Competition: Premier Sports Cup

Hamilton Academical v Alloa Athletic

There were plenty of positives to take from “The Wasps” display at New Douglas Park in their League Cup 2nd Round tie against Hamilton Accies, the end score line of 4-1 not a true reflection on the evening. Accies took the lead in spectacular style, Tony Andreu putting the home side ahead. Alloa came straight back into the game and had chances to score before Greig Spence scored a wonderful equaliser, it was the home fans who were showing discontent at half-time and it wasn’t until Martin Canning headed home on 66 minutes did the home side start to get back on top.

 

barry smith at new douglas park

I thought the score line was harsh on the boys, I thought in the first half we created good chances, Greig Spence scored another great goal and the team worked extremely hard, we had our way we wanted to play and it worked in the first half, so our dressing room is disappointed. However we must look at the positives and how well we did against a good Hamilton Accies side, we cannot take anything away from Hamilton they had a lot of the ball, but that’s the way we set up to play, was there three goals in the game I’m not sure?

The players showed a great response after going a goal down, but we have good players, we have a good dressing room and they work hard for each other and we scored a good goal, but we also created other chances as well, Greig Spence scored a great goal but he had other chances on the night as did Liam Buchanan. So disappointed but we will focus on the positives. Hamilton Accies shows us a bit of respect by changing formation because they were not getting a lot of joy. The one negative thing was the goals we lost, looking back in know we can do better at the goals we lost but we will focus on the positives because I thought we played well against a good Hamilton Accies team.  We kept our shape well, worked hard and on the evening created chances ourselves especially in the first half, the result on the evening I did not think was a fair score line given the way we played in the first half.
4 - 1
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Stirling Albion

The Wasps progressed to the next round of this seasons League Cup after defeating local rivals Stirling Albion 1-0 thanks to a Greig Spence first half strike, his fourth goal in two games since rejoining the club. The miserable weather, holiday season and admission price saw only 684 spectators at Recreation Park for this early awaited “Local derby”. Barry Smith’s side took the lead in the 26th minute when Greig Spence latched on to a half chance and rounded the Stirling Albion before slotting in his first goal for “The Wasps” against Stirling Albion. The home should have increased their lead before half-time but after having plenty of possession could not add to the scoreline. The closest visitors Stirling Albion came to an equaliser came late in the game from ex Wasp, Willie Robertson, who cracked a shot from 25 yards narrowly over the crossbar. The job had been done, by progressing to the next round of the competion which in cup games is always objective.

 

barry smith after league cup progression

The cup games are about getting into the next round, I thought in the first half we did very well and had good chances, we could maybe have scored one or two more, and in the second half I thought Stirling Albion did extremely well, we were disappointed with our second half but overall I think we deserved to go through. The conditions were poor but they were the same for both teams so I don’t think that comes into it, we should be good enough to take care of the game.

We had a lot of possession of the ball, but we never did enough with it in the second half, in the first half we were far more productive. Greig Spence has brought goals to the team, he only needs that wee half chance and he can score goals, we are happy with that, on another day he would maybe have got another one but he scored the important goal to get us through to the next round. Today’s game was a tough game, Stirling Albion have good forward players who were hard to deal with, credit to Stirling for playing the way they did in the second half. The most important thing is that we are in the next round, we are in the hat and will take whoever comes out.

It is never easy going to Palmerston Park, Jim McIntyre had them playing really good stuff at the end of last season – they had very few defeats from January, 2014 through to May, 2014 we will need to be at our best for the whole of the ninety minutes to make sure that we come away with something from our opening league fixture.
1 - 0
Full Time

Aberdeen v Alloa Athletic

If fortune is meant to favour the brave then someone forgot to read the script at Pittodrie on Tuesday evening. Paul Hartley’s men performed wonders on the pitch to match Aberdeen for 120 minutes: a side tipped to be ‘the best of the rest’ in the SPFL Premiership this season. But in a cruel twist of fate, the Wasps were to suffer the agony of defeat on penalties after a Michael Doyle miss allowed Mark Reynolds to smash home the winner and send his relieved side through to the next round of Scottish Communities League Cup.

