THE heroes of Alloa Athletic’s historic Bell’s Challenge Cup final victory will return to the Recs to mark 25 years since they lifted the cup.

The club will be celebrating a quarter of a century since Alloa beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle on penalties after a thrilling 4-4 draw in 1999.

To mark the occasion, Alloa have invited members of the winning squad back to the ground to give them a guard of honour.

Set for Alloa’s home game against Dumbarton, the players and the Bell’s Challenge Cup will be paraded at half-time.

The event has been organised by John Glencross, club historian for Alloa Athletic, who is keen to make the anniversary as wonderful as the game itself.

He said: “25 years ago, Alloa Athletic had their most famous moments when they defeated Inverness to win the Bell’s Challenge Cup.

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“As an Alloa Athletic fan, it was a dream to have the Wasps in a national cup final which took place on a rain sodden pitch and was a high-powered game which kept the fans spellbound.

“The Alloa Athletic fans in the stands were hugging each other and many a tear was shed coming to terms with what they had just witnessed”.

“To mark the fast approaching 25th anniversary of what was a wonderful achievement, it is only fitting for me to commemorate such a truly historical event.”

Alloa are set to play Dumbarton at home on Saturday, November 23, with a contingent of players set to make an appearance at the Recs.

Currently, 14 players and several club staff who were involved on the day are set to be celebrated at the end of this month.

Among the names are Derek Clark, Davie Beaton, Jimmy Boyle, Craig Valentine, Paul McAneny, Mark Nelson, Ian Little, Gary Clark, Max Christie, David Menelaws, Mark Wilson and Gregor McKechnie.

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Penalty hero Mark Cairns will also be appearing – with the game drawn 4-4 the penalty kicks then went to sudden death, with the Alloa shot stopper stepping forward to take the first kick which he scored.

This put The Wasps 5-4 ahead, before he returned between the posts and saved a kick from Mike Teasdale of Inverness, to win the cup for Alloa and start the wild celebrations.

After the Dumbarton game, fans will be invited to the Wasps Lounge to speak with the players and reminisce on a colossal moment in the club’s history.

Anyone wanting to find out more about the Bell’s Challenge Cup final can visit John’s Alloa Athletic Football Memorabilia exhibition in Glasstown House, Castle Street, Alloa from 11am to 2pm on matchdays.