Competition: Championship Playoff

Alloa Athletic v Brechin City

Saturday’s Play-Off Final 2nd Leg v. Brechin City was a rollercoaster of a match which had everything for the fans who attended the game and others who watched live on BBC ALBA, the game was enthralling with both teams on the offensive from the kick-off, it was an incredible game and a great advert for the game of football.

Just as one team looked to have the advantage, there would be another twist and by the end of the regulation 90 minutes “The Wasps” lead 4-3, making the aggregate score 4-4. So to extra time for the second week in a row for both teams, again both teams had chances to score but with time running out it looked like the outcome of the game would be determined by penalty kicks.

Dylan Mackin rises to make it 4-3 on the day for “The Wasps”
Well done to all the players of both sides who stepped forward to take a penalty kick, but as always there has to be a winner and unfortunately for Alloa Athletic with the score at 4-4 after the initial five penalties each taken it went to sudden death and Iain Flannigan’s spot kick struck the post and went past, James Dale then had the opportunity to win the game for Darren Dod’s team, which he converted.

Losing a penalty shoot-out is always hard to take, it has been a fantastic season with so many highs to remember but it was not the end we had hoped for. It’s devastating as we put so much into the game, to finish the season second best club in the league, we knew counted for nothing, we’re bitterly disappointed , so neat yet still so far. Good luck to Brechin City as they head to the SPFL Championship next season.

 

jim goodwin after penalty heartache

Very difficult to put into words, it is definitely the lowest I have felt in my 20 years as a professional and being involved in the game, I can’t remember feeling as bad as this and I have suffered relegation in the past in my career.

Devastated for everyone connected to the club, the supporters, the board of directors, but more than anything I am absolutely gutted for the players, they have done so well this season, they have shown how good a team they are today, I felt we gave a better account of ourselves today than we did on Wednesday night, which is obviously pleasing but gutted for the players – they gave me absolutely everything and I couldn’t ask for anymore.

I think we proved over the season that we were the second best team in the league, being runners up to Livingston, but we knew that counted for nothing going into the Play-Off’s, we knew we had to be at our best on the day. I think we just have to give credit to Brechin City, I don’t want to over analyse the game too much, we were extremely disappointed to lose some of the goals we did today, but I don’t think today is the time to look at those type of things. I would like to congratulate Darren Dods, his back room staff and players and wish them well in the Championship next season.

The game was a much better spectacle than what Wednesday night’s game was  which could not have been great viewing on BBC ALBA, but tonight was a good advert for our league, I think it was two teams that gave it a right good go, every player out there was dead on their feet at the end, there wasn’t one player who came off who could have given any more but when it goes to penalties it is a lottery at the end of the day, you might as well toss a coin and do away with them, somebody has to miss, I feel gutted for Iain Flannigan he has been a fantastic player for us all season, for that to happen to him, I don’t think he deserved that, but I don’t believe anybody does, fair play to all the players who had the bottle to go and take a penalty, that is a hard thing to do, I’ve been in that position myself and it is very difficult to keep yourself calm, we just have to go again and come back stronger next season it’s as simple as that.

Nobody in the dressing room said a lot after the game because as you can imagine you could hear a pin drop in the dressing room, the boys are absolutely gutted and I am for them as well, but I did say to them they should try and remember what this feels like, we kind of experienced it at Livingston a few weeks back when they clinched the league, but in fairness to Livingston they deserved to win the league, so we must use this next year and make us stronger and try and make sure we can go and win the league next year and not having to rely on going up through the Play-Off’s.

 
4 - 3p
Full Time

Brechin City v Alloa Athletic

Having done so well to reach this season’s Championship Play-Off final, “The Wasps” would be hugely disappointed by their display in the first leg at Glebe Park, Brechin. Once again, Alloa will need to come back in the 2nd leg from a 1-0 deficit from the 1st Leg. On the night the team had a lot of possesion but created little in front of goal and never really looked like scoring. The best chance of the evening for “The Wasps” fell to Kevin Cawley but he never took it cleanly and it was blocked and cleared to safety, soon after the home side scored the evening’s only goal through Elliot Ford, his first goal for the club.

