The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
No time to dwell on defeat: Thomson
Raith Rovers captain Jason Thomson blamed a poor first-half performance as the Kirkcaldy side crashed out of the Betfred Cup at home to Alloa Athletic.
Rovers finished second in Group D having collected eight points from their previous three fixtures in the competition with routine wins over Cove Rangers and Montrose followed by an impressive penalty shoot-out victory away to Ross County.
But that was not enough to see the Kirkcaldy side through to the last 16 as a best-placed runner-up, and Thomson admitted it was an opportunity missed.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “It was the last game of the competition and we’d put ourselves in a great position to qualify.
“The first 45 minutes has probably killed the three results we got in previous weeks.
“They got in front then sat in at times and slowed things down, which is what we would’ve done if we were in their position.
“In the second half we huffed and puffed but I don’t think there was any clear-cut chances. The more we pushed, the less came off.”
Thomson stressed Raith will need to put the result behind them ahead of the big league opener in Ayr next weekend.
“We can’t dwell too much on it,” he said. “We start the league campaign next week and that’s where our focus is now.
“We’ll probably have a look through the week what went wrong today and try to get stuff right.
“Hopefully throughout the season we don’t have another 45 minutes like that.”
The result meant Alloa qualified as group winners with a 100% record – no mean feat for a League One side.
Gaffer Jack Ross said: “What the players have achieved in this competition is fantastic.”
Alloa showed their intentions in the early stages by putting the Raith defence under pressure, and only a last-ditch block from defender Jean-Yves M’voto prevented Greig Spence finding the target on 15 minutes.
Raith came into it and Lewis Vaughan went close with a volley that whizzed just wide, while Neil Parry made a double save to keep out Declan McManus’s long-range piledriver and Kevin McHattie’s follow-up.
The visitors struck the decisive blow on 34 minutes when midfielder Jon Robertson slid a delightful ball through the heart of the Raith defence for Spence to finish confidently against his old club.
Raith dominated possession in the second half, but despite handing former Hearts hero Rudi Skacel his debut from the bench, they were unable to break down a stubborn Wasps defence.
The hosts’ only clear chance of the second 45 came just after an hour when Thomson cut the ball back for sub Joel Coustrain, whose shot was deflected inches wide. Raith players swarmed around referee Kevin Clancy to claim handball, but the ref pointed for a corner.
Raith boss Gary Locke said: “I thought we might have got a penalty but I’m not going to make excuses.
“We didn’t create enough, and we didn’t have enough quality in the final third.”
RAITH ROVERS 0 ALLOA ATHLETIC 1