Peterhead 2 Alloa Athletic 1
ANDY Graham admitted he was left "embarrassed" after his Wasps side slid to defeat at Balmoor.
Peterhead's Seb Ross netted the opener and although Owen Foster levelled with a fine finish in the second half, Alloa conceded almost immediately after.
The scoreline didn't reflect the Blue Toon's superiority with Graham praising stand-in goalie Lawton Green's "outstanding" display with his saves keeping the Wasps in the contest.
However, it ended in their sixth defeat from their last seven league matches and leaves the team level on points with East Fife, who are second bottom, and just three above Cove.
Graham said: "It's probably as low as I've ever been, certainly in football management that's for sure.
"Embarrassed isn't a word I use lightly but in the second half they created far too many opportunities.
"Credit to Lawton Green who came in with Ross (Stewart) suspended.
"I thought he was outstanding and in the second half I thought he kept us in the game."
Alloa were under the cosh from the start with striker Matt Aitken having to clear a looping back post header off his own line in the early stages.
And they didn't learn their lesson as they conceded in the 13th minute from the exact same position.
The Wasps coughed up possession all too easily - which they went on to do all afternoon - and Bobby McLuckie's deep cross was met by Ross who nodded it across goal and in at the far post.
Centre back Joe McGrath thought he'd equalised after getting his head on a corner and watching the ball head towards the line but the ref blew for a foul which wasn't obvious to anyone in gold and black.
Cammy O'Donnell then pinched the ball off Dylan Forrest and made his way into the box but screwed his left foot shot well wide of the target.
Peterhead regained the upper hand with McLuckie swerving an effort just over the bar and moments later his dangerous cross had to be hoofed away as the Wasps rearguard began to creak under the strain.
A good block from Stefan Scougall prevented the home side getting another shot on goal and it might have been a different story had two marginal offside calls, against O'Donnell and Kyle Glasgow, gone Alloa's way.
In the 51st minute more slack play from the visitors handed possession to Mitch Megginson and he drilled a low effort that Green did well to hang onto.
A rare Wasps foray saw Scott Taggart meet a free kick and knock the ball across goal but there were no takers.
Teen Max Cameron came on at half-time and his crisp drive was well held by keeper Craig Hepburn, as Alloa pushed for a leveller.
Fellow Rangers loanee, 16-year-old Glasgow, then set off on a mazy run that took him deep into Peterhead territory before setting up his pal.
However Cameron scuffed the shot and the ball bounced wide.
The Blue Toon tried to make the game safe and in the 72nd minute Green made a double save to deny Cammy Smith and then Megginson on the rebound.
Kerr then missed an absolute sitter when he weakly prodded the ball into the keeper's arms from just two yards out when he should have burst the net.
And they were punished when Alloa grabbed an unlikely equaliser in the 75th minute with a classy strike.
The ball was worked to Foster who took aim from just outside the box and curled a beauty beyond Hepburn's grasp.
But they conceded almost immediately with Kerr making amends in the 77th minute with a much more difficult chance.
Facing away from goal, he swivelled and guided the ball across the six yard box and into the far corner of the net to put Peterhead back in front.
If anything, it looked like they would add to their lead in the closing stages with sub Peter Pawlett claiming his strike had crossed the line after Green stuck up an arm and diverted the ball onto the post.
Megginson also had a header that the goalie pushed over the bar.
In stoppage time there was a glimmer of hope for the Wasps when Luke Rankin got on the end of a ball into the box but his clever flick failed to find the net.
Graham groaned: "We got the equaliser with a brilliant finish from Owen Foster and you're thinking 'You've got yourselves out of jail here' but then we lose a cheap goal after that.
"It's a tough place to come, you can use all the cliches you like, but it was just not good enough.
"The only thing we can do now is go out and win on Tuesday night at Clydebank (in the KDM Evolution Trophy) which will be a really tough game."
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