A RESOLUTE second half comeback saw Alloa share the points with Inverness to go top of the league.
The Wasps hosted Caley Thistle and made three changes from the team that beat Partick Thistle in the cup last week.
Cammy O’Donnell came in to start behind the striker, with Luke Donnelly preferred up top ahead of Conor Sammon.
Up the back, Kane Thomson slotted in at left back in place of Calum Waters, while PJ Morrison also returned in goal.
Danny Devine put the hosts in front as his strike comes off the post and trickles over the line inside 10 minutes.
O’Donnell had a free kick saved by Musa Dibaga, but nonetheless was a well taken effort from the youngster.
Morrison kept Alloa alive in the first half with some big saves, including one to deny Adam Brooks in a one on one.
Alloa looked off the mark in the first half, slack passing and mistakes giving Inverness chances to score, which the visitors failed to capitalise on.
The second half saw more of the same initially, Morrison makes a great save to tip a shot from Calum MacLeod onto the post, working well to clear the rebound as it fell.
MacLeod would get on the scoresheet though, capitalising on a lapse in concentration on the left side to put a great strike past Morrison.
With 20 minutes to go, Inverness looked comfortable and confident in that they had killed the game off.
However, Thomson charged forward and passed to O’Donnell, whose wicked delivery found Sammon, who headed home to claw one back for the hosts.
All of a sudden, the performances of each team flipped – Alloa were on top and Luke Donnelly grabbed an equaliser with an excellent flick over the goalkeeper.
Alloa searched for a winner but Inverness hampered their efforts by persistent time wasting to see out a 2-2 draw at the Indodrill.
“It was a good comeback,” Graham said. “There wasn’t much in it in the first half – they’ve scored a good finish from Devine from the set play.
“There wasn’t much we could do about it, it’s bobbling about and he’s smashed it in off the post.
“The chances Inverness created today were really through our own fault and poor decision making and poor execution at times.
“It was our mistakes and we were being punished – Inverness are very good at that, they play off mistakes and they do it well, they’ve got a lot of pace and power when they do intercept the ball.
“You saw that today and I thought PJ [Morrison] has made some really big saves to keep us in it but one thing you’ve got to credit the group for is their bounce back ability and resilience.
“It’s great to see and it doesn’t surprise me – even at 2-0 I kept thinking that if we got a goal, it was an opportunity to equalise and it’s great we managed to do that and get a point out the game.
“I’m never happy to draw a game but from being 2-0 down with twenty minutes left, you’re obviously going to be happy with a point in the circumstances.”
Caley Thistle’s capitulation saw them play for a draw in the second half, which they succeeded in doing.
Manager Duncan Ferguson was booked for numerous incidents of dissent, the final straw coming minutes before the end of the game in an incident which strangely also saw Graham booked for unknown reasons.
Alloa’s second half comeback, combined with fortunate results elsewhere in the division, sees the Wasps sit top of the league.
Fine margins continue to separate the teams in League One, however, with Alloa only edging it over Queen of the South on goals scored.
Despite this, Graham remained grounded in his approach, insisting he wanted to focus on one game at a time and not get too excited in the early months.
He added: “That means absolutely nothing to me and it’s more about the weekly performance week in, week out.
“I felt we were a bit rushed today, we were a bit impatient compared to how we were at Partick.
“You’ve got to credit Inverness because the way they played and the way they set up, it worked for them today.
“I’m just glad the players have got the resilience in them to go ‘we’re 2-0 down, we’re at home’ and I’ve got to credit them to come back into the game and get the point.
“I’m pleased for them more than anything.”
Next up for Alloa is another home game, this time against Kelty Hearts.
Michael Tidser’s side suffered their first defeat of the league season, being beaten 3-1 off Cove Rangers.
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