Saturday at Stair Park was the proverbial game of two halves, Stranraer having the bulk of the play in the first half, ending with them scoring what proved to be the only goal of the game with a purely speculative effort. In the second half it was “The Wasps” turn to take control of the game after a very poor showing in the opening 45 minutes. This was a big game for both club’s sitting so close to each other in the league standings, an opportunity missed by “The Wasps” given all their possession in the second half they could not find a break in front of goal. Indeed when they did eventually find the net the goal was disallowed.

Although having the lion’s share of possession in the second half, the home side were content to see out the game with their keeper being named “Man of the match”. However three goals in our last six games shows we need to be scoring more goals if we can expect to win matches, which hopefully we can start on Tuesday evening.

Weather permitting we return to action on Tuesday evening when we are due to face Airdrieonians at Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie, Kick-Off 7.45pm. Referee – Barry Cook.

jim goodwin after 1-0 defeat at stair park

We lost the game in the first half it is simple as that, we pinned them back in the second half threw everything at them, but I think we could still be playing there for another hour and nothing would drop. We had a goal chalked off for offside, I can’t quite understand it, a shout for a penalty a blatant hand ball in the box but it just wasn’t our day, and we had plenty of opportunities in the second half but conceded a poor goal in the first half, we should not have conceded that goal, at worst we should be going down the road today with a 0-0 scoreline. Neil Parry has had very little to do all afternoon and to concede that goal the way we did is really disappointing to be honest with you, for as well as we have played and defended up till now and I thought we were defending well at the period we lost today’s goal, but the boy shouldn’t be able to score from there, we will watch it back but bitterly disappointed.

The second half we changed the shape, we went two up and then we went three up and we threw everything at them but nothing would fall for us in and around the box, we had a number of opportunities but we just couldn’t get a goal to get us back in the game because I felt if we had got the equaliser we would have went on to win the game but Stranraer were time wasting from about half an hour to go, it was embarrassing I don’t know how the referee didn’t add on about eight or nine minutes at the end, it was so frustrating from our point of view – there was one team looking to go and win the game and another just hanging on by a thread.

It was a big game, it was an opportunity for us to create a big gap between us and Stranraer, albeit we still have two games in hand to them, and it was a missed opportunity – up front at the moment we are just not doing enough to get the goals that we vitally need. At their goal the guy does a couple of step overs but he really didn’t do anything to beat anyone, I don’t think we got close enough when he hits it and Neil will be disappointed getting beaten at his near post, but the big man has been excellent, he is the best goalkeeper in the league but we got punished today. It was also a bad time right on stroke of half-time, if we had got in at half-time, having played as badly as we had in the first half, I would have been pleased.

The second half I can’t fault the players effort, they did absolutely everything they could to try and unlock their defence, we just couldn’t in the end, we just lacked that wee bit of something to get us back in the game. We now have a game on Tuesday night against Airdrieonians so it will be important to try and freshen things up, we have big games coming up with Tuesday / Saturday / Tuesday now, three huge games and hopefully we can get back to winning ways.

The points were shared at Gayfield on Saturday which was probably about right. The Wasps had a great chance to open the scoring after only 16 minutes when ex Alloa defender, Colin Hamilton fouled PJ Crossan in the box but Scott Taggart’s penalty was saved by his ex teammate David Hutton who guessed correctly and then pulled off a great double save to deny Kris Renton.

Indeed the Arbroath keeper was again centre of attention when he let slip a Iain Flannigan free kick into the box and the ball deflected off luckless defender David Gold to give Alloa the lead.