Iain Flannigan who was making his 100th first team appearance for “The Wasps” certainly had a strong penalty claim turned down when he was fouled inside the penalty box by two Brechin City defenders, the referee ignoring, and took no action.

On Saturday we have the chance to maintain our 100% record in Play-Off finals having appeared in 3 previous finals in 2005/06, 2012/13 & 2014/15 and have a perfect record of winning over the 2 legs, let’s get behind the team a they look to extend that record to winning 4 in a row.

 

jim goodwin after another first leg hurdle to overcome

ery disappointing tonight, very similar to last week’s Semi-Final 1st Leg at Airdrie to be honest with you, we didn’t compete well enough, didn’t play well enough, and Brechin City thoroughly deserved their win.

We just didn’t play well, the only positive we can take is the fact that it is only 1-0, they also had a great opportunity at a corner when they struck the crossbar. We didn’t work their keeper at all, I can’t remember him having a save to make. It’s disappointing, but we have been here before , we know what we are capable of at home and our pitch will allow us to play the type of football we want to play, this pitch up here isn’t conducive to that, we had to change the way we played a bit, by going more direct and I think that played into Brechin’s hands, but I give them great credit they deserved their victory and we will pick ourselves up and go again on Saturday.

We know we are capable of winning, there is not an issue there at all, we remain positive, we will come in tomorrow night, and we know if we reach the standards we are capable of, we will be fine and win the game, but we have to do the basics better, I thought some of our decision making tonight was poor, but I don’t want to go over the top because it is only half-time, we are only 1-0 down and we know we can do better and they will do better again on Saturday.

The players are an honest bunch, they know themselves they didn’t reach the standards which we have set at this club, they are hurting just now, but the tie is far from over.
1 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Airdrieonians

The Wasps progressed to their fourth Play-Off final after defeating Airdrie on penalty kicks after the ninety minutes and extra time had ended 1-0 on the day, 1-1 on aggregate. This was a tie over the two legs with Airdrie having the better of the first leg but Alloa Athletic deservedly won after being the better side in the second leg and really should have won inside the ninety minutes but for some outstanding saves by the airdrie keeper Rohan Ferguson and a crucial miss in front of goal, ironically from Alloa top goalscorer Greig Spence nearly let “The Diamonds” off the hook.

Both sides gave their all and at times the game flowed from end to end with plenty goalmouth action. Dylan Mackin was denied giving Alloa the lead when Rohan Ferguson tipped his header over the bar and then saved from the same player with his feet. The winning goal on the day was a goal fit to win any match and Jon Robertson who had replaced Graeme Holmes in the line ups from midweek, struck a 25 yard volley past Ferguson. Then remarkably Greig Spence missed the chance of the match after Jordan Kirkpartrick had taken the ball round Airdrie keeper Rohan Ferguson anset up Greig in front of goal, but his shot lifted and struck the top of the bar, which was a huge let off for the visitors. Alloa missed a penalty in the shoot out when Steven Hetherington saw his effort saved but Alloa keeper Neil Parry then produced two stunning saves to deny Iain Russell & Kieran MacDonald, with the scores locked at 3-3, Calum Waters was given the responsibility to take the final spot kick, which he coolly drilled past Rohan Ferguson to win the match 4-3 on penalties.

The Wasps will now meet Brechin City, who themselves progressed to the final after defeating Championship side Raith Rovers on penalties.

 

jim goodwin on reaching the playoff final

I’m absolutely delighted with the overall performance, we showed great character, we knew we weren’t at the pace or standard we set on Wednesday night and Airdrie deserved to win the game on Wednesday night but I thought today the boys were different class for the majority of the game, Airdrie had their wee spells on the break but without being disrespectful of them I don’t think anybody could argue with the overall outcome to be honest. I know penalties is a bit of a lottery but if you think of the chances we had throughout the match , I think we probably should have put the game to bed before it got to extra time.

