WASPS hero Andy Graham admitted last Saturday’s playoff final second-leg clash with Brechin was a crazy game to be involved in.

Alloa battled back from a first-leg deficit to take the tie to penalties, only to lose out as their opponents prevailed from the spot.

Despite the devastating loss, the Wasps’ player of the year praised the character the side showed to give themselves a fighting chance of promotion.

Graham told Advertiser Sport: “It was a crazy game at times and it just felt like we couldn’t get our noses in front in the tie. Doing that would have been a massive thing for us and I think we would have held on, but we just couldn’t find that extra gear. Brechin deserve credit because they did really well to get through.

“All season, we have fought back from going behind, and I would never rule us out of games. We always knew there was a lot of character in the side and we showed that again by continuously shooting ourselves in the foot, then going up the other end and scoring again.

“When it comes down to penalties it really is a lottery. There is absolutely no blame attached to anyone, because it takes so much bottle to step up and take a penalty in that situation. It’s a sore one to take for all the boys and they will feel it for a long time.”

Graham revealed the squad were gutted for the fans who turned out in big numbers once again last Saturday to roar the Wasps on.

He said: “We are just feeling disappointment to be honest. To have come so close and not make it is gutting. We are devastated for the fans who turned out and gave us great support that we couldn’t turn it round and get over the line.”

The defender is determined to look ahead to next season, and insisted that Alloa’s players will use the disappointment to motivate them for another title charge next year.

Graham added: “It’s not every day you come so close and it is gut-wrenching, but it’s all about using that disappointment in the right manner. We want to channel it properly into next season and make sure we are challenging for the title. I’ve been in football long enough to know that there are highs and lows. You are going to experience disappointment from time to time but it’s important that the players remember what this feels like and using it to drive them on.”