However it was the keeper would pick up the plaudits after a string of saves, none better than his save from Jon Robertson’s long range effort and then point blank from PJ Crossan, which was to earn him Sponsors “Man of the Match” award.

jim goodwin at stair park

Obviously disappointed, I didn’t think there was much in the game up until the first goal, we said at half time the first goal was going to be huge and more often than not in our league that tends to be the case. Really disappointed with the defending, I thought we could have done a whole lot better, we seemed to be all over the place and one ball over the top is what killed us, but a great finish from Ryan Wallace but it was avoidable from our point of view. I don’t mind teams scoring goals where they carve you open, good quality goals but I don’t think that was a good quality goal from our point of view. He might have been half a yard offside but I think it was the fact we were disjointed at the back in the back four, three of the boys were up and one was too deep. We spoke before the game about not giving them the space to run into because we knew what they would want to do, we know how they play, looking for balls in behind because they have boys who are quick, as a back four we needed to deny them that space and we didn’t do it, but a great finish from the lad.

At 1-0 with fifteen minutes to go I made some changes to try and get us just back in the game, we went 3-4-3 but then again Jamie Hamill had too much space to run into, it’s a learning curve for wee Adam because he has to do his defensive responsibilities as well – for whatever reason we just don’t seem to be getting any breaks just now. We need to create our own luck, we need to keep going, it’s a funny league it’s the kind of league if you can put two or three wins back to back all of a sudden you will be climbing up the table again but our current form hasn’t been good enough and that’s absolutely clear and I take full responsibility for that.

You can’t feel sorry for yourselves, we are disappointed, I believe in the group of players we have, we have players now coming back after injury and once we get everybody up to speed I’m sure our luck will turn, I look at other teams squads and we are right up there on paper but it doesn’t work like that, at the moment we need to do more collectively, myself included we are all in this together and the only way we will turn the corner is by working hard during the week and not feeling sorry for ourselves because we will have another tough game coming up next weekend so we need to dust ourselves down and go again on Tuesday and hopefully our luck will change.

This form that we are in at the moment cannot continue, that is the first quarter out of the way and we are sitting on nine points from nine games , I’m not stupid, we sit and analysis’ things including myself and my decisions, tactics and training, I do that more than anybody and I am my own worst critic and I know our return of points in the first quarter is not nearly good enough and we are going to half to double that next quarter if we are to have any aspirations of getting into the play-offs.

We appear to be lacking a bit of confidence at the moment due to some bad form but I believe we are one result from turning the corner, it’s as simple as that.

This was a massive win for the team, once again showing a never say die attitude and showing great character, at 1-0 “The Wasps” were always in the game and the manager and players believed if they could get one goal they were confident the game would change and they could go on and win the match. Stranraer will feel aggrieved at taking nothing from the game but the most important thing for Alloa Athletic was to win the game and collect back to back wins in a game we were not at our best.

jim goodwin after stranraer turnaround

Absolutely delighted, over the moon, we have played a lot better this season and lost or drew games, but I’m not going to stand here and say we played fantastic, we didn’t, it was there for everyone to see but I’m just so pleased for the boys they never know when they are beat, they never give in, they are a credit to themselves, they really are. From day one when I came in at the start in the summer as a player, I was blown away by their attitude, commitment and the way they train, they really are a fantastic group of boys. Really proud of them tonight because it would have been really easy to throw the towel in after half an hour, we could have been two or three nil down, but we didn’t kept ourselves in the game and in the second half I thought we did better.

We got to grips with their shape and made our own shape better and changed ours, in the end of the day it is a fantastic three points and that’s all that matters.  Stranraer dominated possession, especially in the first half there is no doubt of that, we were camped in our own half but saying that I can’t recall Neil Parry having too many saves to make, they had a number of corners. I thought Andy Graham and Jason Marr were terrific, Andy particular was putting his body on the line and had a great clearance near the end but I don’t like singling out any individual players because the overall team effort and commitment was immense. We had Greig Spence dropping out to right wing for the last five or ten minutes to see the game out. The way we managed the game at the end to make sure we did walk away with the three points was fantastic.

