Alloa goal hero Jonathan Tiffoney dedicated his strike in the 1-1 draw with Rangers to his manager Barry Smith who guided him through a turbulent past few months off the field.

The utility player’s 35th minute opener, Alloa’s first against the Glasgow giants for 76 years, is one that the player isn’t likely to forget anytime soon and he hopes it will help him force his way back into the starting eleven.

The former Ayr United star also revealed how the Wasps squad were left ‘gutted’ that they couldn’t hang on for a famous win but believes they can hold their heads high after leaving everything out on the pitch last Saturday.

Tiffoney told Advertiser sport, “It’s a strange feeling. I am obviously over the moon with my goal but we have come off the pitch absolutely gutted to have drawn with Rangers.

“The boys put absolutely everything we had into that performance so we’rewe are gutted that we couldn’t hang on but it has taken Rangers until the last five minutes to score and that’s something we can be proud of.

“I think we put so much effort into that first half and Rangers got more possession as the second half went on but to be fair we stood up to it and defended well. It has taken one lapse in concentration though and they have put it in the back of the net.

“It’s a scrappy goal for us to lose and I thought we looked like we were going to hang on but it just wasn’t to be. Hopefully I have given the manager something to think about now with my performance and that goal was for him because he has stood by me over the past few months and hopefully this has shown him I can still bring to the team. This is the biggest and best goal of my career, it’s amazing to think it’s a little bit of history too and I can’t thank the gaffer enough for this chance.” Tiffoney was full of praise for team mate Mark Docherty who had a superb assist for his goal but says he isn’t surprised by it because the full back does it all the time.

He said, “I knew where Sparky was going to put the ball because he does that all the time in training. It was a great cross so I just guided it towards the far post and I was delighted to see it go in. Mark has been doing that all season so far and it was a brilliant feeling to get on the end of it to score against a club like Rangers.” The 23-year-old now hopes the Wasps can take the momentum from the Rangers game forward into their vital clash with fellow part-timers Dumbarton.

Tiffoney added, “Four points from six against two of the ‘big three’ is more than we could have hoped for so we are delighted with that and it gives us confidence for when we face Hearts but we will just focus on our next game against Dumbarton. Hopefully now we take the confidence and performance levels from this game into the Dumbarton game next weekend because that’s a massive game for us now.”