot toward goal, glancing it off the back off Steven Boyd and with the deflection, Jude Smith had no chance to get near the effort.

Alloa have now just a single defeat in their last six with momentum building to the end of the season.

Pictures from yesterday`s @EastFifeFC @AlloaAthleticFC @cinchuk League 1 match now up on flickr. https://t.co/AZTL3WMl0F pic.twitter.com/B4aOlOxMmu

— David Glencross (@dgxwasp) March 27, 2022

Alloa limped home from a freezing day in Methil with just a point after a 1-1 draw and another red card.

The Wasps almost were ahead after 5 minutes when Scougall sliced wide of the target. Alloa captain Andy Graham had flicked it goalward from a long throw but the diminutive midfielder couldn’t direct his effort.

Alloa again threatened 13 minutes in as Cawley smashed high over the bar. King had made a brilliant run into the channel and found Henderson with his first-time cross. The on-form forward controlled and rolled into the path of the Wasps legend but a bounce just before contact thwarted the potential opener.

East Fife did cause plenty of problems in the box as they won a succession of corners from the 17th minute. Higgins connected with the corner and sent a strong effort on it’s way toward goal but for the intervention of Jon Robertson. It would break for Davidson on the edge of the box but he scooped a long strike well over the bar.

Stefan Scougall almost produced the opener as his quick-thinking free-kick smashed the post from a wide angle. Seeing the East Fife goalkeeper leaving his front post for what seemed more likely to be a cross. Scougall curled almost to perfection but could only find the outside curve of the woodwork.

Adam King won the ball back just inside his half and found himself charging down the right as Alloa’s furthest forward attacker. He pinpointedly found Cawley with a cross field switch. Cawley laid off Mouhamed ‘Sena’ Niang but his attempt to place it in the bottom corner and emulate his excellent finish against Bonnyrigg, only swept wide of the East Fife goal.

That was the sum total of chances in the first half – which undoubtedly was a disappointing return after the high quality display the Wasps produced in last week’s Scottish Cup exploits. But, the Wasps reacted well after the break.

Henderson started the injection of pace with a driving effort from outside the box turned away by only the fingertips of Jude Smith. Andy Graham would almost loop the resulting corner beyond Smith and Sena would desperately attempt to prod home but to no avail. With the concerted Alloa pressure it would only take a minute for the visitors to break the deadlock.

Adam King arced a high pass over the East Fife defence after the Fifers’ partial clearance from a signature Andy Graham aimed long throw found him on the end of the box. Euan Henderson was quickest to react and almost in one motion took three successive touches to poke under Smith and set Alloa on the way to victory. An 11th goal of the season for Henderson and his 9th in his last 7 Alloa appearances.

But Alloa seemed to get drawn into a similar pattern of being pinned down in their own half and they struggled to build meaningful attacks into the East Fife half. Kevin Smith would volley straight at Hutton but except the stinging hands of the goalkeeper they would survive. What looked like a shrewd professional foul after a slip by Howie gave away a free-kick and a yellow card but Mercer could only place it comfortably into the hands of Hutton. The Alloa center half, however would pick up a second yellow with a mistimed lunge connecting just outside the box. With Howie given his marching orders for the second time this season, the East Fife onslaught was prepped and five minutes later found the breakthrough.

Substitute Connell looped in a cross and while Taggart, successfully beat his marker to the ball, he could only head back to his own goal. Semple was inside the 6 yard box to pounce on the most fortuitous circumstance and smash into the bottom corner.

Alloa would introduce Sammon and Boyd and the two almost combined in the closing minutes but the flick just ran beyond Boyd and gratefully into the on-rushing East Fife goallie. Boyd almost picked out Sammon after a deft touchline dribble cleared space for a driven cross. Murdoch just managed to meet the delivery ahead of Sammon and Alloa were condemned to a draw against the bottom of the table strugglers.

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JIM GOODWIN AT METHIL

I thought we started the game really bright, we were the better team in the opening twenty five minutes but after that we seemed to stop playing, and we finished the first half really poorly and never got going in the second half. We did great to get ourselves back in the game getting it back to 1-1 but then to concede so early after was really disappointing.

It was an off day for us, the lads have been excellent for the last three months it is only our third defeat in twelve games, so we have been on a decent run but unfortunately today too many players were below par and I thought East Fife were deserved winners in the end.