Stranraer will be frustrated they never killed the game off, for all the possession they had I don’t think they had any clear cut chances and at only 1-0 down you are always in the game. The next goal was always going to be vital and we knew if we got the next goal we could go on and win the game – that’s the kind of belief we have in this group, we always score and recently we have had to come from a goal down and we had to do that again but I think that is testament to the boys. I have been involved in a number of teams in my career who at 1-0 down would not come back – these lads don’t they are fantastic. Scoring the second goal just after Stranraer had lost the equaliser, you heard their fans and the Stranraer players had went down, they were anxious and all of a sudden it was a different ball game. We kept our foot on the gas and saw the game out, we came here to win.

Fantastic two wins back to back, up to second in the League table a fantastic start to the New Year but we know how difficult every fixture is in this league, Stranraer are a decent side who are at the wrong end of the table for whatever reason but we respect every team we play, however we believe if we hit the standards we are capable of then we are as good a match for anyone.

We have been working really hard for the past six weeks trying to see who is available in this transfer window but every club is doing the same, we are all fishing in the same pond and we are trying to make sure we get the right players, they need to be of the right character and mindset, I will not take any gambles on bad eggs or whatever, we have two or three lined up and hope to have news later next week.

A SCINTILLATING first half display saw Alloa Athletic come from behind to see off hosts Stranraer with an emphatic 5-2 win. The home side came out the traps flying and took the lead inside the opening few minutes. Christian Nade did well to power past his marker on the left wing before driving a stinging ball across goal which Parry got a hand to, but the razor sharp Craig Malcolm was there to pounce on the rebound to make it 1-0 from close range.

The Wasps responded well and immediately went on the hunt for the equaliser. Jon Robertson led the first attack as he sent Scott Taggart in down the right, his cross found Greig Spence, but the shot was straight at the keeper. Spence was soon played in behind the Stranraer defence by Iain Flannigan, but again he was thwarted by the keeper. The hosts should’ve doubled their advantage on 15 minutes when Malcolm got to a corner from six yards, but this time Parry denied him with a great save.

Jim Goodwin latched onto a poor kick out by the Stranraer keeper to play Spence through on goal. The shot was well saved by the feet of Cameron Belford, but Flannigan dispatched the rebounding ball into the corner from the edge of the box with a stunning first time strike to make it 2-1. Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Alloa began to hit top gear on 28 minutes. Kirkpatrick produced a wonderful bit of skill to beat his marker wide on the right, before smashing the ball beyond Belford into the far corner to make it 3-1. Alloa looked like scoring every time they went forward during this spell of the game and they soon added two more goals to extend their advantage to four.

Spence grabbed his second of the afternoon on 33 minutes after a wonderful flowing move involving Flannigan, Kirkpatrick and Robertson. The ball was eventually worked out to Calum Waters on the left and he picked out Spence who finished from close range for 4-1. The wasps took just six minutes more to make it 5-1. This time it was Kirkpatrick’s turn to add to his tally for the day. Flannigan picked out the run of Spence who had pulled out to wide left, his cross found Kirkpatrick in box, who simply spun and finished into the corner to give Alloa a 5-1 half time lead.

The home side came out with a renewed optimism after the interval trying to restore pride to the scoreline and they got an immediate response. Robertson’s cross to the back post, was met by the head of Nade. Parry made a brilliant save to deny him, but Malcolm reacted quickest again to fire home the rebound to make it 5-2. Stranraer should have made it 5-3 on 55 minutes. Malcolm again making a nuisance of himself in the box, created a shooting chance for winger Craig Thomson, but the shot was cleared off the line by Waters.

Spence was almost in for the hat trick when Kirkpatrick picked him out with a searching cross into the box, but this time the header was off target. The second half became a real battle and Alloa had to show a different side to their game as they battled to keep their hosts at bay. Jim Goodwin was booked just before the hour mark and then replaced shortly after as Skipper Graeme Holmes made his entrance. Flannigan and Holmes then went on to dominate and dictate play from the midfield for the remainder of the match. The Wasps defended well to limit Stranraer to a few speculative long range efforts from Willie Gibson that were off target. Stranraer, to their credit kept going and had their best chance to add to their tally on 80 minutes. A deep cross into the Alloa box from the left was punched clear bravely by Parry, as he was clattered by Nade. The ball fell kindly for full back Scott Robertson, but his strike was cleared off the line by Waters for the second time in the game.

