Queen’s Park…0

Alloa Athletic…2

A FINE performance from Alloa Athletic saw the Wasps claim victory over Queen’s Park and climb back into second place in the League One table.

Greig Spence capitalised on a defensive error to put his side ahead after four minutes, and with five remaining, Jordan Kirkpatrick put the result beyond doubt with a stunning finish.

The Wasps came into the game looking for only their second win of 2017 after a run which has seen them fall back in the race for promotion, but this victory will give them renewed hope that they can close the gap to leaders Livingston.

The return of Spence to the Wasps’ starting lineup marked a shift towards a more attacking mentality from manager Jim Goodwin, with Kevin Cawley the unlucky man dropping to the bench.

Alloa got off to the perfect start inside four minutes, but the opener was a nightmare moment for Queen’s Park defender Bryan Wharton. His header back to goalkeeper Willie Muir was woefully short, and Spence nipped in and dinked the ball calmly over the advancing keeper to give the Wasps a valuable early lead.

The striker’s goal was the 8,000th scored in the SPFL and he almost made it 8,001 five minutes later. Jordan Kirkpatrick found him all alone at the back post and his header looked destined for the top corner, but Muir made a terrific save to keep the deficit at a single goal.

The goalkeeper was keeping his side in the game and made two more important stops in the space of a few minutes as Alloa turned the screw in search of the second goal that would put the game beyond their opponents.

There was little of note to get excited about in a first half that fizzled out after the opening ten minutes, the best chance falling the way of the home side just after the half-hour mark.

David Galt’s cross found Paul Woods in acres of space at the back post, and with the goal at his mercy, the Queen’s Park man looked set to score. However, he inexplicably missed the target with a wild effort and the Wasps survived.

At the other end, Spence had the ball in the net for a second time but he was correctly flagged offside by the assistant referee.

Shortly before the interval, Frank McKeown was called into action when the impressive Kalvin Orsi found the space to turn and shoot in the box, the big defender making a good block to keep the effort out.

Wharton almost made amends for his earlier mistake with a header at the start of the second half, but McDowall kept it out, before Alloa almost doubled their lead at the other end, Dylan Mackin’s header going just the wrong side of the post.

Jamie McKernon tried his luck from distance but Craig McDowall was equal to it, before Andy Graham just failed to get a good enough connection when he rose to meet a Calum Waters free kick.

McKernon was proving to be a threat from around the 20-yard mark and another effort fizzed wide with McDowall beaten.

With five minutes remaining, the visitors finally made the game safe. Kevin Cawley thundered a shot off the inside of the post and Kirkpatrick latched onto the rebound, curling a lovely shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

It was almost three seconds later when Iain Flannigan beat the entire Queen’s Park defence and raced clear, only to hesitate at the vital moment and allow Muir to smother his effort.

Galt went close in the final moments with a powerful volley which McDowall had to deal with, but the Wasps saw out the game in relative comfort to claim their first win since the beginning of January.

Alloa Athletic: McDowall, Taggart, Waters, McKeown, Graham, Holmes, Hetherington (Flannigan), Robertson, Spence (Cawley), Kirkpatrick (Longworth), Mackin. Not used: Wilson, Marr, Hynd, McCluskey.