Alloa 0, East Fife 0 (pens. 5-3): Wasps off colour in opening game

Dick Campbell’s side visited the Recs hot off the heels of a shock 3-0 victory over Greenock Morton in the opening game of the Premier Sports Cup group stages.

Andy Graham’s side lined up with PJ Morrison in goals behind a back four of Scott Taggart, David Devine, David McKay and Calum Waters.

Central midfield partners Kurtis Roberts and Stefan Scougall lined up next to each other, while the attacking midfield position was taken up by Kevin Cawley.

Steven Buchanan and Cammy O’Donnell started on the wings on each side of Cawley, with Conor Sammon leading the line.

The first half was a frustrating 45 for Alloa, with East Fife getting the break of the ball from some slack passing and wasteful balls.

East Fife had the best chances of the opening half, PJ Morrison doing well to deny Nathan Austin in a one on one.

Ex Wasp Alan Trouten had a few shots go wide of the mark, while Austin also went through on goal again before being stopped by a well-timed tackle from David Devine.

Up the other end, not much fell Alloa’s way – Steven Buchanan was a bright spark on the right, his electric pace proving a difficulty for East Fife’s left back.

David Devine had a header from a corner go agonisingly close to the target which was Alloa’s best chance of the half.

Speaking to the Advertiser after the game, Graham was left frustrated with his side after the first half, calling on them to do better in the second.

“I was really disappointed in the way we played,” he said. “I thought in the first half, we were really poor.

“Credit to East Fife, they came here and put us under pressure but I expect us to deal with that pressure a lot better than we did in terms of how we pass the ball.

“It was a bit frustrating to be honest but you’ve got to give them credit as well because when you have an off night like that, the easy thing to do is to lose the game but we didn’t.”

The second half was much better at points from Alloa, who came close to testing East Fife’s Liam McFarlane.

A flurry of corners early into the second 45 was Alloa’s best spell of the game at the time, but nobody could find that bit of quality ahead of goal to put the Wasps ahead.

A pivotal moment in the game came when Conor Sammon was impeded in the box, but the referee was having none of it and no penalty was awarded.

Morrison was called into action to make a vital save to deny a surefire goal from East Fife after they head it down towards goal from a corner.

Alloa’s last chance of the game came from new signing Kane Thomson, a right back who was utilised on the left wing due to injuries late on in the game.

Thomson’s pace proved to be an issue for East Fife, with the youngster driving forward and getting a shot away that was just wide of the mark.

Reece Mullen came off the bench to put an end to a strong attack from East Fife in the closing minutes, ensuring the points were shared and sending the game to penalties.

Calum Waters scores the winning penalty against East Fife. (Image: Scott Barron)

Graham continued: “We dug in, PJ’s made some good saves, Dave McKay and Dave Devine have done really well at centre half.

“We ground out a 0-0 and we got the bonus point on penalties so you’ve got to give them credit to the group for that.

“They’ve got a really strong mentality and you saw that but I was really disappointed with the way we played, that was the more overriding feeling for myself.

“A draw and a bonus point isn’t going to mask that but the players know that themselves. They’re in there disappointed in the way they’ve played but it’s one game of football and the first game of football back.”

Alloa secured one point from the draw and fought to gain another in the penalty shootout.

Confidence oozed through the team as Scott Taggart, Luke Donnelly, Conor Sammon, Kurtis Roberts and Calum Waters successfully converted their penalties.

PJ Morrison saved East Fife’s first penalty from Andrew Munro, ensuring his side won 5-3 to claim the bonus point.

PJ Morrison saves Andrew Munro's penalty to give his side the advantage in the shootout. (Image: Scott Barron)

In the end, it was only a point lost for Alloa who sit fourth in Group F on 2 points, behind East Fife in first place, St Johnstone in second and Morton in third, albeit East Fife and Morton have played a game more.

“It’s only a point lost,” Graham added. “You have to credit East Fife, they came here full of confidence after the result after the weekend.

“We knew they had good players in forward areas and we knew they’d trouble us but it’s more what we did with the ball that disappointed me tonight.

“It’s there for us to work on.

"They dispatched their penalties really well, there's a lot of players in there that have a lot of calmness, experience and composure."

Alloa face Brechin City in their second League Cup match on Saturday, who sit bottom of the group after consecutive defeats to St Johnstone and Morton.