The final chance of the game went the Wasps way and it was Spence who turned provider this time to send substitute Isaac Layne in down the right with well timed through pass. Layne spun his marker well then picked out Flannigan with the cut back, but the shot was blocked and then cleared as the final whistle went. Seven wins out of seven competitive games for Alloa and they moved above rivals Livingston on goal difference after both teams continued their 100% start to League One.

Match Report – Graeme Lafferty

“The Wasps” got back to winning ways at Stair Park against Stranraer on Saturday, but the scoreline hardly reflects how superior the visitors were on the day. Manager Paul Hartley was delighted with the teams performance but admitted that the game should have been out of sight by half-time. In the second half Graeme Holmes opened the scoring, his fifth goal this season against Stranraer! When substitute Ryan McCord increased the margin to 2-0 thirteen minutes later it looked like the game was won but a late goal from Stranraer substitute Robert Love made the scoreline look tight but on the day “The Wasps” were clear winners.

Thanks to Glenn Coulter for pictures from Stair Park.

PAUL HARTLEY AT STAIR PARK

It was a good performance from us today, I thought we were excellent. We should’ve had the game wrapped up by half time and you always worry when it remains level. I said that to the players to just keep going and play the same way, some of our stuff from the middle third to the front was excellent. We played well, It was a good three points because it is a tough venue to come and win. At two nil up, which was the least we should have been ahead, we then give a sloppy goal away and we hung in a wee bit towards the end but I thought overall we were by far the better team. I tweaked things on the hour with Martin Grehan coming off. I just felt I had to change it, we had to get that first goal and to be fair Ryan McCord coming on made a big difference and almost with his first touch he was involved in opening goal.  I thought I had to be fair to some of the guys from last week especially in the middle area who deserved to keep their place but Ryan’s shown his quality to come on and get the goal and set the first one up. I felt overall some of our football was excellent at times. We had a very bright start today and when you watch the game from touchline with the amount of possession and chances we created, we were just hoping to get a goal so to go in at 0-0 at half time was very disappointing. But the players kept going and got their rewards. I think we are a footballing team and we just kept telling them to keep passing the ball and we knew the chances would come. Graeme Holmes’ goal was a really good one. A lovely finish, good play and it comes from a set piece that we try to work on in training and then obviously Ryan McCord grabs the second so it was good for the midfielders to get on the scoresheet. It should’ve been more than the two but still it is three points at the end of the day. Still it would have been nice for the strikers to get a few goals especially Calum who is trying his hardest to get that goal but his play in recent weeks has been excellent. We are almost there in terms of the playoffs but we have got to keep it going. There is hard work still to be done. The players have been great this season and hopefully now with a big final effort we can get there.”

Confidence going into the Stranraer game was great after midweek victory over league leaders Queen of the South, we started the game well at Stair Park and took the game to the home side and could have been two or three goals ahead, but lacked quality in front of goal  before Stranraer scored the all important first goal, in the opening ten minutes of the second period we again looked to take charge of the game but uncharacterly lost bad goals. Manager Paul Hartley introduced all three substitutes to try and get on the scoresheet, and although we managed two goals the team who never stopped trying just could not find an equaliser in the closing minutes in a game which raged from end to end with Stranraer always looking dangerous on the break.