We should have been a couple of goals up in the first half in the first 20 minutes their keeper made a great save from Kevin Cawley and we had other opportunities as well but it is fine lines and fine margins every week in this division – the first goal is so important. In fairness we never panicked at half-time we have been a goal down in our last three games and always managed to fight our way back to gain something. I knew the character was there and the players would keep going and again today after getting ourselves back in the game we were thinking we could take the game to them but then losing another goal, which was a poor goal to lose, the defending was poor but we didn’t defend well all afternoon especially in the last hour of the game and that’s not like us usually we are quite solid and we have been up till lately but these things happen it is certainly not a day to go over the top, we were just edged out by the odd goal, we just need to pick ourselves up we have another extremely difficult game coming up next Saturday in the Scottish Cup against Dundee United, it’s a bit of a freebie I suppose with not many people giving us a chance but we believe if we play to the standards we are capable of we can give them a good game.

The first goal at Methil on Saturday was always going to be crucial, in the first half home keeper Ryan Goodfellow made crucial saves – Callum Crane was first to go close, when his cross was palmed away but fell to safety.

Craig Malcolm was next to go close with a header, the keeper making a point blank save from an Iain Flannigan pin point cross which looked netbound, the game at this stage was going from end to end. Jon Robertson went close with an effort from the edge of the box, but the best effort of the first half fell to Paul Willis from East Fife but his shot was saved by Neil Parry.

The first goal in this game was always going to be crucial and on 56 minutes Greg Hurst was on hand to tap home after Neil Parry had palmed out initial danger. This gave the home side something to hold on to and as much as “The Wasps” pushed for an equaliser, nothing was falling for the strikers.

Although Alloa had lots of possession in the final quarter of the game as the home side sat back, nothing was falling or breaking to the strikers in front of goal. Late in the game in one of the visitors attacks on the home defence Allan Crane’s header went close landing on top of the net.

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jim goodwin after defeat in methil

Disappointed obviously, that’s just the ups and downs of football unfortunately, that’s the league that we are in, we had spoke about how good a performance it had been last Saturday against a very good Raith Rovers team, we had set a good standard in that game, had we lived up to those standards today we felt as if we could get a positive result. Over the piece I don’t think either team deserved to win it, to be honest with you I thought it was a real scrappy kind of game, the pitch was quite sticky and the first goal was going to be vital, East Fife managed to get the goal, it was quite a scrappy goal really – we didn’t defend it well on the left side, it was too easy for the cross to come into the box, big Neilly got a hand to it but he palmed it out into an area where the East Fife boy can tap it into the net, that gave them something to hold onto then.

We dominated the game after that in terms of having plenty possession in their half and putting balls into their box, causing them problems but I think we could still be there now and not scoring a goal – we just didn’t seem to be getting any breaks in and around the box. I’m disappointed for my two centre halfs more than anything, I thought they were excellent against a good striker in Chris Duggan, Neil Parry has not had too many saves to make, in fact I don’t think either team had many shots on target, I don’t think it was a great game but the first goal was so important, we lacked that cutting edge in the final third which was disappointing, that is why we went with our three bigger boys up front for the last 25 minutes because I just felt we weren’t causing them any problems at all, playing the way we like to play – getting the ball on the deck and play attacking football but we weren’t getting any joy doing that so we decided to go a little bit more direct and hoping something would drop to us in the box, but it wasn’t the case.

It is always a concern when you don’t win games, consistency individually and as a team, I thought we did well against Hibernian and again last week against Raith Rovers but today I don’t think we did and the teams in this league which are the most consistent throughout the season always tend to be the ones who are up there challenging and in days like today when it is not really going for us we should still be grinding out a point, not that we would be happy with a draw but I just felt we were not looking like scoring but at least we should come away with something.

The Wasps recorded only their second 0-0 draw of the season in a tightly contested game which lacked clear cut chances at either at Methil today. Both teams have been in good form, “The Wasps” having won their last 4 games, while East Fife had only lost once in the league since ex Alloa Athletic manager, Barry Smith took charge in middle of December, 2016.

The game marked Alloa Athletic striker Greig Spence making his 100th first team appearances for the club and it was no surprise that the top goalscorer came closest to opening the scoring in the first half but his shot after being closed down by Ross Brown went over the bar.

Although dominating for long periods in second half, chances were at a premium at both ends, manager Jim Goodwin using all three substitutes as he tried to win the game.

Indeed in time added on East Fife came closest to breaking the deadlock when Jason Kerr’s header was cleared off the line by Scott Taggart to make sure the points were shared.

