ALLOA suffered their first defeat in three matches as a title-chasing Airdrie left the Wee County with all three points.

Brian Rice's side were stung in either half by former Wasp Callum Smith as their fading promotion hopes took a huge blow.

After a terrific performance against league runaways Cove Rangers, hopes were high that Alloa could replicate that performance and give Rice his first victory as the club's new gaffer.

Alloa started sluggishly and Airdrie were allowed to settle. The bright start and high tempo that Alloa brought to the Cove Rangers game was nowhere to be found and Airdrie were the ones causing Alloa problems.

However, the first golden opportunity for either side fell to the home side but they weren't able to take it. A decent move found Stefan Scougall driving into the box but he couldn't get a touch on the ball. Alloa kept the move alive and eventually Kevin Cawley poked the ball into Scott Taggart's path. The defender's cross went over everyone and fell into the path of Adam King but, from less than five yards out, he blazed the ball over the bar.

The miss would prove costly. Airdrie took the lead on the 20 minute mark with a well worked goal. A brilliant piece of skill by Rhys McCabe left Scougall and Cawley for dead before he launched a long diagonal into the path of Smith. Bouncing in between Mark Durnan and Daniel Church, Smith simply lifted the ball over the outrushing PJ Morrison to put the visitors in front.

Alloa's next real chance would fall into the path of Euan Henderson, their top score. Cawley's speculative effort forced Max Currie into a diving save but he could only push the ball into his own box and Henderson pounced, striking the ball towards goal with his left foot. Murrie got back to his feet quickly and made a terrific diving save.

“In the first half we couldn’t really get our forward players on the ball," Cawley said after the match. "Last week we started really fast and I think we were a wee bit sluggish [on Saturday].

“It would have been nice to get an equaliser going into half time and get the momentum going into the second half but it wasn’t to be.

"I think we lacked that cutting edge and bit of quality in the final third."

The Wasps were still threatening in the second half and the introduction of Cameron O'Donnell gave the team a spark. O'Donnell's perfectly executed half volley found the run of Henderson and he skipped past his man before delivering a cross however it was behind the run of Conor Sammon.

For the brilliance of Airdrie's first goal, their second was as lucky a goal as you're likely to see in the league this season. Receiving the ball with his back to goal, Smith turned and fired a tame shot towards goal that might not even have been on target. However, the shot took a touch off Andy Graham and left PJ Morrison with no chance as the ball trickled into the net.

Morrison, in his first outing as Alloa's new goalkeeper, can proud of his performance and he made some great saves in the second half. Rice wanted competition for that number one jersey and Morrison's performance will certainly have given the gaffer plenty to think about.

In the end the Diamonds' quality shone through and they left the Indodrill with three points.

There are plenty of positives to take from the match, and the Cove Rangers game before it, and Rice will certainly be satisfied with his team's efforts.

As the season reaches its final stretch, Alloa are in the midst of a run of fixtures against the teams fighting for promotion.

While that was Alloa's aim at the beginning of the season, the story has not unfolded as planned. The Wasps currently sit in an awkward position: far enough away from the bottom of the table that they should not be too worried about relegation but close enough to the the promotion spot that there is still a glimmer of hope.

In truth, there are eight games left to play. The next is against Queen's Park, who sit fourth, 13 points above Alloa. With 24 to play for, a victory would be a big step for Alloa's small but still existent promotion hopes.

However, it is the matches that follow that tie - Peterhead, Dumbarton and Clyde at home and East Fife away - that will really define Alloa's season. Promotion was the hope at the beginning, now the most important job is ensuring the Wasps are still in League One next season.

ALLOA: Morrison, Cawley, Graham, Durnan, Taggart, Church (O'Donnell), King, Niang, Scougall (MacIver), Boyd (Sammon), Henderson. UNUSED: Hutton, Mendy, Howie, Armstrong, Riley-Snow, Armour