PAUL HARTLEY AFTER STAIR PARK STUMBLE

Disappointing, after Tuesday night, we played well on Tuesday night, we warned the players it would be a tough game down here, we started ok in the first ten minutes but then they came back into the game and opened the scoring just before half time, with a free header which is disappointing, we then went further behind early in the second half after starting the half well again, we then threw everything at them. We made some basic errors today that we have not been making. I certainly am not looking for excuses – we weren’t tired after our midweek game against Queen of the South, I don’t want to play that card that we were tired from midweek.
We freshened up the team today because we had one or two injuries – we gave it a go, it wasn’t our day, we move on and go again next Saturday. We created many chances which was good, the main thing is to create them and we hope to take them on another day. Overall I am disappointed in the way we lost the goals today. We kept pushing till the end and hoped we could get at least another goal but it was not to be, it the way it goes, we need to dust ourselves down and go again.

Paul Hartley’s “Wasps” produced their best team performance of the season so far at Stair Park against promotion rivals Stranraer. The team produced some of the best football by an Alloa Athletic side in a long while, great confidence on the ball, their passing football a joy to watch and four great goals in a match which really mattered. Certainly know one at the club is getting carried away, there is still an awful lot of football still to be played this season yet, but this was a game to remember. Alloa attacked straight from the kick off with the help of a very strong wind, it was important to get ahead and score goals with the home side likely to bombard the Alloa box in the second half. Although “The Wasps” went in 2-0 ahead at half-time the scoreline could easily have read 6-0 such were the chances on offer – Ryan McCord through, Stevie May shot, Ryan Harding shot, Stevie May cleared off the line, Stevie May/Kevin Cawley double save, Alloa’s football on the day won the game. Stranraer introduced the physical Michael Moore for the second half, but Alloa continued to play football and were still creating chances. The third goal by Stevie Masterton had class written all over it and how he celebrated with the travelling Alloa support who were rewarded for their loyalty with a “Game to remember” performance from every one of the Alloa Athletic players. Stevie May then added the fourth goal, his seventh goal in six starts for the club, extending Alloa’s unbeaten run to twelve league games. Special mention to Kevin McHattie who after the match returns to Hearts with the best wishes from everyone at Recreation Park after his loan period could not be extended.

paul hartley after emphatic win in stranraer

We were great today, outstanding, I thought in the first half we could have been five or six goals up. Some say the wind was a key factor in the first half but even in the second half I knew we would get more chances, but it was an outstanding performance throughout the game. The players deserve a lot of credit, it was a real team performance today, wonderful to watch, great work ethic in my team, but we need to keep going – Stranraer is a hard place to come to and a lot of people didn’t give us a chance today, a lot of people fancied Stranraer, but we showed what we are about we have got good players – May, Cawley , Masterton and Young, all good footballers and we try and play football that is for sure. We are delighted with the result we just have to keep our feet on the ground and keep going. We felt in the first 15/20 minutes just to get the ball down the sides and feed in some quality passes – which is what we had been working at in training all week – we knew the pitch would be heavy but we thought the game would settle down after the opening 15 minutes. I thought we played all the football today we were at it right from the off and I am really proud of my team we worked terrific today. The goal at the start of the second half by Stevie Masterton was a touch of class and really killed off Stranraer, Stevie May’s second goal was the icing on the cake – Stevie has scored seven goals in his last six games for the club and that is why he is here, we are delighted we have got him, we thank St Johnstone and hopefully his period here will give him great confidence when he goes back to St Johnstone at the end of the season. He is a young lad, he is still only 19 – he strikes a lovely ball. Stevie and Kevin Cawley up front are a handful for anybody. As I said it was a real team performance today and it was another clean sheet, we have lost only 1 goal in the last 4 games and I think overall the back 4 were outstanding, the goal keeper and young McHattie – it’s a pity he is going back to Hearts because he has been terrific for me since he has been here but it will give someone else the opportunity to come in and fill that slot. Overall the team performance was excellent. The score line certainly didn’t flatter us I thought we could have scored more goals but that’s me being a bit greedy. Some of the chances we had especially in the first half if we had shown a little bit more composure in front of goal we could have went in by a greater margin than 2-0. I said to the players at half time we would have to be warey of Stranraer in the second half as they would have the benefit of the wind. However, we coped well and our goal keeper did not have a lot to do. There was a flash point in the second half when Michael Moore fouled Kevin McHattie and I had a disagreement with the Stranraer bench at the touch line – you kick every ball when you have been a former player I think that is only natural but we will have a beer after the game and have a chat about the game. We are in a good position – Stranraer, Annan and Queens Park are all still real threats so we will not get complacent that is for sure. We do have a game in hand against Peterhead but you still have to win them – we have to recover now and I will give the boys a break this week and I will see them next Thursday because they deserve it and we go again next Saturday. It’s still a long, long way to go but we are enjoying it. We are trying to give the players time off because they deserve it – the pitch takes a lot of energy out of you so we said to the players we will see you next Thursday, it’s time to recover again and then we go again against Montrose next Saturday and then Peterhead on the Tuesday, our game in hand.