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jim goodwin after failing to win in methil

I thought today we just lacked that wee bit of a cutting edge in the final third, but again I could never question my player’s commitment or attitude, defensively I thought we were excellent, really pleased with a clean sheet but I am well aware we need to win our games between now and the end of the season to close the gap, so we are disappointed not to get the win but East Fife have only lost one game in the league in their last 13 games, against ourselves at the Indodrill Stadium at the end of February, Barry Smith has them well organised, they have loads of energy,  they are a good team, there have been many a team who have come here and struggled. I thought we dominated the second half but never really created any great opportunities.

We are still in a great position; we had won four on the bounce before today, unfortunately we weren’t able to get the win today, the lads have been terrific, absolutely fantastic and I keep saying week after week we will never stop going right till the end of the season. Until it is impossible for us to win the League we will never stop going right till the end, we will do all we  can to continue to put pressure on Livingston, fair play to them today grinding out a result against difficult opposition against Stranraer at Stair Park. However there are still eight games to go and anything can happen and we have still to go to Livingston and we still believe we can win it.

We now move on to another difficult game on Tuesday night against Brechin City, they have picked up a bit of good form in recent weeks and they have been excellent. It is always a difficult venue, I don’t think the pitch is in any great shape, so hopefully we don’t get too much rain and the game goes ahead – we expect another tough game up there, we managed to grind out a win up there the last time and hopefully we can do the same on Tuesday night.

A late goal from the returning Scott Hynd, gave “The Wasps” a share of the points in a game, especially in the first half they were not at their best. Manager jim Goodwin made two changes from Saturday’s side who had faced Queen of the South – Iain Flannigan returned to the side after a back injury, while captain Graeme Holmes replaced Player/Manager Jim Goodwin who would watch this game from the bench.

East Fife belied their second bottom position in the league and although their team could only list 4 substitutes their starting eleven was very attack minded. Kevin Cawley had an early effort which narrowly past the far post, but East Fife looked far more dangerous. In the 30th minute they took the lead after a slip by Jason Marr allowed Kevin Smith a clear run in on goal and he scored his 8th goal of the season. Jason Marr had an effort blocked just prior to half time and Grame Holmes nearly found Greig Spence at the back post but a last minute tackle cleared the danger. Alloa were glad to hear the half-time whistle and might have been further behind.

Alloa had another scare at the start of the 2nd half when East Fife had the ball in the net only for the referee to disallow the goal for the cross having drifted out of play. Certainly “The Wasps” showed more urgency in the 2nd half and Jamie Longworth was rewarded for his persistancey when he pounced on a defensive mix up to equalise. At this stage for the first time in the game “The Wasps” had the acendancy and looked likey to get the winner.

Kevin Cawley was unfortunate to see his effort come back off the post with keeper Ryan Goodfellow beaten. A mix up in midfield saw Jason Marr’s forward pass strike Graeme Holmes and break kindly for East Fife, who broke on the break Jamie Insall’s cross was knocked into his own goal by defender Scott Taggart.

In the last fifteen minutes Alloa pushed forward and brought on substitutes Jordan Kirkpatrick and latterly Scott Hynd as they pushed for an equaliser.

With only two minutes remaining Iain Flannigan’s corner was headed home at the back post by substitute Scott Hynd who had only recently returned to the club after a loan spell with Montrose. It was a pulsating second half with both teams believing they could have won all three points, but in the end a share of the points was probably the correct result.

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jim goodwin after draw at east fife

To be honest with you I thought we were shocking in the first half, we were nowhere near the standards that we expect and we have set for each other. I just thought we never started the game at all, doing all the basics; winning the first headers, picking up the second balls, it was just a very disappointing first half. We spoke at half time and discussed how we were going to get ourselves back into the game and I thought the second half was much better. We showed great character to get back into the game and got it back to one each, I thought then that we were in the ascendancy and looked as if we were the team who were going to get the next goal.

It was a stupid mistake really, which gave East Fife the lead again, a sloppy ball into the middle of the pitch unnecessarily and in fairness they broke on it very quickly, it was a decent ball in from Jamie Insall, Scott Taggart does not know where he is, I think if he leaves it then probably it goes bye  the post but in fairness to him it is a difficult one, he is not sure if there is somebody behind him there to tap it in so that was us now 2-1 behind.

The character of the boys, the kind of lads that they are, the group that we have they dig deep again, it is very easy to throw the towel in at that point because you get yourself back in the game and then you think it is away from you again, but we made a couple of positive changes. I was delighted for Scott Hynd who comes on, he was terrific I just asked him to buzz around and be in the right place at the right time and he done that for us and we managed to come away with the point. I am sure Gary Naysmith will be disappointed because in the first half they could have had us out of sight and we were delighted to go in one nil down at half time.

