STEFAN SCOUGALL said Alloa “didn’t give themselves a chance” after a heavy 4-1 loss to rivals Falkirk.

Two quick goals in the opening 15 minutes put Alloa behind before they found a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Jon Robertson.

Scougall scored from the spot, with Alloa controlling the game for a few minutes after this. Falkirk quickly came back into things, however, and scored another two goals to put the game to bed.

Speaking to Advertiser Sport after the match, Scougall said the team were far from their usual standards.

“We never really gave ourselves a chance,” he said. “Two sloppy goals from our standards to start the game and we didn’t really have a foothold in the game at all.

“We spoke before the game about the need to start well, especially against Falkirk who like to start fast. We didn’t really give ourselves a chance – we huffed and puffed a bit after.

“We get ourselves back in the game for a wee bit after and then we gift them another couple of goals.”

Scougall scored Alloa’s only goal, his second of the season so far. Alloa looked dangerous after getting a goal back, but Falkirk responded quickly with two goals from Liam Henderson.

“I definitely feel we had Falkirk on the ropes a wee bit,” Scougall added. “We didn’t really make it last and then we gave them a goal.

“We definitely had them on the ropes for a wee bit at 2-1 and had that went on for a wee bit longer, we could’ve thrown a lot more at Falkirk.”

Alloa pay a visit to Montrose, where they need just a point to secure a playoff spot after FC Edinburgh and Queen of the South failed to win at the weekend.

The trip to Montrose is huge for the Wasps, with Scougall saying a big response is needed after the Falkirk game.

He said: “Results in the League went our way a bit this week, thankfully, but we need to make sure we do the business first.

“We can’t rely on other teams to do us favours – we need to make sure we make it happen.

“For us, next week, we need to go to Montrose and win that game. If a point does it, that’s great, but we’ll be going to Montrose to win the game.”