JIM GOODWIN reckons Alloa would have taken something from their League One clash with East Fife if they had lived up to their own high standards.

The Wasps boss endured a frustrating afternoon on the touchline as his side lost out thanks to Greg Hurst's second-half strike, and admitted his players failed to replicate the display they produced against Raith Rovers on the opening weekend.

He bemoaned Alloa's lack of "cutting edge in front of goal after they failed to cause East Fife enough problems throughout the game.

Goodwin told Advertiser Sport: "We are always disappointed when we lose games but that's the ups and downs of football.

"We spoke about how good a performance we put in against Raith last week and set a good standard for the rest of the season.

"If we'd lived up to those standards against East Fife we would have taken something. But over the piece, I don't think either side deserved to win the game.

"It was a really scrappy game and the first goal was always going to be vital. We didn't defend it properly and gave them something to hang onto.

"We dominated the game after that and had plenty of possession, but I think we could still be there now and not have scored."

The gaffer added: "I'm really disappointed for the two centre-halves because they were excellent. They kept East Fife out for long spells and didn't give them many opportunities.

"But we didn't have any cutting edge in the final third. We brought Kris Renton on up front for the last 25 minutes because we wanted to go a bit more direct, but nothing dropped for us in the box."

The manager admitted that he is concerned by the Wasps' inconsistency in the opening weeks of the season, and says they must improve if they are to challenge at the right end of the league table.

Goodwin said: "The inconsistency is a bit of a concern. It always is when you don't win games. We need consistency both individually and as a team.

"We gave a good account of ourselves against Hibs and Raith but now we've seen the other side of that against East Fife. The teams who are the most consistent throughout the course of the season will be up there challenging."

Nevertheless, Goodwin reiterated his faith in the squad and believes their fortunes will change before long thanks to the hard work they are putting in on the training ground.

He added: "I've got confidence and trust in the players I've brought to the club. It's not quite happening at the moment but we are aware of that and we're working very hard in training.

"At East Fife, we just ran out of ideas but you could see against Raith that there were glimpses of a really good team."