Just so proud of the boys, through my twenty years involved in full-time football I have never come across a bunch of boys and that is not me being disrespectful of a great team we had at St. Mirren when we won the cup, I’ve never known a bunch like this, you couldn’t tell who was the part time team and who was the full time team out there today, their fitness levels are phenomenal, what they do here is train with us two nights a week and it is their responsibility to go and do the rest during the week and I don’t think the majority of the full time boys I have played with don’t even know they are born in comparison the work these lads do, their energy levels are frightening, the substitutions that I made, every single one of them Hetherington, McCluskey and Adam Martin they all made an impact when they came on. Overall you could say it is a bit of relief that we have got through the tie but we are well aware we have done nothing yet, we are not getting carried away, the boys will recover properly they will get their ice baths after the game, be in on Monday night for a massage and then we go again on Wednesday.

Greig Spence is in there and he is gutted for his miss but if there was any a person in the team you would want the chance to fall to it would have been Greig, but he has been a hero so many times for us this season and without his goals, god only knows where we would be so no he is a fantastic player, he is great around the dressing room and he is very relieved, I’m not sure he would have got out of Alloa tonight if we hadn’t of won that game. The boys were brilliant and great bottle for the lads who stepped up to take the kicks because that’s nervous as well, that takes courage and bravery, wee Calum’s heart must have been racing at the end but if ever there was a guy who you would want to take the last penalty with the quality of the left foot he has, it would have been him, and Neil Parry makes two great saves, but overall I can’t single out any individual, I think our performance was where I expected it to be on Wednesday night and we now have a final to look forward to.

Brechin City are a good side, well organised any encounter we have had with them has always been a difficult one, but we have played them four times this season, so it is probably better that it is Brechin, because it is easier for me because we know them a lot more than we would have known Raith Rovers. I had been digging out as much footage as I could on Raith Rovers over the last couple of weeks but I am glad it is Brechin, both of us know each other well, we know our strengths and our weakness are and it will make for another great game, so we just need to go and apply ourselves properly to give ourselves every chance, I am confident if we are able to go and replicate our performance of today then we will be fine.
1p - 0
Full Time

Airdrieonians v Alloa Athletic

Airdrieonians will take a slender 1-0 lead into the second leg of our Championship Play Off Semi final tie after their top goalscorer Andy Ryan headed home his 27th goal of the season to give the home side a deserved 1-0 victoy on the evening. Games between the sides this season have always been close with only a one goal margin in both teams favour have counted. The Wasps will go into Saturday’s 2nd Leg knowing they can play better than they did in a the first leg and still have great belief they can reach their fourth Play Off final having already reached and won on their previous three finals.

 

jim goodwin after 1st leg defeat

We are disappointed to lose any game of course it is disappointing but its only 1-0 at the end of the day, I thought Airdrie were the better team on the night and I’ll give them credit for that, we allowed them far too much time on the ball in the first half and we weren’t able to keep possession well enough which was disappointing, that’s not us, we are a good football team and we like to try and dictate the game but Airdrie were slightly better than us tonight.

In the second half we gave a much better account of ourselves, it was then a far more even game, from a neutral point of view it was probably a decent spectacle it was quite end to end at times, but we just weren’t able to create any real clear cut opportunities, I don’t think we tested their keeper enough and I thought Airdrie defended really well, we give them credit but it is only half-time. We have been in these situations many times throughout the season when you go a goal down by half-time, in a normal league game you only have 45 minutes to turn it around and we have done that on numerous occasions in the past, we now have another 90 minutes and another hell of a lot of football to be played.

