Alloa goal-hero Graeme Holmes says their crucial 2-0 win against Dumbarton in the SPFL Championship last weekend can be the catalyst to turn their season around.
The veteran midfielder marked his return to Danny Lennon’s starting line-up with the vital opening goal as the Wasps ended a six year wait for a victory at the Rock, but he says the goal was down to the genius of young Celtic loanee Connor McManus. 
The goal was the 31-year-old’s 15th strike for the club as he once again came back to haunt Sons’ boss Stephen Aitken and he no hopes it has given the manager a headache selection for Hibernian with Iain Flannigan also on the mend.
Holmes told Advertiser sport: “I was delighted to get back in the team because I love playing. It makes your weekend better knowing you have put in a good performance and been part of a winning side again. 
“We have a great side here especially in midfield with the likes of Iain Flannigan still to come back in so you have to take your chance when it comes along and hopefully I have done that.
“It was definitely an important goal and I was delighted for it to be my 15th for the club. Stephen Aitken must hate me because I scored regularly against him at Stranraer so maybe he is my 

“The win is a massive lift for us, but the most satisfying thing is that we know we can play a lot better. We held our shape really well, frustrated them with our defending and then our hard work pays off with the goals. But the fact that we have the ability to grind out a result like we did is a huge boost to us. It was important that we got off the mark in this one and it makes it even better that it is our first win here in six years. We have always struggled at Dumbarton throughout my time at Alloa even just to pick up a point so I am delighted to grab all three points. We will take confidence from the win and look to improve again in our next match and kick on from there. 
“I think there was a bit of relief when my goal went in, but I have to give a special mention to Connor McManus because it was a superb pass. We made eye contact and took the decision to take the free kick quickly and it worked superbly for us.”
Holmes was pleased to claim bragging rights over former team mates Kevin Cawley and Mark Docherty with the victory, but admits he would much rather they were still on his side rather than against him this season. 
He said: “I will enjoy work alongside Mark Docherty this week, but I will struggle to wait that long to phone him once or twice. We get on great and he is one of my close friends who I wish was still at the club, so we will have some good fun with it. It was great to see Kev Cawley again as well and to be honest I was surprised not to see him in the team because he is one of the best footballers I have played with and I would much rather he were still in our side. He caused us problems when he came on especially when Chops went off and we struggled to hold the ball up. I was chuffed for Eddie when he came on and I thought his goal was different class. He is a different type of player to Chopra in that holding the ball up isn’t really his game, but for him to come on and make that kind of impact is great and we are all delighted for him.” 
Alloa now face a daunting trip to the capital to face Alan Stubbs’ Hibs, but the talented midfielder says they must go there with the confidence and belief of getting a result. 
Holmes added: “Hibs is another tough one for us and they gave us a few sore ones through there, but we must remember that we beat them last year albeit they will say it was because of our pitch. We know it will be a difficult game where we will be defending a lot, but hopefully we can get on the ball because we have players who can hurt them. We have nothing to fear and no expectations on us, so we will go there with no pressure and look to pick up points. We will take a lot of confidence from the Dumbarton win and so we will take that forward into the Hibs game.”