Hartley made one change to the side that beat Cowdenbeath last weekend – Jason Marr replaced the ineligible Declan McManus – as the Wasps switched to three centre backs in a 5-4-1 formation. Aberdeen played a full strength side with Jamie Langfield returning from suspension in goals for Aberdeen.

Alloa started the brighter of the two sides and almost took a shock lead. A combination of some excellent skill and a long searching pass from Stephen Simmons put Kevin Cawley in on goal but Dons defender Mark Reynolds did well to deal with the danger.

The home side had their first chance of the match when McCord tripped the lively Niall McGinn on the edge of the box but Pawlett’s kick was straight at Scott Bain. Aberdeen began to take control and had a sustained period of pressure that led to a double chance.

First from a corner, Russell Anderson headed the ball back across the face of goal and it was met by the onrushing Reynolds but he couldn’t keep his header down. More sustained pressure from the Dons saw the ball break to Pawlett on the edge of the area and his stinging drive produced a cracking one hand save from Bain in the Alloa goal.

The Alloa back three of Ben Gordon, Jason Marr and Daryll Meggatt took it in turns to make some vital blocks and tackles as Aberdeen tried to crank up the heat towards the end of the first half. Alloa then hit their hosts on the counter attack and some great work from Cawley and Simmons produced their first corner of the match on 32 minutes. McCord’s kick found Ben Gordon free in the area 12 yards out and his looping header looked destined for the top corner but Langfield got across to tip onto the crossbar to deny Alloa a glorious lead.
Stephen Simmons and Graeme Holmes then began to win the midfield battle to take the sting out of the home side’s momentum. This restricted them to a few long range Pawlett efforts that were high and wide on both occasions. Pawlett then carved out one final chance for the Dons at the end of the first half when he wriggled free from Doyle down the left but his cut back was brilliantly cut out by the sliding challenge of Marr with Calvin Zola waiting in the box. Aberdeen came out all guns blazing in the second half and they immediately had a penalty claim after McGinn went down under a firm challenge from Marr in the area but the referee correctly waved it away after the Wasps stopper won the ball. Aberdeen huffed and puffed for a spell with loads of possession but they struggled to breakdown a determined Alloa side who grew in confidence as the half went on. Kirk got on the end of another superb long range pass from Simmons and won his side a free kick on the hour mark. McCord took a clever set piece short to Cawley who then dummied the ball to Simmons but his shot whistled just past the post. Former Alloa loanee Nicky Low came on to replace the injured Willo Flood and he managed to test Bain from range on a number of occasions without success. A nasty collision between Daryll Meggatt and Johnny Hayes saw the Dons forward stretchered off after a long delay in the match. This did Alloa no favours as the Dons got their composure back after play resumed and McGinn again threatened Bain’s goal from range but this time was off target. As we entered the final fifteen minutes of the match, surprisingly it was Alloa who looked the more likely to score a winner as Hartley introduced Eddie Ferns in place of Andy Kirk. This allowed Alloa to get further up the pitch and attack Aberdeen at will on the counter attack as the game became stretched. Ferns caused all sorts of problems in behind with his pace and he linked up brilliantly with Holmes to create space but his effort was blocked before Simmons follow up effort was deflected clear for a corner. Alloa ended the ninety minutes on top with a trio of chances firstly Meggatt’s 20-yard free kick was blocked before Cawley burst through but his cutback went harmlessly across goal. That man Ferns threatened once again when he beat Reynolds down the right and whipped in a great cross but Anderson did well to cut out the ball. The game went to extra time and it was the very least the Wasps deserved. Derek McInnes must have had a few choice words for his players at full time because they looked a different proposition in the first half of extra time. Low stung the palms of Bain from long range and he could only spill the ball straight out in front of him but Ben Gordon spared his blushes with a brilliant clearance as Zola followed up. The Alloa back line were put under incredible scrutiny throughout extra time but first Meggatt then Marr both denied the home fans a late winner with superb last ditch tackles. Alloa had the final chance in open play when Ferns got inside Anderson on the right wing but his vicious cross was just too high for the onrushing Kevin Cawley. So to penalties and the first ten spot kicks were all converted as Holmes, Ferns, McCord, Gordon and then former Dons star Darren Young all scored to take the shootout to sudden death. But there was to be no fairytale ending for the Wasps when Michael Doyle’s kick was brilliantly saved by Langfield down to his left before Reynolds followed up with the winner to break Alloa hearts. A heroic display from Paul Hartley’s men and one that will stand them in good stead for the remainder of the season in the SPFL Championship.
Match Report – Graeme Lafferty, Alloa Advertiser