I think I could count on one hand the amount of games where we have not scored a goal this season, but again I give credit to Airdrie for that I thought they defended really well but we didn’t play to the levels we are capable of, we know we have to do better on Saturday and we will do better. Our big players will do better on Saturday and we are still confident we can get through the tie.

I don’t want to be too negative about the team they are a fantastic bunch of boys, they give their all every night in training, they never let you down on a match day, but today was an off day for too many but it is just one of those things, the positive aspect for us is it is only 1-0 and we have plenty quality in our team and belief we can turn it around.
1 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Forfar Athletic

Congratulations to “The Wasps” on winning the 2014/15 Championship play Off Final to secure their third successive season in the Championship, a historic achievement for the club.

 

DANNY LENNON ON SECURING CHAMPIONSHIP STATUS

It was all about having that belief and hard work there was no substitute for that today, I thought they were all terrific, it wasn’t only about the last six weeks, it was also about the great foundations and the good quality players that Barry Smith & Paddy Connolly have worked with throughout and every manager and coach has different ideas on how the game should be played and you try and get the best out of them, listen this has been a collective effort and Barry Smith deserves a great bit of credit for the hard work that he has put in and getting this team together. It is absolutely fantastic for the club to stay in the Championship, part of my team talk today was about how the players could become heroes, because no other Alloa Athletic team has been in the Championship for three successive seasons and now this group of players have achieved that, so it is absolutely terrific they should be bursting with joy and pride tonight. This is right up there with any of my other achievements, it doesn’t matter if you are surviving to stay in the Premier league, or winning League Cup finals, this is up there among everything I have achieved in the game.

I was just saying to the guys there when they were doing the wee song “Were staying up” – that’s a new one to me, I don’t know that one, can you teach me the words to that song? On watching the game on the TV coming back down on the coach from Forfar on Wednesday night and although we were always behind in the first game I always felt comfortable and confident and I knew we would come and create opportunities today, an absolutely fantastic team effort , what a send off for Daryll Meggatt.

I am absolutely delighted for him, he has played so many games for the club, coming through the ranks at Alloa and leaves after a fantastic performance and we wish him every success in his new position at Dundee , his tackle was almost as good as his goal, the tackle was equally as important, listen he has frustrated me at times in terms of trying to get him out on the pitch match fit, we just narrowly missed out with him on Wednesday evening and we had to put him on the bench as a precaution , but today absolutely top drawer.

It is not an afternoon for singling anyone out but it just the fact that this was his last game and he now leaves the club on a high. The is a fantastic achievement not just for the players and the staff but also for the directors and particularly the chairman, Mike Mulraney, who puts everything into this football club and everyone together have created a fantastic memory. We had used all our subs and were down to ten men as extra time loomed, but sometimes you need a bit of luck for the hard work over the season, I have only been here for six weeks now but the group of players have been absolutely a pleasure and privilege to work with and coach, they are so honest and sincere – today we certainly had the belief, work rate and there is no substitute for either of those. I have actually made a conscious decision, since I came in the door I have not looked at any salaries, any budgets , but I will need to sit down now, knowing where we will be playing next season and if there was anything throughout this season in how a team has done it the hard way to stay up it is certainly been proof in the pudding today but absolutely terrific and delighted to get over that finishing line.
3 - 0
Full Time

Forfar Athletic v Alloa Athletic

The Play-Off Final 1st Leg at Station Park, saw Forfar Athletic take advantage of bad errors by “The Wasps” on the evening. The Wasps had clawed themselves back into the tie after going 2-0 behind. Eight minutes from time Mark Docherty swung over a good cross and Kyle Benedictus powered a header past home keeper, Rab Douglas. However two minutes into time added on, Forfar regained their two goal advantage when Michael Travis glanced in Gavin Malin’s cross to give Dick Campbell’s side a lead to take to the Indodrill Stadium on Sunday for the second leg of the play off. While disappointed to lose such a late goal, this tie is far from over and “The Wasps” know what will be required to stay in the Championship in the second leg.

