Reaction

The Wasps lost out in penalty shoot out against Peterhead in yesterday’s Ramsden’s Cup 1st Round tie at a very blustEry Balmoor Stadium. Although disappointed to have lost out on penalties the new look Alloa Athletic side proved they have great battling spirit and certainly pushed high spending Peterhead all the way in this opening competitive game of the new season. Alloa took the lead after 16 minutes when Ross McCord fired a 25 yard screamer past ex Alloa keeper, Raymond Jellema, but the home side rallied and equalised on the half hour. Rory McAllister, the home sides big money transfer signing in the close season then put them ahead on the hour mark with a well taken goal.

Manager Paul Hartley reacted by bringing on ex Rangers youth player Max Wright who rewarded his boss by scoring Alloa’s equaliser to set up a grand stand finish. Both sides had chances before the end of the regulation 90 minutes as the game ended 2-2. In the extra time Peterhead had the best of the chances with McAllister rattling the Alloa crossbar. So to penalties – Caddis scored 1-0, McAllister scored 1-1, Darren Young put his penalty over the bar 1-1, Watson scored 1-2, Ryan McCord scored 2-2, MacDonald scored 2-3, Holmes scored 3-3, Sharp scored 3-4, Craig Campbell scored although initial shot saved but keeper had moved off line 4-4, then Bryan Deasley scored winning penalty 4-5 to Peterhead.

PAUL HARTLEY AFTER PETERHEAD GAME

I thought there were some positive things to take from the game today, but when it goes to penalties to decide the outcome of the game it is a bit of a lottery to be honest with you. However in the second half of the extra time period Peterhead had the more clear cut chances which on another day they might have scored but over the initial ninety minutes I thought a draw was probably a fair result, we had a better spell in the second half when we got back into the game and kept going and we were certainly looking to win the game, we go into every game looking to win it, but I have to be pleased with the players performance levels today. We got off to a great start with Ross McCord scoring with a long range effort, we know he is capable of striking the ball like that as he does it in training all the time and we encourage him to shoot if he sees an opportunity. We then switched off a little bit after that but conditions didn’t help us play the way we like to pass the ball today, that’s not any excuses, after the goal Peterhead came right back into the game by equalising and then going ahead, but overall I’m satisfied the way the team played, people are saying that Peterhead are favourites , probably rightly so but we know and showed that we can compete and once we can get our passing game going then we will be fine.
Today was our first competitive game as a team in the Ramsden’s Cup and we want to win every game and no disrespect to the competition but our main aim this season is without doubt the league this year and I have stressed that to the players, they know what to expect, the work rate was there everything was there that we require, we are a new team , not many teams will require to bring in 18 new players in four weeks so there is a lot of positives to take from the game. I have confidence in my own players and people will look for ourselves and Peterhead to be strong contenders for promotion at the end of this season, but it is not all about just Alloa Athletic and Peterhead, there are eight other teams in the league who will feel they can get promotion as well, so we will have to be aware of every team and every team will be a threat but I am only interested in what my team does and I am sure we will be fine by the end of the season. Although I have brought 18 new players to the club I am still looking and working to add to the squad and bring in more quality, we are still on the lookout and will continue to do so , I have been looking at all possibilities, looking at all areas, speaking to people I know, I will enquire about players, I am satisfied with the squad I have got but you always have to be looking ahead in football with injuries and suspensions, so we will still be looking to add to the squad in the coming weeks.