ALLOA hero Neil Parry reckons it was a real team effort that helped them record a vital 1-0 win away to promotion rivals Brechin City as they climbed back to the League One summit last weekend.

The Wasps number one produced one of the saves of the season late on to deny home striker Andy Jackson a late equaliser, but the big keeper was just delighted to get their season back on track with a crucial victory.

The Wee County outfit had gone through a rough run of results in the weeks prior, but the former Albion Rovers goalkeeper revealed that the players themselves always had the belief that they would turn things around.

Parry told Advertiser sport: "It was an excellent result for us because Brechin were top of the league on merit and particularly at home, they are really difficult to play against. The first half we really dominated, there wasn't much for me to do and the thing we were maybe guilty of was not taking our chances. Thankfully, we got the goal in the end, but after that we had to dig deep and hold on for the three points. It was good to make a few saves and quite a big one near the end.

"We had a number of blocks with boys throwing their bodies on the line for the cause and even the boys up front were chasing everything done so it was a real team effort. It was one of those games where the weather made life more difficult and so we just had to see it out, but that made getting back on the bus with the three points all the more satisfying.

"It was nice to get back on track in the league. To be honest we were never too worried about our form or the bad results. We should have won the Stenhousemuir game in hindsight, and we could even have won the Airdrie game, but we were playing well enough that we were never worried.

"It is a long season and that is only a quarter of the league campaign gone, so I am sure there will be a lot more twists and turns before the prizes are given out in May. It is great to have now played everyone and with the squad we have got, we have nothing to fear from anyone in the league, but it is all about putting that into practice now and delivering on the park."

Parry was thrilled to see team mate Jim Goodwin promoted to player/manager early last week and he reckons it is already having a positive impact on the whole squad.

He said: "Jim was always a big fan of the training under Jack Ross like so many of us were, so he taken that forward, kept as many things the same as possible and I think that has helped us. Obviously, he has put his own stamp on certain things, but there has not been any major changes. It is not as if we are near the bottom of the league and the manager has been sacked. We are in the fortunate position where we are challenging for the league and we have been pretty successful, so I think Jim's appointment has been the best thing for us. It has been a really enjoyable first week under him and long may it continue.

"It has been unfortunate that his first two games in charge are the two most difficult games we could've had and both away from home, but sometimes that is the making of a manager. These are the type of games you want to be involved in as both a player and a manager, so knowing the type of character Jim is, he will be relishing another big game against Livingston this weekend. Every game is a big game for us when we are trying to win the league."

Alloa now face a trip to the Tony Macaroni Arena to take on promotion rivals Livingston this weekend, but the 30-year-old goalkeeper reckons it is far too early to label it a title showdown.

Parry added: "The last encounter against Livingston was a funny game. I thought we were the better team for long spells, but to be fair to them it felt like they went 3-0 up in an instant. They got their breaks in that game, but it will be good if we can go there and try to put that game right this time around.

"It would be huge if we could beat Livingston and Brechin away from home in consecutive weeks, but football can be funny sometimes and you don't always get what you deserve so we know that no matter what happens nothing will be settled this weekend and there is a long way to go."