 

dANNY LENNON AT FORFAR

I felt that there was a very fine balance in terms of opportunities created by both teams tonight, but Forfar have certainly done, is that they have capitalised on big mistakes from us, which is disappointing in the manner in which we have lost those goals, but the positive thing for us and certainly by no means is the tie over. I thought it was a great game played in a that type of spirit tonight you could certainly feel that. What we have done since my arrival at the club we have managed 3-0 victories in games against Cowdenbeath and Dumbarton, so we certainly do create and I think you saw that here tonight. In terms of the balance of play tonight I thought it was quite an even game and the difference is that Forfar capitalised on big mistakes from us. Losing an early goal set us back, big “Gibby” has been absolutely tremendous since I have come into the club, in his own admission, it was not his best game tonight, but in terms of that, it is important that we win together and lose together but the big man has been absolutely tremendous and he will pick himself up, he has the right character to bounce back from that, but I thought we got a good response after they scored, I thought we were causing one or two problems, we were going in beyond them, I would certainly like to see Liam Buchanan’s disallowed goal again, for any infringement? We then conceded against the run of play to go down 2-0, then a minute later Michael Chopra had a fantastic opportunity, and again a player  of his quality, I thought he was outstanding tonight, I thought a player of his standard should be making big Rab Douglas work harder than he did, but Chopra  was terrific tonight, I thought we played with a good tempo throughout the game, when we did the basic things, passing the ball and our movement, when we played it simple and effectively and done it with a purpose, we were good, where we can cause ourselves problems is when we stop the ball, delay and look for something a lot better than what it is and this beautiful game doesn’t need to be difficult all you ask them to do is go out and play the game, what you see, keep the ball moving, keep up the tempo. I thought we looked the stronger team throughout the final twenty minutes of the game and credit to Forfar they still looked dangerous on the break, we were possibly a little open when they broke away which is disappointing, we sent the two big lads up hoping to get something which is fine, but we left a one v. One situation at the back and I tried to scream, that is what you are asking the players to recognise. 2-1 was not a bad result, 3-1 makes it a little more difficult but certainly a result which we feel we can overturn. We had to rearrange things tonight due to injuries and the terms of the demands of the games recently, but hopefully Daryll Meggatt could be back for Sunday, the few days rest will give him good recovery, and we will see how Michael Doyle does, I thought  Stevie Hetherington coming in tonight for the first time at left back, I thought he put on an excellent show.
3 - 1
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Brechin City

 

danny lennon after reaching final

We are absolutely thrilled to get to the final, but it certainly was not pleasing the manner in the way we got over the line today and neither are the players to be fair to them, but we must give a great deal of credit to Brechin City, knowing that they would throw absolutely everything at us today and they certainly did that but we done enough to get through which was most important. We certainly didn’t set our stall out to defend  we just want to go out and play our natural game, as I feel when you are holding on to something players start to play within themselves there not used to that situation but all credit to Brechin City, sometimes you have to give the opposition credit, but for the first half hour I thought we were ok, we were playing some ok football but as the game went on a little bit of nerves, a little bit of fear, started to come into our game and I now hope all those fears are now beyond us. I took of Michael Chopra at half-time because I thought we needed a bit more energy in the middle of the pitch which Brechin were dominating with the shape that they had in there, over running Docherty and McCord in there, it was purely a tactical decision to try and get more energy in that area and also a get more quicker support to Liam Buchanan. John Gibson was fantastic, but that’s what goalkeepers are there for, he has been tremendous but as I have said a great deal of credit to Ray McKinnon and his players, we knew they would come knowing they had absolutely nothing to lose, but for our point of view overall the decisions we made today, the amount of time we wanted on the ball – listen the play-offs and come into these games so quickly after competing in a very competitive league plus being part-time it is demanding on these players we have to take that in to account as well but all our focus and attention now is on our recovery and preparation for two very important games against Forfar Athletic. We go into the match in good form, we are on a good run of form, it was the performance I wasn’t happy about today but over the two legs that is what is was about, prior to today’s game I had stressed it was only half-time but we have managed over the two legs to win the tie, disappointed in our level of performance today and  going into the final we will see two teams going into the game in good form and we hope it’s a good final over the two legs for both sets of fans. It looks as if Michael Doyle pulled his hamstring early in today’s match so I had to change the pack a little bit but it was a wonderful opportunity for young David Ferguson coming in there, so playing in a game like that a such a young age and what’s at stake certainly holds him in good stead for the future, a great experience for him.
0 - 1
Full Time

