KEVIN CAWLEY was devastated after his Alloa side were unpicked by two of their former stars in last Saturday's defeat to Raith Rovers.

Greig Spence and Liam Buchanan both struck in the second half, and despite Cawley's late consolation those two strikes were enough to consign the Wasps to defeat.

But the midfielder believes there was plenty to be proud of from his team's performance.

Cawley told Advertiser Sport: "We did really well in the first half. It was just two sloppy goals that we lost in the second half because we didn't really get going after half-time.

"They weren't in the game in the first half but they came into the game, and Greig and Liam are the kind of guys who will punish you if they get the chance.

"They got their goals at the right time. We had our chances in the first half.

"PJ Crossan has had one in the first half where he has got down the left and put a great ball in, and if someone gets a touch on that it's a different story.

"The first goal is always so important and it was always likely that the team who got it would go on to win the game."

Cawley's last-gasp strike saw him bring up a half-century for the Wasps and despite the landmark goal coming in a defeat, he was thrilled to reach the milestone.

He said: "It was nice to get my 50th goal. I would have liked it to come in a win but it is what it is. It's great to get to 50 goals for this club. Hopefully it's not the last and there are many more to come."

The attacking midfielder says it's vital that Alloa get back to winning ways when they travel to Forfar next week as they attempt to close the gap on League One's early pace-setters.

Cawley added: "We have played the top two in our last two games and there hasn't been a lot between the teams.

"It's just been mistakes here and there. We need to cut those out and move on to next week's game at Forfar.

"It's so important to get a win because Ayr and Raith are starting to pull away now."