Cove Rangers 1 Alloa Athletic 1
Andy Graham said he was frustrated with Alloa's decision making against Cove's 10 men in the latter stages of their draw on Saturday.
Owen Foster's 74th minute goal secured a share of the spoils for the Wasps at Balmoral Stadium, after Alfonso Lindo had headed the hosts into a first half lead.
Ex-Wasps boss, Paul Hartley, however, watched his team play for over half-an-hour with 10 men, after Layton Bisland was given a second yellow card for a foul on Cammy O'Donnell.
After pulling level, though, Graham felt his players didn't manage the game well enough, and tried to force opportunities for a winning goal.
However, it was Cove who could've snatched all three points in the closing stages, with Ross Stewart making vital saves from Destiny Oladipo and Ryan Harrington.
"It's just the frustration for me was that, I felt when it went one each, we had to keep the ball a bit more, and we felt as if we had to score every time we got the ball," Graham told Advertiser Sport.
"We played like that, and that played into their hands.
"They hit us on the counter attack too many times, because we were trying to force things, instead of being patient, working the ball side to side.
"I think we scored in 74 - we still had 16 minutes to score.
"We had plenty of time to score in the game, and that's where I was getting annoyed with the decision making that we made.
"That was that was the thing that frustrated me the most.
"It doesn't come from a bad place.
"They're not doing it out of anything other than they're trying to win the game, and I understand that.
"But, at the same time, the best way to win the game against 10 men, is to keep the ball, and move side to side, because eventually somebody will switch off.
"Somebody won't match a runner, somebody will be in the wrong position, and that's when you'll get your opportunities.
"But, we didn't do that, and we made some really poor decisions in terms of our recovering runs as well."
Alloa made a bright enough start to proceedings, with Grant Marchant firing over, and both Brandon Forbes and Kyle Glasgow thwarted by Robbie Mutch, only to fall behind just after the 30 minute mark.
Lindo headed in over Stewart, from six yards, after the goalkeeper had punched a corner clear as Jamie Mercer tried to get on the end of it.
Forbes forced Mutch into another stop before, early in the second half, appeals for a penalty for a high boot by Dylan Ross, on Stefan Scougall, were ignored by referee, Cameron Stirling.
Bisland, cautioned late in the first half, then received his marching orders for felling O'Donnell, giving Alloa a man advantage.
They made the most of it when a good move saw Scott Taggart sweep a cross into the box for Forbes, who took a good touch, and turned.
Luke Rankin then took command, laying it off for Foster, who finished first time from around 12 yards.
The away side, though, had to thank their goalkeeper for preserving a point, as they struggled to build momentum in pursuit of a winner, in the final quarter-of-an-hour.
"I think it's a tough place to go, and Cove have got a good side," Graham said.
"Only a couple of weeks ago they thumped Peterhead 3-0 up there.
"You need to reflect on the whole thing.
"I would like us to go and show a wee bit more composure and control in the game.
"But, like I say, I take responsibility as well.
"I take Stevie Hetherington off, and I go more attacking, so there's a responsibility with me as well, because I'm almost subliminally sending that message saying, 'listen, we're going for it', which I would always want.
"It's about learning from the last mistakes that you made, and certainly I would expect the boys to play it a lot differently should that situation occur again.
"When you go a goal down as well, in the first half, they've gone and shown a lot of character and resilience, because I don't think they deserved to be a goal down.
"To come out and show that bit of character, a wee bit about them, was good to see. That will stand us in good stead.
"Like I say, it's not a bad point at all.
"It continues the momentum that we've got."
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