Brechin City v Alloa Athletic

“The Wasps” recorded a 2-0 victory at Glebe Park against Ray McKinnon’s Brechin City side in the 1st Leg of the SPFL Championship Semi-final play off match. This indeed was the same score line they recorded in Season 2012/13 at the same stage of the play offs at Glebe Park in the 1st Leg. However, it is only half-time in the tie, but we are in a strong position. Michael Chopra, for the second game running opened the scoring and Kyle Benedictus scoring a last minute goal, his first for the club, a scoreline which was merited on the evening.

 

danny lennon at glebe park

Its only half-time and there is still a long way to go, we certainly applied ourselves very well, I thought with it being a tight pitch up here and a lot of rain had fallen recently, it was slippy tonight so after about 25 / 30 minutes that we adapted to the circumstances, but I can’t stress enough it is only half-time and we have given ourselves something, a good starter for Saturday, but that is all. We certainly faced a team tonight in Brechin City, that can cause teams problems, we handled that tonight but we have to be aware of where there threats come from. There is no doubt Michael Chopra he has ability, but it is just that matter of his match fitness, he is working incredibly hard in training, during the games and on his own, but you can certainly see the quality the boy processes and that certainly shines through, but for me tonight I thought all the way through it was a fantastic team performance with a lot of attempts at goal and to get two goals from that and another clean sheet, so it is very good and positive for ourselves in terms of going into the second leg on Saturday.
0 - 2
Full Time

Dunfermline v Alloa Athletic

Paul Hartley has become the first ever Alloa Athletic manager to win back to back promotions, having also won the Third Division Championship last season, his first season since becoming Alloa Athletic manager and hanging up his boots. He is only the second ever Alloa Athletic manager to win promotion with “The Wasps” on two occasions, the other being Terry Christie in Seasons 2001/02 & 1999/2000. This season “The Wasps” finished 2nd in the league behind a superb Queen of the South team who won the league, setting a new points total having accumulated 92 points to beat the previous record held by Gretna. This season Paul Hartley’s side finished 2nd with a total of 67 points, two more league points than when they were pipped on goal difference in season 2009/10 when they had 65 points.

