Alloa Athletic..........................3

Albion Rovers.........................1

Scottish League One

ALLOA ATHLETIC returned to winning ways with a fine victory over Albion Rovers at the Indodrill Stadium.

The Wasps had to come from behind after Joao Victoria put the visitors in front early on, with Ross Stewart levelling the scores five minutes later with his third goal in as many appearances.

PJ Crossan put the home side in front just before half time, and Iain Flannigan sealed victory two minutes from the end to ensure Alloa held onto third place in League One.

Jim Goodwin again named an unchanged starting lineup after his side drew 2-2 with Queen’s Park last Tuesday.

The Wasps started brightly and almost found the breakthrough 10 minutes in. Garry Fleming chipped a sumptuous ball through to Kris Renton, who brought it down on the edge of the box. He turned and got his shot away but Daniel Potts made a wonderful save to tip the ball onto the post.

Alloa went behind five minutes later to a goal which came against the run of play. Victoria raced clear down the left, touched the ball inside and curled a lovely shot past Neil Parry to give the visitors the upper hand.

However, the home side found a route back into the game immediately. Fleming served Stewart another lovely ball, and having beaten the offside trap, the St Mirren loanee slotted the ball beyond Potts and into the corner.

The striker had chances to add to his tally, heading wide from a Jon Robertson cross before he sent a chip over the bar after another fine pass from Fleming.

Alloa were piling the pressure on by this point and Potts had to be alert to keep out Crossan after the young forward cut inside off the left flank and curled a shot in the direction of the Rovers goal.

It was no surprise when the Wasps did take the lead two minutes before the break. Crossan raced onto a through-ball and beat several defenders, before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting the ball into the empty net.

The visitors responded immediately and Parry was called into action to prevent Victoria doubling his tally, the keeper making a fine block.

Alan Trouten was billed by many as the man to watch ahead of the game, but he passed up a golden chance to make it 25 goals for the season when he headed Ross Davidson’s free kick wide at the back post.

Rovers continued to threaten and Victoria was a constant menace throughout. He had Parry concerned again when he shifted the ball onto his right foot on the edge of the box, but his effort sailed just over the crossbar.

But Alloa were the better team and Alan Reid had to make a crucial block to keep Stewart at bay, before Scott Taggart was unfortunate to see a shot fizz past the post.

Stewart could have put the game to bed with 12 minutes to go when he lost his marker and was picked out by Robertson, but he fluffed his lines at the crucial moment and the lead remained just a single goal.

Alloa’s hearts were in their mouths when Scott McLaughlin sent a free kick flying towards the top corner, but Parry was equal to it and made a wonderful save to preserve his side’s advantage.

And in the final two minutes, they made the points safe. From a free kick out on the left, Flannigan whipped in a terrific ball, and although Potts got a hand to it, he could only help it on its way into the top corner.

The victory means the Wasps have now won seven of their last ten games in all competitions, and narrowed the gap between themselves and second-placed Ayr to 13 points with two games in hand.

ALLOA: Parry, Taggart, Crane, Graham, Fleming (Cawley), Robertson, Stewart, Hetherington, Renton (Malcolm), Crossan (Martin), Flannigan. UNUSED SUBS: McKeown, Hoggan, Cunningham, Wilson.