ALLOA gaffer Jack Ross was beaming with pride after his players fought bravely for a 1-1 draw with Rangers at Ibrox last weekend.

The Wasps stunned the capacity crowd in Govan with Michael Duffy's opening goal in the first half as they awaited their sides coronation as SPFL Championship winners, and although the Gers equalised just before the interval, it was the Wee County side who came out of the match with most credit.

The manager was delighted to see his side make yet more memories to take away from their Championship experience before they drop down to League One next season and he reckons it was no more than they deserved on the day.

Ross told Advertiser sport: “Immensely proud of the players because they came into an environment against a team of Rangers calibre and did themselves proud. I don’t for one second think that Rangers weren’t trying. It was evident from the technical area and from on the park, so we had to be really resilient, play disciplined football and carry some fortune on the day at times, but we deserved what we got from the game.

“We got a little bit of good fortune with the missed penalty, which I would like to see again, but I wasn’t sure of the award at the time. However losing a goal so soon after was a blow just before half-time, it was not the type of goal I thought we might concede to Rangers. I think in fairness to Scott, I think he slipped as he went to come for it, which if he didn’t he would have come and collected, but after losing the late goal just before half-time the way we responded in the second half was brilliant.”

Ross revealed how he had prepared his men to counter specific threats in the Rangers side and he believes the players executed the game plan to a tee.

The 39-year-old boss also reserved special praise for goal hero Michael Duffy and believes he deserved his magic moment last weekend because of his consistent performances for the club throughout his tenure in charge.

He said: “We have spoken in the past at just how good Michael Duffy has been for us and I spoke to him about having that belief if he got in the right areas. He took advantage of an early opportunity and gave us the perfect start. We always knew he had that quality and he showed it throughout the game. It was a special moment for him.

“We said before the game, football is about memories and we had the chance to create a good one and the players did exactly that. We worked hard in midweek in training in preparation to try and nullify Rangers opportunities in the game, they had a lot of possession and we had to combat that and we did it very well, it is ok putting a plan in place but you need the players to go and implement and execute it and they did that really well.”

Alloa goalkeeper Scott Gallacher once again caught the attention of the wider press with a man-of-the-match display in front of the Sky Sports cameras and his manager admits it will be very difficult for them to hang onto their star man come the summer with full time clubs circling for his services.

The former Falkirk and St Mirren defender also hopes his side can finish their season off unbeaten when they take on Dumbarton this weekend as they look to build momentum from their recent run of form.

Ross added: “Scott has demonstrated once again that he can play at the highest level and we have been fortune to have him because of the relationship I have had with him in the past as a player, but he deserves to be playing for a full time club.

“We are now unbeaten in our last four league matches, which includes matches against Hibernian and Rangers so we will want to carry that form into our last league game against Dumbarton then take that momentum into the pre-season and the early part of next season.”