FC EDINBURGH deserved their victory. Brian Rice admitted it in his post-match interview and he wasn’t wrong.

Despite taking the lead and playing some good football at times, Alloa, for the majority of the match, weren’t good enough.

It really is that simple. On another day perhaps Ross MacIver finds the target more than once. Or Stefan Scougall tests the keeper. Or George Stanger’s header loops over Robbie Mutch.

In the end, it was Edinburgh who took their chances – and could, and maybe should, have had more – to secure the three points.

Alloa lined up with one change from the previous weekend’s victory over Kelty Hearts as Jon Robertson returned to the starting XI in place of Adam King.

It could hardly have started any better for Alloa. A cute pass by Kevin Cawley found MacIver out near the right wing and he delivered a lovely cross for Conor Sammon to head past Mutch.

An opportunity to double the lead came shortly after. A great move started with Sammon holding the ball up and laying it off to Murray Miller who slotted Scott Taggart through. His cross was controlled well by MacIver and the ball bounced nicely for him but his half volley went over the bar.

That lack of ruthlessness proved costly as the visitors equalised soon after. John Robertson’s run was halted before Ouzy See’s shot was saved by Jay Hogarth. However, the keeper could only palm it into the path of Robertson who passed into an empty net.

It wouldn’t be long before Edinburgh and Robertson doubled their tallies for the day. An uncharacteristically poor kick by Hogarth went straight to Kieran MacDonald and his first time pass played in Robertson who was able to slot the ball under Hogarth.

Alloa would have their chances to equalise, with MacIver capitalising on a poor touch to drive towards goal. The options were either shoot or play in Stefan Scougall but in the end his effort was blocked.

Mark Durnan would then play a wonderful through ball for Scougall’s run but his reluctance to strike eventually made the angle too tight and his shot could only hit the side netting.

Seven minutes into the second half and Alloa’s afternoon got a whole lot worse. First, Scougall dropped to the deck and was forced off with an injury.

“It’s a different injury,” Rice said after the match. “In hindsight, should he have played? We never know.”

Minutes after Scougall left the park, Durnan’s foul gave former Wasp Innes Murray an opportunity to show the Alloa fans what they’re missing. The midfielder has previous for scoring free kicks and his effort was far too good for Hogarth who could barely get near it.

For a brief period, Alloa completely lost control of the game. Hogarth was called into action and made a great save to deny Robertson his hat-trick. Allan Delferriere was allowed to waltz right through the Alloa defence and squared the ball across the face of goal. Thankfully for Alloa there was nobody there to meet it.

Robertson, still looking for his third, then saw an effort blocked by a combination of Taggart and Hogarth as it bounced off the cross bar.

Cammy O’Donnell and Adam King were introduced on the hour mark and almost immediately had an impact.

O’Donnell’s ball to the back post was met by King who laid it off perfectly for MacIver but his first time effort bobbled the wrong side of the post.

MacIver then inadvertently blocked King’s shot which was goal bound before seeing his headed effort hit the post.

With five minutes to go, Alloa gave themselves a glimmer of hope. Daniel Church, introduced at half time, done brilliantly to beat EJ Johnson and delivered a pinpoint cross for MacIver to head past a helpless Mutch.

Any hope was dashed almost immediately.

The clock read 85.02 when MacIver’s header crossed the line. Sixty-three seconds later Edinburgh had restored their two goal advantage.

Danny Handling beat Jon Robertson to the header and Ryan Shanley was too strong for Durnan. He held the defender off and lifted the ball over Taggart into Handling’s run and he was able to poke the ball past an outrushing Hogarth.

After the match Jon Robertson said that while there is still a lot of football to be played, every result counts.

A positive performance against Dunfermline in the league opener wasn’t enough to take anything from the game and the victory against Kelty Hearts was thanks to a performance that Rice admitted wasn’t the team’s best.

Of course, the season is still young, the summer sun is still shining and there is a lot of football to be played. But a slow start can have a big impact and Alloa must get their consistency right immediately.

ALLOA: Hogarth, Durnan, Graham (O’Donnell), Stanger (Church), Cawley, Taggart, Miller (King), Robertson, Sammon, MacIver, Scougall (Rodden). UNUSED: Burt, McLaren, Khyyam