Reaction

After starting Saturday’s game against Peterhead in very positive fashion and taking a deserved lead, the team were to regret squandering other great opportunities when the home side, Peterhead struck back with two goals before half-time. The Wasps battled back into the game in the second half and were given a great chance to equalise when David McClune was fouled in the box and Alloa were awarded a penalty. Unfortunately for the second time this season Kevin McDonald was to miss from the spot against Jon Bateman in the Peterhead goal. That was the turning point in the game with Dennis Wyness increasing the home sides advantage five minutes later. As much as Alloa tried to get a goal back they were again caught out in the final minute when substitute Conor Gethins scored with his first kick of the ball after poor defending at a throw in.

allan maitland after peterhead defeat

Unfortunately it is something we have already seen this season, at times in the game we played really well, created nine chances in the game, Jim Lister was right through, Stuart Noble was right through, there was the missed penalty kick, but again after creating so many chances in the game we have scored one. But defensively we have been an absolute shambles – Martin Bavidge in my opinion has bullied us, after twenty minutes, because in the first twenty minutes we were so far on top in the game I don’t think that Bavidge or Wyness had any opportunities, we knew if Dennis Wyness is kept out your box he can’t cause you a problem – we had four defenders all marking Martin Bavidge at the third goal, Dennis was in the penalty box and scores a header from six yards with nobody near him, it can’t happen, certainly if we want to win games of football. The first goal was a corner kick and Dennis Wyness is standing there six yards out but we didn’t attack the ball, scores – again can’t happen if we want to win football matches, so that was a mistake, the second goal Mark Brown lunges into a tackle he didn’t need to make, allows Martin Bavidge to turn on to his good foot – another goal, it is a great finish from Martin but for our point of view it is a defensive mistake again, as for the last goal – in was a throw in down the line and Billy Gibson claimed it was a foul, but whiter it was a foul or not it was another goal created by defenders not doing their job properly, so we can not expect to score three or four goals every game just to get a point in a game and at the moment that is what we need to do – we lost 4-1 at Dumbarton, we lost 4-1 against East Fife and we have again lost 4-1 today, as I said earlier there were times today when I thought we played well, created chances, but defensively we were miles off the pace and no where near good enough. Peterhead will probably feel that it has been a great day for them , which it has, but it could have been so much different, in view of our opening twenty minutes we should have been three goals up but the way we are defending, would that have been enough, who knows, so there is not much more I can add but thank the supporters who made the long journey and gave the team their backing, but should be doing so much better, when we scored the first goal it should have galvanised us to go on and win the game, but to be going in at half-time 2-1 down having created all these chances tells you exactly where we are at the moment, we are playing with a lack of confidence defensively and we are making individual mistakes which are costing us dear.