It was heartache for “The Wasps” for the second time last night as Paul Hartley’s side lost out at Pittodrie eventually 6 – 5 on penalties with another “Young Wasps” team having lost earlier in the evening 4 – 2 to East Stirlingshire on penalties in the local Stirlingshire Cup. Paul Hartley’s side pushed their Premier league opponents all the way in the match, gaining confidence as the game went on and having chances to win on the evening. However after ninety minutes and a further 30 minutes extra time the match went to penalties, from which Derek McInnes side progressed to Thursdays Third Round draw.

Penalty Shoot Out
1 – 0 Graeme Holmes
1 – 1 Niall McGinn
2 – 1 Eddie Ferns
2 – 2 Nicky Low
3 – 2 Ryan McCord
3 – 3 Peter Pawlett
4 – 3 Ben Gordon
4 – 4 Ryan Jack
5 – 4 Darren Young
5 – 5 Scott Vernon
5 – 5 Michael Doyle (Miss)
5 – 6 Mark Reynolds

 

paul hartley at pittodrie

We created some good opportunities at times and I was proud of the players. This is the highest level for our guys, we are part time and I only get to work with my players two nights a week. Some of them had to take an afternoon off of their work and will be back there tomorrow morning so that shows you the kind of commitment they have. We pushed Aberdeen all the way and we had a clean sheet again. Our three centre backs were great even although we changed our game plan a little bit. Aberdeen had us watched three or four times in the build up to the game, so we switched to a back three just to nullify that advantage and we matched Aberdeen all the way in terms of fitness and ability at times. I think when it goes to penalties then it is a wee bit of a lottery at times. I can have no complaints though, all the penalties were good then Langfield makes a good save. In penalties we always have a hero and sometimes a villain and it just wasn’t to be for us. I thought overall we were fantastic. The group of players were great as a unit, we defended well and then attacked well. Now we need to keep that going for the rest of the season. We could have had a big upset tonight but it just wasn’t to be. We have to pick ourselves up for Queen of the South on Saturday and do it all over again because we have to do that if we want to stay in the division. The game on Saturday is reason enough for the players to pick themselves back up. This tie is over and done with now and we have to look forward to going there to Palmerston and trying to get three points.
0p - 0
Full Time

Peterhead v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic manager Paul Hartley was delighted to break his cup record and progress to the next round of this season’s Scottish Communities League Cup, this was after a 2-0 victory for “The Wasps” at a very windy Balmoor Stadium, Peterhead. The last time the sides met in the League Cup in Season 2001/02, the then CIS Cup, Alloa Athletic had won 4-0 at Recreation Park with goals from Ian Little, Harry Curran, Stevie Thomson and Richard Walker, this game was always going to be closer, however “The Wasps” progressed thanks to goals from Ryan McCord and Andy Kirk in the second half, when Alloa had the wind at their backs.

