Kings of shoot-out sting Pars to book place in last eight
dunferMline athletic 2 Longridge (28, pen 47) alloa athletic 2 (Trouten 8, 70) Alloa win penalty shoot-out 5-4
Jim Goodwin hailed his penalty kings after Alloa dumped Dunfermline out of the Irn Bru Cup. The shoot-out specialist Wasps netted all five of their spot-kicks to secure their place in the next round after Neil Parry saved Pars star Aidan Connolly’s final penalty. It was a sickener for Dunfermline, who have travelled more than 1000 miles on their cup journey – and all for nothing. But Alloa, who did well to snatch a 2-2 draw over the 90 minutes, will relish the prospect of hitting the road in the next round. “I was always confident when it went to penalties,” said Wasps boss Goodwin, whose side beat Dundee United in a shoot-out in the previous round. “The quality of the penalties from the boys is absolutely frightening just now. “I think it’s maybe 20 penalties in a row – and big Neilly (Neil Parry) does what he does best. “He always comes out with at least one save in a penalty shoot-out, so I’m delighted for him as well.” Looking for signs of Scottishness isn’t normally required at Scottish games. But this is the Irn-Bru Cup, which, despite its gaseously Scots name, is tinged with the unfamiliar, if not the exotic. Bohemians versus Sutton United and Connah’s Quay Nomads versus Coleraine were both fought out yesterday. God only knows what sort of red-hot atmosphere those must have generated. But those at East End Park were treated to a match that reflected Scottish football in all its archetypally sloppy glory. The nine-tenths empty stadium? Check. The audible bellows of players? Check. The relentless, purgatorial grey of mid-October in Fife? Check. Throw in a few rasping goals and 90 minutes of ceaseless graft from both sides and there it is – your classic. Scottish-as-a-two-footed-lunge cup-tie. Jim Goodwin’s side were the outsiders according to the bookies, but they made most of the early running, and Alan Trouten put them ahead in the eighth minute. Picked out by Jon Robertson, the striker, with his back to goal, worked himself a yard before turning and firing a powerful strike past Lee Robinson with the aid of a deflection off Lee Ashcroft. The Pars punters grumbled into their signature East End Park bridies as the Wasps continued to press, and Robinson had to look sharp to save a near post rocket from Kevin Cawley. Dunfermline equalised just before the half-hour when Louis Longridge cut on to his right foot 20 yards out and unleashed an unstoppable, curling effort into the bottom left corner. Almost straight from the restart, Longridge was played clean through on goal and struck the post. With the loose ball bobbling around the box, Longridge was chopped to the ground by Liam Dick as he went for the rebound, leaving referee Nick Walsh with no choice but to point to the spot. It was hectic stuff – but Longridge kept his head and lashed the penalty home. Dunfermline settled in and sought to manage the game out. But, with 20 minutes to go, Alloa equalised when Dario Zannatta shrugged off Danny Devine before squaring for Trouten to knock high into the net. The Pars looked the more likely side to win it in the 90, but they were wasteful when they needed to be clinical. And so it went to a shoot-out, where everyone held their nerve until the final kick, when Parry got down to his left to save from Connolly.