This was a game which is going to typify how teams will raise their game against Paul Hartley’s Alloa athletic side, after getting the perfect start with a goal in the opening two minutes, Stranraer went on to boss the first half, pressing the midfield and played well in the pouring rain, adapting well to the conditions which saw two or three of the Alloa players slip at vital moments. Scott Bain kept “The Wasps” in the first half with some excellent saves. In the second half Alloa Athletic certainly looked far more up for the match and started to play their game, Ben Gordon headed home an equaliser before Ryan Caddis was dismissed only eight minutes after coming on the pitch in an incident which looked far worse which the referee only two yards away initally waved on until the Stranraer players intervened. Reduced to ten players this seemed to calvanise the Alloa team even given Stranraer’s numerical advantage. Kevin Cawley who had been a thorn to the Stranraer defence scored an excellent winner in a game we had to battle hard to return with the three points, job done and a victory away from home on grass. There is still a lot of work to do but a welcome three points, next week we face Clyde who defeated favourites Peterhead, again we will need to up our game if we hope to start with a victory at home

paul hartley after victory at stranraer

It was quite an introduction to Scottish Division Three football, however I’m pleased with my players performance in the second half only, the first half after scoring very early in the game we were miles off the game and it was only for our goalkeeper Scott Bain that we stayed in the game, but in the second half the spirit, the attitude which had not been good enough in the first half, returned, we spoke about this at half-time, we know the way we can play and we showed that in the second half, then we went down to ten men and our energy was important, Kevin Cawley scored a great goal to win the match, he was our catalyst today he was absolutely outstanding, his work rate, his overall play and his goal was terrific.

It’s a start for us, we can only get better, in the first half we were poor but I’m delighted with the three points it’s a tough place to come and many other teams will get a hard game at Stair Park. A win was our main objective today, in the pre season we have played a lot of good football, everybody’s praising us but when the real stuff starts it is all about points and today it was so important to get three points on the board and get off and running, getting a good start and most importantly the three points, we will take the points and move on. Kevin Cawley today was up against a back four and he didn’t give them a minutes peace, when the ball came up to him it stuck to him and he deserved his goal, I’ve known Kevin from my Celtic days so I know what he is all about he’s had a few clubs and at times it maybe hasn’t always worked out but we believe in his ability and he can only get better, he was terrific today but he must maintain that till the end of the season, his work rate has never been in question – he was fantastic for us.

When you lose goals it is not all about the defence but everybody defending set pieces, but we were caught out again and we said the same last week but we just have to keep working at that, nobody likes losing goals but for our goalkeeper Scott Bain especially in the first half he kept us in the game with three or four excellent saves because it could have been four or five one at half-time, but that’s the way football goes, you stay in the game get lucky and look for to get back in the game which was shown only in the second half.
As soon as myself, Paddy and Tam Ritchie took the job one of the first and foremost things we worked at was trying to get a good spirit into the club and if you are successful there is always a spirit there, in the six weeks bringing in nineteen new players we hope we have installed a fighting spirit into them, today they were all fighting for each other, performance wise could have been better, but result wise terrific