 

paul hartley after winning 1st cup tie

The main thing was to get through the tie today and I am delighted to have won.  The conditions were very difficult with the strong wind, especially In the first half when we never really got started, we couldn’t get our passing game started in the conditions but credit to Peterhead they pressed us high up the pitch, which we knew they would because we had already played them pre-season.  In the cup you just want to get through and we managed to do that today, it was good for Andy Kirk to get his first competitive goal for the club which clinched the victory after Ryan McCord had put us ahead from the spot. It was a great debut from young Declan McManus he was absolutely terrific and helped us reach the next round.  The monkey is off my back having never won a cup tie with Alloa in the last 7 matches.  We are now looking to get a good home tie in the next round of the cup.  In the first half our strikers had little to feed off but in the second half with the wind behind us we had lots more possession.  Declan was a real handful and he keeps working, he never stops, you can’t teach that to a player.  I am sure he will get his fair share of goals, he was a little unfortunate today.  Personally, I would like a glamour tie at home, one of the big teams where we would get a big crowd and see if we could go out and shock somebody.  Just to get that result today is great as it has been playing on my mind a bit – a run of seven cup games without a win.  We are looking forward to our first game next week in the Scottish Professional Football League Championship and we will work on a few things during the week before we face Livingston, but we are just pleased to be playing in this division and we will give it a real go.  We still have a few players missing, still a couple carrying knocks but I would be hopeful to have a few back for next week.  I am ready to go!
0 - 2
Full Time

Queen of the South v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic are hurting after losing 5-2 at Palmerston Park against Queen of the South in the Scottish Communities League Cup. Although never playing as well as they can “The Wasps” scored twice and were level going into the last twelve minutes of the game, before the home side scored three goals in seven minutes to clinch the tie, a result in the end which was harsh on Paul Hartley’s side but on the day no one could deny Queen’s desrved their victory.

Fantastic Alloa support at Starks Park
paddy connolly at palmerston

I think the score line was a bit heavy on us but the better team won in the end. Obviously disappointed in the result, we showed a bit of character to come back into the game twice, we have shown this in the past last season but today we didn’t defend well, we didn’t play well as a team, at half time, the manager spoke to them and told them we were still in the game at 1-0 down, we hadn’t played well – we showed a bit character getting the goal but I think overall the better team won. We will bounce back. We have a tough league game next Saturday against East Fife. Queen of the South look to have set the bench mark for the second division and gave us a bit of a hiding today looking at the score line at the end of the day – the manager has had harsh words with the players today and told them it’s not good enough which I need to agree with on that as we never performed well, too many of our players did not show the quality that they showed last season. Queen of the South will be the team to chase but we will bounce back. It was a bit of an eye opener for us in the heaviness of the defeat – we will be back into training on Tuesday. It is hard to pick positives when have been beaten 5-2. We did score two goals away from home and would like to think on another day that would be enough to win the tie but losing 5 goals was a bit of a sore one. The manager is still looking to bring one or two new players in but obviously players are now being tied up and we might need to look at the loan situation – we had a few injuries today that left us short but that is no excuse we had a strong 11 out there and we expected to get a result today and get a decent performance but never got that. Daryll Meggatt was suspended today but he will come into our thoughts on Tuesday at training, however we will be without Ben Gordon next Saturday against East Fife as he serves a one match suspension carried over from last season so someone will need to come in to cover for Ben who has been one of our top performers so far this season. We had the same situation last year where we were knocked out early in the two cups so hopefully we will bounce back from it.
5 - 2
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Greenock Morton

Plenty of good football but no goals, The Wasps can be proud of how they played against their First Division rivals on Saturday, Greenock Morton but rued the cost of not scoring when on top in the second half. Greenock Morton who had scored eight the previous week against Stranraer had to work hard for this victory in which the scoreline does not reflect the balance of play, however as we know it is goals that count and Greenock Morton were clinical in that department while Paul Hartley was looking for at least one goal to put pressure on Allan Moore’s side. Darren Young missed the game after taking a knock and Peter Innnes made his debut for the club. Although wishing to win every game the manager has set his sights on the League, which is the only avenue the club can return to be playing at a higher level. Next Saturday Paul Hartley takes his side to Stranraer in the opening League fixture of the new season.

