Reaction

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.