 Overall, I think there was lots of positives to be taken from the second half, lots of character, a never say die attitude it is a difficult place to come and I think there will be a number of teams that will struggle here, I believe East Fife are better than what their league position suggests at the moment and I don’t think they will be hanging around the bottom too long, so we won’t be the only team to come up here trying to win and struggle.

“The Wasps” today turned in one of their most disappointing displays of the season, going down 2-1 to an East Fife side who bounced back after a disappointing week for them, when things said last week by their manager stirred up a great deal of media attention. It certainly worked against “The Wasps” today, when East Fife produced a hugely passionate display which made them hard to beat. Certainly it was a game Alloa Athletic manager Paul Hartley, will want to forget and move on to the next game as we look to clinch second spot in the league and bounce back prior to the end of season, Play Off matches, which we can look forward to.

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PAUL HARTLEY AFTER DEFEAT AT METHIL

We didn’t play well today, we didn’t deserve anything out of it.  We knew that East Fife would come at us, after everything that has been said in the last week we knew their players would be hurting and that was the case. You know they were bang at it and we didn’t play well,  we didn’t perform today we lost two bad goals Scott Bain should have done better with both goals especially the second one, but he knows that and has saved us this season umpteen times.  So that’s his bad game out of the road, he is disappointed just now, but he is a fine young goal keeper. The team overall didn’t pass the ball the way that we can and our intensity of play was not good.  We will try and get that out game of the road and move on.  I thought the pitch was okay, we just didn’t play well we just didn’t turn up and perform the way we have been in the last five weeks and it showed today.  We will be looking for a reaction next week after a defeat you always look for a reaction from your team, we will train this week and see how we are for Saturday.  We have got a strong squad – the players that have played well in the last five weeks deserved to be out there on merit, but we need a reaction next week, that’s for sure.

“The Wasps” achieved a solid bounce back victory at Methil after defeat last week at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup. Paul Hartley having recently picked up the “Manager of the Month” award for October, extending “The Wasps” league record to four victories on the bounce against Forfar Athletic, Ayr United, Albion Rovers and now East Fife. The players showed great character and returned to their ususal passing game and after a tentative start played some great football in the first half. Efforts from Grehan, Docherty and Young might have opened the scoring before Graeme Holmes slammed home after 32 minutes which nobody could begrudge the visitors. New East Fife manager Billy Brown would have been happy only to go in 1-0 down at half-time, however in the second period the home came far more into the game and showed good spirit, but “The Wasps” always looked the more likely side to score on the break, home keeper making great saves from Kevin Cawley and Eddie Ferns. The one worrying aspect in the game was an early injury to Mitch Megginson who had just agreed earlier in the week to extend his loan period from Aberdeen by a further month.

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paul hartley after win at methil

Great win today – I think everybody always looks at your team after having such a heavy loss last week, they always look for a reaction and how they go and perform. In the first half we were really good, we were excellent, albeit we were a little wasteful at times, our final shot and final pass at times let us down but we moved the way that we can and the tempo was good. We knew that East Fife would come at us, having a new manager in Billy Brown, In the second half they came into the game but we still had good chances on the counter attack, we broke really quickly and should have killed the game– but it was a good three points. It was a make shift back four for us with Marr at right back and Simmons at centre back who was excellent, I think it was a nice day to have a clean sheet and we had to make a few changes due to the fact we were down to 16 players, one or two call offs with illness and suspensions , it was a blow when Mitch Megginson had to go off with an injured ankle after only 14 minutes , we will wait to see how he is when he goes back to Aberdeen on Monday but Kevin Cawley came on we still had a threat. I am really pleased with the result today – I know what we are about, we are in good form in the league, that’s our 4th win on the bounce and are playing well, we are in a nice position, it was always about our reaction today and we knew them having a new manager they would be fired up for it, so the players were well warned. Nicky Low called off due to illness on Friday – we have had this for the last three weeks where players have called off with bugs and I have had to re-shuffle my team but the players that came in did well.
It was good to get back into league business with another, three points – which was today’s aim