 

paul hartley after morton game

I was disappointed we didn’t score today, it was incredible, some of the football we played and the set pieces were good but we just couldn’t get that goal to change the game. Morton punished us at three set pieces, so disappointed with the result but not the performance, Morton are a First Division side, they are full time so there were encouraging signs for us. I said before we have only been five week at best with this set of players and you can see our intentions what we are wanting to do and that we want to pass the ball and at times today the football from ourselves was a joy to watch the way we keep possession but we just couldn’t score today however a lot of encouraging things so I’m pleased the way we played, the fitness levels were outstanding but we must take it into next week for our first League game against Stranraer, that is what is important for us, it would be great to get through in the cup ties but the League was always going to be our priority.
Still not sure how we didn’t score the guys are trying to give me a heart attack, the balls were cleared off the line, our own player clearing off their line, I was kicking every ball but we have all seen or played in games that sometimes it just don’t go for you in front of goal and that was certainly the fact today, but apart from the goals we lost at set pieces everything else was positive stuff. When you play against a team from a higher division you need to raise the bar a bit and I think we did that today, that’s no fluke the way we played today that is how we have played in all our pre season games, we gave them a game, their manager stated that, how he felt he didn’t know how they didn’t concede a goal today and carried a bit of luck on their side, but the way we competed against Morton today was pleasing for me. The way the guys are playing I don’t think I will need to be putting my boots on, the guys in the midfield we have are very talented young players, a young hungry team with energy, we will see how it goes but I have every faith in them, I think they are good players and will only get better.
0 - 3
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Aberdeen

Alloa Athletic’s interest in this season’s CIS Cup ended after Premier League side Aberdeen defeated the 10 man Alloa side after goalkeeper Stephen Robertson was red carded for challenge against Fraser Fyvie after a short pass back from Billy Gibson as early as the 14th minute of the game. In some peoples eyes unfortunately the game then ended as a contest, but to the home support and players they were still to enjoy many asspects of the game. The Alloa players showed great attitude to play positive football when teams in the past might have went for damage limitation. Aberdeen did increase their advantage before half time when Rory McArdle bundled home, however their third goal from sponsors Man of the Match – Chris Maguire was a wonderful strike. Alloa battled well and ended the game creating good chances, Stuart Noble creating but unfortunately not scoring at least a consolation goal which his play merited. The Wasps now need to look forward to another though game on Saturday when they returned to League business at Glebe Park against Brechin City who progressed to the 3rd Round of the CIS Cup after defeating Dundee 3-1 on penalties after the game had ended 2-2.

 

allan maitland after cup exit

We obviously came tonight with a game plan and we knew how the game was going to pan out, in the first 20 minutes I thought we did fine, but mistakes at this level will kill us and that is exactly what happened, when they scored their goal to go 1-0 up and we are down to 10 men if someone had said at that stage it will finish 3-0 I think in fairness we would probably have taken that and we have came out of the game with a bit of pride, in fact it was a good night – we now need to focus on Saturday, good luck to Aberdeen I hope they do well. We have had a wonderful start to the season, it was always going to be a hard game the team were excellent and I could not have asked for anymore.
Asked about the pitch and the injuries – The second one is an injury and nothing to do with the park, David Gormley has caught Zander Diamond, I didn’t really see what happened to Fraser Fyvie, it was right in front of us, but when he was coming off I thought he might have been wearing blades, and I think blades are foolish on this surface, I think anybody would tell you that, but I don’t know, I don’t even know how serious the injury is and I think they don’t think its as serious first thought and he has had knocks in the past and maybe he is a bit sensitive about it – if there is injuries due to the park that is unusual. On the sending off, in fairness to Stephen Robertson, he said Allan I stayed up as long as I could and Fraser Fyvie just knocked it bye me and couldn’t get there and ran into me, but from where I am it looked like a penalty so I have no problem with the decision, I thought the referee and officials were great.

