ALLOA ATHLETIC 0
PARTICK THISTLE 2
Spittal (4), McDonald (80) Alloa crashed to the bottom of the Championship as they went down to relegation rivals Partick Thistle in what was a hard fought end-to-end contest.
Thistle’s new signing, veteran striker Scott McDonald, grabbed the decisive second goal for the Jags on his debut.
The delighted striker said: “It is amazing to be back playing. This not about me it’s all about Thistle. We are delighted with the points today and we realise now that we can only take one game at a time to move us forward.”
The Jags stung the home side taking the lead in the fourth minute when Blair Spittal ran on to a poor clearance from defensive stalwart Andy Graham and, from the edge of the box, he fired home an unstoppable shot.
Thistle continued to dominate the game and came close to a second goal when Gary Harkins collected a Blair Spittal corner kick and steadied himself before firing in a fierce shot only to see Kevin Cawley clear the ball from the line.
Alloa rallied and in the final minute of the first half came close to the equaliser when Liam Dick made a run down the left flank and fired in a perfect cross to Dario Zanatta, but he was crowded out from taking a shot by the Thistle defenders who cleared the ball.
Cawley was a source of danger to the Jags’ defence and he began to control the match for Alloa, but they still could not break down the visitors’ defence where Steven Anderson was having an outstanding game.
The visitors introduced McDonald and within a minute had a shot on target from close range when he connected with a Kris Doolan cross. But he showed his experience a minute later. He ran into position to collect a poor defensive clearance and fired past Neil Parry in the home goal.
Disappointed Wasps’ manager Jim Goodwin said: “The gameplan for us was lost after only four minutes of the match. We tried to play well and I am disappointed that we are giving away sloppy goals. We should have done better today and we still have a lot to play for. It is a frustrating situation for us to be in and we need to do the basics better.”