PAUL HARTLEY AFTER WINNING PROMOTION

I couldn’t have imaged this feeling when I took the job on, you don’t how it was going to turn out, what a rollercoaster I have been on in the past two years, it has been fantastic, some of the guys have been with us over the full two years, which has been full of joyous moments, but football has a strange way of working, you can get a bit of success, then you don’t get success and you are branded a failure, this wasn’t won over these last two games but over the season we have shown a great level of consistency. I thought we were fantastic today, I know Dunfermline got a goal and we were spooked a bit with that but Kevin Cawley could have scored a number of goals today especially in the first half had he been a bit more patient, the group of players in the dressing room are a great bunch of boys of seen that with their work ethic and their quality so I’m delighted for them. When you win things as a player you sort of take it for granted but it’s funny now as a manager – you are under pressure right away to win games – its pressure, pressure, pressure, and next season it will be the same again in the First Division, so we will look to have a good holiday, then look to the squad and look to bring in more quality players – I think we will look to enjoy tonight and the next few days but the last two games were high pressured games and I was under the scrutiny a bit, but we have come through it with flying colours.  Dunfermline Athletic were not put in this position by their players or their manager it was mismanagement from the people were in charge of the club – it’s the way Scottish Football is at the moment you just need to look at Hearts, Rangers and Dunfermline who have been struggling financially – we cannot afford for our bigger clubs to be in such a financial mess and being put into the bottom tiers of Scottish Football. At Alloa I am on a small budget, it is the way we work, it’s what we are under with crowds of around 400, we need to work with what we have, its worked the last couple of years but I will try to get better players in and there will be a lot available on the market – full time football is not the as it was 15 or 20 years ago its different, players getting to 29/30 year old are looking for part time full and we think we are a good part time club, well run, financially we are well run but I will try to bring in new players, I’m sure there will be players who will be willing to play for us. It is good thing for chairmen that there is the potential for more money coming into the Scottish game, which should work its way down through the leagues – the more money the merrier but not a lot of managers might see the difference, will I see any, maybe, maybe not but I will just deal with it. It was a good turn out by the Alloa support today, but you would hope so it was a final and they came out in good numbers today but it would help my cause if we could get a few more through the gate. Some of the players are off on holiday at the start of the week to Magaluf, I hope they have a good time but I will need to start the planning for next season as soon as Tuesday night, I hope to speak to the players and let them know who is staying and who is going – that is the down side of football – letting people go, but somebody has to do it

Dunf v Alloa D3 252 (1)Dunf v Alloa D3 252 (1)
Dunf v Alloa D3 313Dunf v Alloa D3 313
1 - 0
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Dunfermline

Alloa Athletic recorded a 3-0 victory in their first ever Live TV match in the SFL First Division Play Off Final 1st Leg, covered by BBC Alba. The victory, the clubs first over Dunfermline Athletic since 1st September, 1982 when “The Wasps” ironically defeated “The Pars” 3-0 in a League Cup Sectional match. On the evening Paul Hartley’s team can be proud of their display, the scoreline could have been even more such was Alloa’s dominence in the second half. However in the semi-final Dunfermline Athletic showed how they can turn the tables at East End Park and Paul Hartley and his team will give Jim Jeffries side every respect, knowing the game is still at half-time, nothing has been won yet.

 PAUL HARTLEY AFTER FINAL 1ST LEG

I thought the second half performance was very good – the first half I wasn’t happy with, I know we went in 2-0 ahead but I was not happy in the way that we had played, but in the second half we were totally dominant. But we know that the tie is only at half time, I said that to the players, we know Dunfermline will be different when we play at East End Park, with a big crowd behind them and we have seen how they turned it round in the semi-final tie against Forfar Athletic. So we need to be aware of that, we will not go to East End Park to sit back, we will go and have a go again and try and hopefully score. I thought we were solid as a team, the back four were great, the goalkeeper didn’t have a lot to do, the midfield work was good and the front two were a handful. It was a good performance but we know the tie is not over. We are a fit team and we base our game on a lot of fitness, so I was not surprised we finished the stronger team, we kept going, I know Dunfermline are full-time – so our players will need to recover as soon as possible, they will be in tomorrow night to do a cool down and then we have to go again on Sunday with the same level of performance. At no stage did we think about sitting back, we just wanted to go for it, I told the players to keep going, keep passing the ball and we tried to do that, cutting them open at times – if our final pass or final shot had been a bit better we could have scored more goals but before the game I would have settled for 3 – 0. The players did themselves proud, I said to them before the game – Do yourselves justice, go and put on a big performance, there would be lots of people watching, it is the first time Alloa Athletic have featured in a live TV match, go and show how good a team we are and we managed to do that, it was a great atmosphere and that’s what the Play-Offs bring. Recreation Park is a passing surface, there is no complaints, there are no bobbles or bad bounces – I think it is probably the way forward for the weather we have in Scotland and especially in the lower leagues. Ryan McCord had to go off and is likely to struggle for Sunday, whereas Jonathan Tiffoney was just a bit of cramp so he should be ok.
3 - 0
Full Time