mark mcghee – aberdeen manager

The result has come at a price, obviously what we are concerned about is that we have lost two players and we do not know the cost of that – I don’t know that it is worth it. I thought it was a reasonable enough performance in difficult conditions – it is a difficult pitch for us and the players have dealt with it fairly well. We are unsure how bad Fraser Fyvie’s injury is until we have a look at him or scan him in the morning, he certainly looked in agony but I think it is the pitch. A lot of these pitches have been built across the country for teams to play and train on but I think at this level the competitiveness of it and the pace that we are trying to play and move at it does make it a little bit more difficult and I think there could be a case for much more specialist footwear – I don’t know how scientific they are about the footwear they wear – they look as if they are wearing rubbers and the moulds the same as our boys but I think there has to be a bit of thought about that because clearly there are peoples feet sticking and players getting injuries. I was worried about the surface – Peter Pawlett went out in the warm up and felt it right away, the surface affected him before he got going and that is why he wasn’t involved. Fraser Fyvie seemed to twist his knee, but we will need to see how it is in the morning, get the experts to check him but the boy seemed to be badly hurt. I think Zander should have got rid of the ball earlier but I think he kind of kicked into the ground, again – there’s no give in it is there? His foot stuck and his knee rocked and he is feeling it on the inside of his ligament – hopefully again that will settle down but again I think the pitch was partly responsible. Up to that point I thought he was brilliant, he was getting on with it and looked the brightest of all of them and I was gutted for him – he has been desperate for his chance, he had a great pre-season and he has not been in the team simply because we have needed a balance – needed Pawlett in there – Fraser got his chance tonight and was taking it before the injury.
0 - 3
Full Time

East Stirlingshire v Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic progressed to the 2nd round of this season’s CIS Cup after a narrow 2-1 victory over local neighbours East Stirlingshire, the tie being played on a Sunday at Ochilview Park, home of Stenhousemuir FC who East Stirlingshire currently ground share with. The Wasps were unchanged from their starting eleven who did so well at Dens Park the previous week in the Alba Challenge Cup. East Stirling took a deserved lead after 17 minutes, Kevin Cawley giving the home side the lead and Jim McInally’s side had chances to increase their lead before Bryan Prunty scored the equaliser on the stroke of half-time. In the second half the heavens opened with a downpour of torrential rain, but the Alloa fans were again cheering on the hour mark when Andy Scott’s shot was deflected by Shire captain Craig Tully, past goalkeeper Michael Andrews for the winner. Shire continued to press and Alloa had to thank Stephen Robertson for keeping them ahead in the tie.

 

allan maitland after cis cup victory
Well we are through to the next round which is the most important thing, East Stirling played really well at the beginning of the game and deserved to go ahead and were a wee bit unlucky not to score another one but our goalkeeper had two or three fantastic saves, but scoring the goal just before half time was important for us a great finish from Bryan Prunty and for half an hour in the second half we controlled the game really well and created chances but didn`t score them, then during the last 15 minutes they have gone for it, and had the chance that came back of  the bar from John Neil, we are pleased to go through and and it was a good exercise maybe later in the season I would hope we would deal with it better but obviously very pleased to win.
What I would say and it is no disrespect to anybody but when you are playing a really important cup tie for both teams I can`t believe in this day and age we don’t have ball boys, you should not have goalkeepers and players running all about the place going for balls. And with all due respect any club that is a disgrace and should not be allowed, so I know it`s a gripe and it`s a petty thing but it better said when we have won instead of getting beat.
At half time I was asking the referee why their guy never got sent off, I thought the tackle on Kevin McDonald was as clear a red card as you will ever see an d the disappointing thing about that is they have a guy that clatters one of ours and I think it`s a red card – maybe the referee doesn`t think so but we end up with two players booked and they end with two players booked how  that is right I don`t think that’s right, but anyway I think the referee handled the game really well.
Good exercise it`s a strange thing playing football on a Sunday I have got to say. Genuinely very pleased to go through and we will see how it goes from here I think there is a lot more to come from my team and perhaps the most important thing in the game today was Bryan Prunty`s finish if you need a goal just before half time and your striker scores without having to take another touch just puts it in the bottom corner these are the things that change games hopefully there will be plenty more of them to come.
Our goalkeeper I thought was excellent today with three great saves in the game, first half in the bottom corner one in second half when it was one each with the guy right through and one four minutes from the end. It`s been a great day for us.
1 - 2
Full Time

