Strachan stings Wasps late on
ALLOA ATHLETIC 2
Trouten (pen 29), O’donnell (38)
COVE RANGERS 3
Masson (37), Mcallister (76), Strachan (89)
Cove twice came from behind to snatch a last-minute winner at Alloa.
The visitors had the home side under pressure from the start and came close to the opener in the fourth minute when former Alloa star Mitch Megginson ran on to a poor Alloa defensive clearance by Cameron O’donnell and blasted the ball goalward, only to see his shot brilliantly saved by Neil Parry in the home goal.
Cove had chance after chance to open the scoring, but Parry and defender Andy Graham thwarted their efforts.
Jamie Masson also came close from 18 yards out with a shot that was pushed clear by the Alloa keeper. It fell at the feet of Conner Scully, who, from four yards out, blasted the ball over the bar.
Alan Trouton and Liam Buchanan combined well for the Wasps. Buchanan fed in Trouten, who, from close range, fired in a shot that was turned away for a corner by Stuart Mckenzie in the Cove goal.
The turning point in the match was when referee David Dickinson pointed to the spot for a penalty to the home side after he judged that Ross Graham had handled the ball in an attempt to clear a shot from Buchanan.
From the spot, Alan Trouten opened for the home side in the 29th minute, but the Aberdeenshire side, who had controlled the match up to then, fought back and, in the 37th minute, equalised again when Jamie Masson, standing at the edge of the home box, connected with loose defensive clearance and blasted the ball past Parry.
Within a minute, the homesters regained the lead when Cameron O’donnell ran on to a Buchanan cross from the right and pushed the ball past Mckenzie.
Cove got the equaliser they deserved on 75 minutes when on-form striker Rory Mcallister blasted the ball past Parry from close range.
Ryan Strachan then won the game for the home side when he sealed the victory with an outstanding goal from a fierce shot in the final minute.
Alloa boss Peter Grant was “very disappointed”, but said: “Cove deserved the victory and they played better than we did.
“We made mistakes that cost us, but we still need to keep going and move on to the next match.”
A delighted Cove boss Paul Hartley said after the match: “We deserved what we got today and I am delighted for the team.
“We knew we would have a tight match, but the players believed in themselves, and we fought for the result.
“Hopefully, we come out of the draw against a Premier league side, possibly Aberdeen.”
ALLOA:
(4-1-4-1): Parry (7); Graham (9), Jamieson (6), Dick (7), Robertson (8); Grant (8); Hetherington (6), O’donnell (6) (Murray 4, 84), Cawley (7) (Trouten 7, 45), Scougall (60); Buchanan (7) (Thomson 5, 63). Unused subs – Willison, Malcolm, Connelly, Lynch.
COVE:
(4-4-2): Mckenzie (7); Ross (8), Strachan (7), Graham (7), Milne (6); Fyvie (8), Scully (8), Yule (7), Masson (7); Megginson (8), Mcallister (9) (Mcintosh (5, 83). Unused subs – Ross, Demus, Smith, Logan.