Alloa man-of-the-match Steven Hetherington believes their late rally in the 3-2 loss to Falkirk shows how strong the spirit is in the dressing room at the Indodrill Stadium.

The Wasps suffered the loss of two players to injury during a lacklustre first half performance that saw their rivals take the iniative in the match as they raced into a 3-1 lead, but the former Motherwell trainee reckons their late fightback proves they are ready for the Scottish Cup test against Hibernian.

Hetherington told Advertiser sport, “We were well aware in the week leading up to the game as to what the derby is all about so we are all bitterly disappointed as to how the game went for us.

“Things didn’t go to plan early on and going in at half time we knew the first half just wasn’t good enough. In the second half there was fight there and we really thought we would get something from the game, but the third goal gave us a bit of a mountain to climb. We never gave in though, and in the end we were unlucky not to rescue a draw late on.

“With the type of spirit we have here at the club and in the dressing room, I always knew we wouldn’t give up and keep going until the very end. I think if we had got the second goal even five minutes earlier then we would have got the draw and I think at one point I hit five corners on the spin. We had some good chances still and should have put one of them away, but it just wasn’t to be.” Hetherington made only his first league start for the Wasps last weekend after having to remain patient for his chance in the starting 11 since joining the Clackmannanshire outfit in the summer and now he hopes he can cement a regular spot in the team for what is a crucial period coming up in all competitions for Barry Smith’s men.

He said: “It is good to finally get the nod after a frustrating spell on the sidelines, but all the lads have been playing well and I have had to just be patient and wait for my chance. When it does come along you get that excitement again and I just couldn’t wait to play when I found out.

“Obviously, I am hopeful I have done enough now to retain my place now for the next game, but I will leave that up to the gaffer and if he gives me the nod again then I will make sure I don’t let him down.

“Hopefully, the injuries we have picked up in the game and beforehand are not too serious because we will need the whole squad fit for the run of games we have between now and the new year.

“I was playing wide on the left and everyone knows it is a tough shift, but I was quite pleased with my own performance and to have my first start in front of our fans. In terms of the team though and losing the game, I still went away thinking if I could’ve done more.” The 21-year-old, who once featured in a Champions League qualifier during his time at Fir Park, reckons they have nothing to fear from their crunch Scottish Cup clash with Hibernian this weekend and believes they have a good chance of beating the Edinburgh giants just like they did back in August.

Hetherington added: “We will pick ourselves up now ahead of another tough encounter against Hibs, but I don’t think we should have any worries about facing them. To play in these type of games are the one of the main reasons that I came to Alloa and they are great to play in.

“We have already beaten Hibs on our own patch so I don’t see any reason why we can’t do it again. We have proved in the games against the big teams that we are more than capable of producing a performance and so we would love to get ourselves through to the next round of the cup.”