TWO lates goals secured a valuable three points for Alloa as they beat Edinburgh City 3-1.

The Wasps welcomed the Citizens to the Recs, aiming to extend their unbeaten streak to four games in League One.

Over the past few weeks, Edinburgh City’s financial troubles have been made known to the general public, with several senior players departing the club over pay disputes.

This has forced Edinburgh manager Michael McIndoe to play a largely younger side, complete with loan signings from other clubs including Ruaridh Adams, a Dundee United goalkeeper who made his debut today.

Two changes were made for Alloa following the 2-2 draw against Montrose two weeks before, with last week’s clash with Kelty postponed due to snow.

PJ Morrison started in goals, with a back four of Scott Taggart, David McKay, Morgyn Neill and Cammy O’Donnell lining up in front of him. McKay rejoined the starting lineup replacing David Devine.

Steven Hetherington started ahead of them, joined in midfield by Kurtis Roberts.

With Stefan Scougall injured, Kevin Cawley remained in the central attacking midfield position. Quinn Coulson and Steven Buchanan started on either side of him.

Bobby Wales retained his spot up front, looking to add to his goal tally after scoring his first goal against Montrose.

The first half was a largely tame affair, with neither team overly testing the opposition keepers. The deadlock was broken 10 minutes before half time, as Bobby Wales scored his second goal for the club to put Alloa in front.

The tempo was upped during the second half, with both teams coming out the break looking to take something from the match.

Edinburgh equalised through Ouzy See, before Alloa took total control of the match, with chances falling for Ally Roy and Wales after some brilliant play.

It looked like the points would be shared for the sides before a lucky deflection from a Kevin Cawley shot put Alloa back in front.

Ally Roy came off the bench and scored his fifth goal for the club to kill the game off, making him the joint top scorer for this season.

Speaking with Advertiser Sport after the match, Andy Graham said that earning the three points was the priority today.

“Three points is the most important thing,” Graham said. “I said that to the team before the game started.

“I knew that it was going to be a tough game because I think back to when I was 20 years old myself and if somebody told me I would be playing a League 1 game, I’d be delighted and would really give it a go.

“Credit to Edinburgh, I thought they did that today. They worked their socks off from the first minute to the 90th minute.

“But I did say to them that three points is the most important thing. We played so much better against Montrose and we only got one point.

“Today, we got three and that was the most important thing and that was the most pleasing thing – we didn’t panic.

“When Edinburgh score their equaliser, we maybe do panic for about 10, 15 minutes, we start thinking we need to score but we kept going.

“To get the two goals near the end to get the three points was very pleasing.”

Alloa were dealt an early injury blow as Steven Buchanan, who earned his spot in the starting XI following an impressive showing off the bench against Montrose, went down just before half time.

Medical team looked him over, with the youngster being replaced ahead of the break by Ally Roy, who made his first appearance for Alloa since the last visit to Edinburgh City in November.

Graham explained that Buchanan felt his hamstring flare up and was hooked as a precaution.

“He felt his hamstring a wee bit at the end [of the first half],” Graham added. “I don’t think it’s a tear or anything too serious so we’ll get the physio to monitor that.

“It’ll take around 48 hours to settle down a wee bit and we can see how he is but I think he’s managed to catch it just in time so hopefully it’s not too bad.”

Graham had previously praised the substitute players for coming on and influencing the game, with today no different in that regard.

Ally Roy came off the bench to score Alloa’s third and seal all three points and also came close to assisting Wales earlier in the game.

Graham continued: “I’m delighted with the contribution that the guys are making coming on the pitch.

“Ally’s got his goal and Taylor came on as well and that’s what you’re looking for – for boys to come on and make a difference.

“They’ve done that, the most pleasing thing was getting three points and we’ve what we’ve achieved and we now go on and build on that momentum of the last five games.”

“I thought we were sloppy at times on the ball, that side of it can be improved but three points was all that mattered and we got it.

“It’ll be a tough game down at Queens next week but we’re going down there to get three points.

Next up for Alloa is a visit to Palmerston Park to take on Queen of the South. Despite initially struggling as League One started this season, their fortunes have turned, sitting in seventh place just two points behind Alloa.

The Wasps now sit in fifth place in the table, maintaining pressure on the all-important playoff spot. Montrose are ahead by just one point after they drew 2-2 with Annan Athletic today.