Alloa interim boss Paddy Connolly says the whole squad were left devastated by Livingston’s last-gasp equaliser during their 2-2 draw in the SPFL Championship last weekend.

The Wasps were stung late on in the match after red-hot hitman Liam Buchanan had put them ahead twice in the match, but the stand-in gaffer says the result will have no bearing on Sunday’s final because his men are ready to fight for glory.

Connolly told Advertiser sport: “We are disappointed with the result and it felt a bit like a defeat. That was certainly the feeling in the dressing room afterwards. We had the lead twice in the match and I felt we had control of the game, but it is two really poor goals we lose and I will need to sit down with the players and look back at what went wrong.

“The positive is that it’s another point on the board and a vital one at this stage of the season. Hopefully it can help guide us closer to where we want to be and we will just pick ourselves up now and go again for the cup final.

“We’re ready to fight for a trophy now and we will enjoy this week with a break from the tension of the league, but there is no doubt we will be ready to do battle on Sunday.

“It is hard to say what effect this game will have on Sunday because this one was so intense with what was at stake for both teams in terms of league survival. Hopefully this Sunday both teams can play with more of a freedom to allow for a better football match. Cup finals don’t come along too often for players or coaches so it is an occasion we will savour.” Connolly was delighted with the newly formed strike duo of Michael Chopra and the in-form Buchanan, and the former Dundee United hitman reckons there is much more to come from them.

He said: “Bucks is on fire just now in terms of goal at the minute and the timing of that couldn’t be better for us at this point in this season so it is the other aspects of the game we now need to improve on.

“We have had to take the criticism about not scoring enough goals over the season, but he has four in his last four games now and I will take that everyday of the week.

“Chopra came in and showed flashes of the quality that he has especially at the first goal. It was a difficult game for him to come in, but his fitness is not too bad and he just needs some crucial game time to get him up to speed now. He had a big part in setting up the first goal and hopefully we can see more of that for the rest of the campaign.” The 44-year-old, who remains in temporary charge of the Clackmannanshire outfit on a game by game basis, reckons his side must learn quickly from their errors in recent weeks if they want to end the season on a high.

Connolly added: “I told the players after the match that decision making at this time of the season is going to be vital because it could mean the difference between a win and a draw so we have to improve that aspect.

“I don’t think the game last weekend was pretty at times, but there was a lot of passion on the pitch with two teams fighting for their lives and desperate for the points.

“We now need to have an all round performance now for the final and look to cut out the errors that are costing us cheap goals.”