Alloa Athletic v Dundee United

The Wasps lost out to Premier League side Dundee United in this Co-operative Insurance Cup tie, two first half goals, which could have been avoided gave United a deserved lead at half-time. In the second half Brain Carrigan was introduced and that helped Alloa get a hold of the ball and be a bit more creative, to the players credit they never gave in and looked to have reduced the deficit when John Grant scored, only for the linesman to deny the goal raising his offside flag. Dundee united ended the game strongly and could have added to their lead, but the Alloa heads never went down and the players can take great credit from their second half display. In the final 17 minutes Brown Ferguson returned to action after having surgery in the close season which is a great boost for the team.

Alloa Athletic                             Dundee United
1 David Crawford                     13 Steven Banks
2 David McClune                       2 Sean Dillon
3 Marc McCafferty                    23 Paul Dixon
4 Scot Buist                              15 Prince Buaben
5 Scott Walker                           5 Darren Dods
6 John Grant                              6 Craig Conway
7 Gary Carroll                           17 Morgaro Gomis
8 Mark Brown Bkd 9m              8 Scott Robertson
9 Andy Scott                             18 Garry Kenneth
10 Mark Gilhaney                      20 Andis Shala
11 Scott Agnew                         25 David Goodwillie

12 Brian Carrigan (7) 46m          7 Jennison Myrie-Williams (17) 87m
14 Brown Ferguson (10) 73m     21 Damian Casalinuovo (20) 81m
15 Hugh Kerr (11) 67m              25 Ryan McCord (6) 87m
16 Ross Philp                              19 Michael Kovacevic

GK Stephen Hall                         GK Nicky Weaver
Referee : Euan Norris       Asst: George Drummond & Stephen Mitchell
Fourth Official – John Beaton

CROWD – 1,442

0 – 1 Andis Shala (23 mins)
0 – 2 David Goodwillie (39 mins)

Man of the Match – Scot Buist

 

allan maitland after dundee united game

I thought in the first half in particular that Dundee United were just shaper, better than us, their attitude was excellent and they were first to most balls and we were chasing it a lot, in situations like that there will be a lapse in concentration and I have to say both their goals were soft, bad goals for us to lose which could have been avoided, and I think both goals were bad goals for us to lose, the second goal in particular, but great credit to them their attitude was great. In the second half when Brian Carrigan came on, we started holding the ball a bit better and I thought we played a wee bit better, but even allowing for that we never did enough to threaten them, they are a good side and we can hold our heads up because we played much better in the second half and took a bit of pride from the game, but in all honestly the game against Clyde on Saturday is a lot more important for us, to do well tonight we needed Dundee United to turn up and maybe not be in the right frame of mind, but unfortunately for us I don’t think that happened, I thought they were sharp, good players, good touch on the ball, people will complain about our surface but if you are a full time team that must be a dream surface for you, because they just passed the ball and passed the ball and we chased and chased and you cannot get the ball of them and having the belief and confidence to do that, it makes it a long night for any part time team and I think that’s what happened, but all kidding aside we were just on the verge of scoring when David McClune got injured and we had to play out the end of the game with only ten players, it was hard enough playing with eleven players but all credit to Dundee United they deserved their victory, but I cannot complain about the effort from my players on the night.
0 - 2
Full Time

Airdrieonians v Alloa Athletic

On Saturday Alloa Athletic defeated Airdrie United for the first time in the clubs history in a competitive match, the game was finally won 4-3 to “The Wasps” on penalties after the game went to extra time, for the second cup tie in a week. However although Alloa Athletic probably played better against Ross County, this game should have been won in the first half when chances for Greig Spence and Stuart Noble were superbly saved by home keeper Stephen Robertson. The first chance of the game fell to the home side and David Crawford had to push a goalbound shot on to the crossbar. The club now progress to the 2nd round draw on Tuesday, with the next round ties due to be played on Tuesday 25th or Wednesday 26th August.