“The Wasps” two early goals set them up perfectly in a game they just couldn’t afford to lose at Stair Park, especially after the huge disappointment of the East Fife game the previous Saturday. Ex Alloa Athletic player Keith Knox who played at Recreation Park between 2001 – 2003 before moving to Gretna had recently been named the new manager at Stranraer, but it seems they might be doomed already for relegation at the end of this season. Brown Ferguson returned to his best with a cracking goal after only 90 seconds, striking the ball into the top right hand corner of the net, two minutes later Stuart Noble showed great strength and determination to burst through the home defence and fire home goal number two. Alloa had more chances to increase their lead before a penalty award gave Stranraer a lifeline. Iain Campbell was penalised for dangerous play, raising his boot to clear, while Danny Mitchell the Stranraer forward certainly lowered his head to the ball as well. The Alloa players certainly were far more focused than the previous week, Greig Spence and Stuart Noble were linking up well and causing the home side numerous problems. The important third goal was scored by Iain Campbell straight from a corner, a goal he and the team thourghly deserved. This result sets us up nicely for two back to back local derbies against Stirling Albion who have now went on a seven match unbeaten run. Results in these matches and following home match against Arbroath can help the team accumulate more important league points.

allan maitland reflects on the stranraer game

It was an incredible first half because we played really well and dominated large spells of the game, they had a couple of flurry’s but by in large we dominated the first half, we had a great opportunity for Andy Scott to score when he was right through, but his sot skimmed by the post, Dougie Hill had two headers, one which Scott Black made a magnificent save at a corner kick and the other one he came in at the back post and the back hit him and somehow when over the bar, Jamie Stevenson cut inside and had a great shot, the goalkeeper saved it, so we had plenty great chances but never scored. Stranraer were awarded a penalty when Craig Frizzell and Dougie Hill went for a chase for the ball, Dougie lunged in to knock the ball out for a corner but took Frizzel first so it was a penalty kick.

We went in at half-time incredibly 1-0 down but not discouraged , I thought the players at half-time showed a real good spirit. Stranraer came out in the second half and played better and they had a spell in the second half when they were better than us and almost against the run of play we equalised. Steven McKeown had a shot which came back off the crossbar and Andy Scott scored and then the game changed again, goals invariably change games. We had chances just after drawing level then Dougie Hill scored his goal and at that stage it looked as through we could get another goal. Then again we didn’t do enough with the ball when we had it and same as last week against Stirling Albion we started getting sucked in and playing deeper and deeper. Then with only four minutes left Stranraer had a free kick which was played to the back post and we didn’t defend it properly, the keeper should have come for it, but didn’t, I said to the players after the game they had shown great spirit to get back into the game and we have also now ended the run of losing every game away from home this season in the league.

It’s a start, it’s a game I would like to have won but I think on this occasion it was important not to lose and I think we played well. As the game went on I thought about putting “Jinky” on but the conditions were not right for him to make his comeback, it was muddy, it was heavy and there were challenges flying in which I thought was not the right time for him to return to the game. It was unusual for me to keep with the eleven on the park but it was hard to change a team which was playing well, it was a worthy draw and I’m pleased at that, I’ve seen us play better and lose, football is stange. This Saturday we will have Andy Ferguson available, after he came through the bounce game on Tuesday night against Shotts Bon Accord, “Jinky” has also came through that game as well and did well, John Grant will be added to the squad again after serving his period of suspension, so we now have options on the bench and I’m very pleased with the progress of the youth teams at the club, Greig Spence has been in the first team squad and his time will come, given the right opportunity to be brought on the park, Allan McKenzie, Martin O’Neill, James Stevenson and Steven Barker all from the 19’s have impressed, while in the under 17’s Ross Philp and Joseph Feenan have impressed. Looking forward to Saturday against Queen’s Park, I’m really looking forward to the game and we need to win if we want to continue to make progress in the league.