THE ONLY thing that disappointed Alloa manager Barry Ferguson in his side's victory over the weekend was that they didn't score more goals.

The Wasps were away to Cowdenbeath, at Central Park, for the second round of the Scottish Challenge Cup and were hoping for a better result than the last time the two sides met.

Former Alloa striker Liam Buchanan scored in July as the two teams previously played during the group stage of the Scottish League Cup and Alloa lost 1-0.

The Wasps performed well in their last game against Queens Park as they clawed back a goal deficit to clinch a well-deserved 1-1 draw with 10 men. The team were looking to build on their momentum and Alloa done just that as they put on another promising performance.

Ferguson said that his side dominated the game against Cowdenbeath and that the team is starting to play more of the style of football he wants.

There were a few personnel changes in the starting XI with Fernandy Mendy making his way back into the side as he joined Mark Durnan at centre back with Jon Robertson at right back and Daniel Church in at left back.

Mouhamed Niang played the familiar holding role in front of the back four, breaking down Cowdenbeath's counter attacks, and had a great header from a corner cleared off the goal line 20 minutes into the first half.

Niang was joined with Stefan Scougall on the left and Adam King on his right, King found himself starting after coming off the bench against Queens Park in the previous game.

Alan Trouten was also a welcome addition to the squad after being out injured and he joined Kevin Cawley and Steven Boyd in the front three.

The first half was a slow and relatively uneventful 45 minutes as Alloa dictated the pace and were content on keeping the ball with only a few good chances.

An early chance came from a free kick on the edge of the box. Both Boyd and Scougall stood over the ball and Alloa fans would have been hoping for a repeat of Boyd's wonderful goal against Queens Park but this time his effort was tame and direct at the keeper. It wasn't until the dying minutes of the first half that Alloa had another clear-cut chance.

Robertson made a swift run from deep and Niang found him with a pinpoint cross from the opposite flank. Robertson thumped the ball with his first touch and sent it deep into the six-yard box, the ball was headed away by Cowdenbeath's defence, but only as far to a lying-in wait Boyd who struck the ball on the volley first time.

The ball sailed past keeper Cameron Gill and into the bottom corner.

Boyd's stunning striking would be the last kick of the half. On Boyd's performance, Ferguson said: "I think there is still more to come, I've played him through the middle and I thought he was excellent today."

He continued: "I think the front four were a real danger [with] their movement. It's been difficult to get them all together because of injuries and Covid as well but Boyd was really good today. [A] good finish; he was a thorn in their side."

Five minutes into the second half and Alloa almost doubled their lead as Trouten found himself in the six-yard box with a sure tap in. However, he squandered his chance as he scuffed his shot, the ball got trapped under his feet, and he was quickly disposed by the clambering Cowdenbeath defence. The second half was a similar affair with Alloa largely dictating the pace of the game, but Cowdenbeath were never completely written out of the contest.

Niang came off for Craig Howie late in the second half. Niang had worked hard but, having already been booked, Ferguson clearly didn't want a repeat of their last game when Craig Howie was dismissed.

The second goal came with 11 minutes left to play as Trouten was fouled on the edge of the box. Both Boyd and Scougall stood over the ball again, but this time it was Scougall's turn, and he rattled his shot off the side of the wall and the deflected ball bounced into the back of the net.

Scougall said: "I was talking to Boyd and King, and they said hit the wall and it might go in, so I took their word, hit the wall and it went in.

"No, obviously it wasn't quite what I wanted but it went into the back of the net and end of the day it got us a wee safety net."

Mark Lamont replaced Kevin Cawley in the last minute and at this point Alloa were just looking to run the clock down.

A 2-0 win for Alloa sees them progress to the third round of the Scottish Challenge Cup and importantly it's another win under the belt for Ferguson and his team who have managed to string together a couple of good performances.

ALLOA: Hutton, Robertson, Mendy, Durnan, Church, King, Niang (Howie), Scougall, Trouten, Crawley (Lamont), Boyd. UNUSED SUBS: Irvine, Sammon, O'Donnell, Graham.