Alloa Athletic                                       Airdrie United
1 David Crawford                             1 Stephen Robertson
2 David McClune                              2 Darren Smith Bkd 100m
3 Marc McCafferty                           3 Paul Lovering Sent off 25m
4 Scot Buist                                      4 Kevin McDonald
5 Scott Walker Bkd 71m                  5 Bobby Donnelly
6 John Grant                                     6 David Nixon Bkd 40m
7 Andy Scott                                    7 Alan Trouten
8 Mark Brown                                  8 Scott McLaughlin
9 Greig Spence                                 9 Scott Gemmill
10 Scott Agnew                               10 John Baird
11 Stuart Noble                               11 Frankie Lagana

12 Chris Townsley (8) 46m               12 Ricky Waddell (11) 62m
14 Hugh Kerr (3) 63m                      14 Paul Keegan (9) 101m
15 Ross Philp                                    15 Kevin Watt (81m)
16 Callum Anderson (9) 101m           16 Patrick McCabe
Sent Off 110mins

GK Stephen Hall                                GK Lee Hollis
Referee : Charlie Richmond Asst: Don Robertson & Alan Hogg
CROWD – 756
Full Time 0 – 0
After Extra Time 0 – 0 Alloa won 4-3 on penalties

Penalties – Airdrie Utd                        Alloa Athletic
John Baird Miss 0 – 0                        John Grant Miss 0 – 0
Kevin McDonald Score 0 – 1            Andy Scott Score 1 – 1
Ricky Waddell Score 1 – 2                Chris Townsley   Score 2 – 2

David Nixon  Miss    2 – 2                   Agnew Score 3 – 2
Kevin Watt Score 3 – 3                      Scot Buist Score 4 – 3
Sponsors Man of the Match – Stephen Robertson

 

allan maitland after cis cup victory

Obviously we are pleaded to win , two weeks in a row now we have managed to take our games to extra time, both goalkeepers were excellent today, Davie Crawford’s save early in the game when he touched the ball on to the crossbar was magnificent, it looked a goal from where we were and during that spell when it was eleven against eleven, I thought we played well, but Airdrie had the best chances, they went down to ten men, I thought, Airdrie then were the better team. They passed the ball well, but strangely enough in that time we had great chances, Greig Spence had two, maybe three chances when he should have scored, Stuart Noble had a chance which Stephen Robertson hurt himself saving, but we didn’t play well. So having said all that I was quite relieved to get to extra time and also penalty kicks. The problem getting to penalty kicks against Airdrie, with Stephen Robertson in goal, is you think he will save at least one anyway, because he is an excellent keeper. What we have is a goalkeeper who saved a penalty kick last week against Ross County and he goes one better today by saving two against Airdrie United, Davie has done great for us today and we are delighted to be in the next round and I think in the effort the team has put in over the past two games, I think we deserved success somewhere in one of the games, so we have achieved it today. Disappointed for young Callum Anderson, making his debut today, that he gets himself sent off, I don’t think the referee has much choice, I think it was a rash challenge and his boot was up, Paul Lovering’s tackle was a disgrace, an absolute disgrace and our player is marked from the knee all the way down his leg, it was a terrible challenge, I like Paul Lovering, I just think he has that wee element in his game, but we are pleased to get through, it was a decent day for us, not the best game of football, but plenty of chances for both teams.
0 - 0p
Full Time