ALLOA ATHLETIC lost out on a place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup following a 2-1 loss to Falkirk.

An early goal from Alloa’s Luke Donnelly was cancelled out seconds before the break by Brad McKay, with the deadlock broken by Rumarn Burrell in the 77th minute.

Ross MacIver grabbed an assist but described the game as a difficult pill to swallow, insisting Alloa did not deserve to lose out on a place in the fifth round.

“It was one of those games,” he said. “I don’t think we deserved to get beat, but they’re through and we’re not.”

Alloa had plenty of chances come their way, with MacIver and Conor Sammon coming close to scoring.

He said: “It’s tough when you’re a striker and you see the goals. Sometimes, it is hard to see who’s around you. Luke was so close to putting it away.

“It was his first start in a while and he was great throughout.”

Alloa can now focus solely on the second half of League One, with the club aiming to secure a play off spot to earn promotion to the Scottish Championship.

“It’s a big few weeks coming up in the league,” MacIver added. “We play Falkirk twice. We believe that if we get a good run, we can shoot up that table.

“Once you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen.

“We just need to go to Airdrie and put everything we can into it and hopefully come away with a result.”

Alloa Athletic will travel to Airdrie next Saturday January 28.