League One

Stranraer...1

Alloa Athletic...2

A THREE-MINUTE blitz from Alloa helped them to see off Stranraer as they picked up a vital victory in the League One promotion race and moved up to second in the table.

Craig Thomson put the home side ahead in the first half but a deflected Iain Flannigan free kick levelled the scores in the second half, before Jon Robertson smashed home a second just moments later.

It was not the finest performance the Wasps will ever produce but that will not matter to Jim Goodwin, whose side have made a habit of coming from behind in recent weeks.

The home side dominated from the start and forced a number of chances in the opening stages, with Thomson unlucky not to score, while captain Steven Bell wasted a couple of good chances from corners.

Alloa were under constant pressure and had another let off when David Wilson glided past several men in black and gold unopposed, only for his touch to let him down at the crucial moment as he shaped to shoot.

It was no surprise when Stranraer did eventually take the lead with 20 minutes gone. Willie Gibson swung in yet another superb delivery from a corner, and Thomson rose higher than anyone else to send a bullet header beyond Neil Parry and into the top corner to give his side a deserved advantage.

The Wasps were really struggling and some shaky defending, coupled with some superb play from Scott Agnew and Gibson, almost resulted in the hosts adding another, but after a bit of pinball in the penalty box, the ball deflected off Scott Taggart and into the arms of a grateful Parry.

The visitors’ sole opening of the half arrived seconds before the interval. Taggart was released down the right and charged towards the box, but the result was bitterly disappointing as he blazed his effort wildly into the stand behind the goal.

The Wasps went in at the break with their tails between their legs, and in truth the scoreline could have made for much more unpleasant reading had the home side made the most of all their chances.

Alloa made a much better start to the second half but the home side were still enjoying the majority of the play, and Craig Malcolm dragged a shot just wide of the post in the opening moments of the half.

The striker was looking threatening and probably should have scored when he picked up the ball on the left and cut inside, only to slice his shot well wide, before he was denied by a terrific block from Andy Graham after being played in by Kyle Turner.

But with 20 minutes to go, the tables turned. The Wasps were awarded a free kick and Iain Flannigan, on as a substitute only five minutes before, stepped up. It looked like it would be a

routine save for Cameron Belford until the ball took an almighty deflection off the wall, wrong-footing the keeper and sailing into the opposite corner.

If that was harsh on Stranraer, it would get a lot worse for them just two minutes later. Buoyed by their equaliser, Alloa surged forward, and when Taggart’s shot was deflected into the path of Robertson, he lashed it high into the net to give his side the lead and complete a remarkable turnaround.

The home side desperately threw everything at the Wasps and Parry had to be alert to stop Thomson adding his second of the afternoon, the big keeper producing a fine save to preserve his side’s narrow advantage.

With ten minutes to go, Stranraer’s best chance to salvage at least a point arrived. Robertson sold Parry short with a backpass, and Malcolm raced onto the loose ball and rounded the goalkeeper. With the angle narrowing, he tried to slide the ball into the far corner, but Graham got back to hack the ball off the line and spare his side’s blushes.

That was the last clear-cut chance, and although the home side huffed and puffed, Alloa held firm at the back to record what could be a crucial victory and move up into second place in the League One table.

Alloa Athletic: Parry, Taggart, Waters, Marr, Graham, Goodwin (Flannigan), Cawley, Robertson, Spence, Kirkpatrick (Longworth), Hetherington (Holmes). Not used: McDowall, Hoggan, Hynd, Martin.