This was another game where we had the chance to secure our Division Two status for next season, but again were found lacking in firepower, confidence and still conceeded another three goals. Jim Lister missed the game through suspension and he was a big miss up front to hold the ball and the team had no areial threat with the ball never being held up at any time. East Fife who are in a rich vein of form started brightly and static defending saw Ryan Wallace nip in, not for the only time, to score the opening goal. Indeed if it had not been for Jamie Ewings it could have been so much worse before half-time, saving a Bobby Linn free kick, a Ryan Wallace penalty and another when Ryan Wallace was through one on one with the keeper. Our best chance in the first half came to ex East Fife player Kurtis Byrne but he shot straight into keepers arms. Darren Smith also had to go off after only 32 minutes when he was concussed in a challenge which went unpunished. In the second half Alloa got into the game and had a great chance to equalise when Mike Dunlop had a great opportunity a the back post, only four yards out but his shot hit the keeper and again we had thrown away a good chance to get back into the game. Two minutes later we found ourselves paying for the missed opportunity when East Fife increased their lead in their 1st attack of the 2nd half. Kevin Motion did pull a goal back for The Wasps as they regained control and looked for an equiliser. However cruel it might be East Fife again broke forward in the closing minutes and increased their lead which was typical of our season. We now go into a final game of the season still requiring a victory at home to secure promotion, when League champions Livingston will be our visitors.

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ALLAN MAITLAND AFTER EAST FIFE DEFEAT TIGHTENS THE RELEGATION RACE

I can’t even start to tell you how I feel about all that today, this will sound like a long playing record to those who are old enough to understand what a long playing record is. We have had a day again where I think there has been a number of players playing well, I think the effort of the team is good, I think the spirit of the team is good and we have lost three goals again and by the way if it wasn’t for our goal keeper at 1-0 it could have been 2 or 3-0 very quickly, he had a good save with the penalty kick and a good save from the free kick from Bobby Linn and then a great save when Ryan Wallace went right through with just the goalie to beat, so, these things didn’t go very well in the 1st half but we managed to dig ourselves back in to the game. I don’t know how many times I am going to say this, but we just can’t score goals when we get the opportunities and we only have ourselves to blame, Kurtis Byrne missed the best opportunity in the first half. In the second half we were playing a lot better and I think started the second half really well, we were taking control of the game, passing the ball well and were creating half chances across the box – we then created a magnificent opportunity when Mike Dunlop is one on one with the goal keeper at the back post and Michael Brown saves it and everyone is saying a great save – Michael Brown should have had no chance of saving that we are only four yards out all he had to do is put it into the net and he can’t do it. Two or three minutes after that East Fife break to the other end and we can’t defend it, the same player didn’t defend it properly and before you know it has gone from a score that should have been 1-1 to 2-0 to East Fife. That is the thin line we are in, especially when you are at the bottom end of the league and things are not going for you – we have no one to blame, we can’t blame the referee – people are talking about the referee – but you can’t blame the referee for our inadequacies. We cannot finish when we get the opportunities and at the other end we are incapable of defending properly, that was probably highlighted even at the end when we lost the third goal when we were chasing the game but we still have to defend properly, however it is probably typical of what has been a hugely disappointing season but victory next week would still secure our division two status which is still in our hands. I don’t expect anything from Livingston – I expect Livingston to be as professional as they always are, I think the three games we have played them this season despite the third score line the first two were draws and they have been interesting games and we have been in the games for long periods but in the third game we conceded four goals and it is due to us losing goals at such an alarming rate we are in the position we are come the final game of the season. I think we need to focus on ourselves and try to ensure we win the game of football and if that comes with a last minute goal by hitting someone on the back side then I would take that right now. Unfortunately, missing for next Saturday will be Darren Smith who was concussed and had to leave the field of play today and David McClune who will serve a one match suspension which will rule him out of the Livingston game.

The team suffered its worse result of the season at New Bayview Stadium on Saturday going down 4-1 to an East Fife side who had the previous week suffered by the same result. Like East Fife, we must bounce back from this dreadful performance and kick start our season. Our next few games in the league, against teams below us in the league table are crucial that we win and start believing in ourselves. The management and players will be desperate to get a result next Saturday against Stenhousemuir, a local derby on our home pitch. The Wasps have now only collected one point all season in league games played on grass, our last away victory was at Airdrie who changed to a synthetic surface in the close season.

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allan maitland in methil

I think it is fair to say it has been a dreadful performance from us today, but in fairness to East Fife, I thought they were excellent they were sharper out of the blocks, they scored a magnificent first goal, but you could look at every goal they scored and say there is individual errors, from the first goal to the last one, they were all mistakes. When we got ourselves back into the game with our equaliser, at that stage we looked quite likely but you are never likely to win games if you are giving away the goals we are giving away. So, I have no complaints regarding the result, if anything I thought we got away with it with a 4-1 defeat. We have good players at this club who are not performing, we have a lot of things to do to resolve this, first and foremost we must stop losing goals, I tried to change the system today and give us another defender in the middle of the park, that clearly didn’t work, perhaps we are not working hard enough, we are very disappointed in the result and also how we played and East Fife deserved every thing they got today.