Matchday Thread Alloa -V- Inverness CT

[RiG]

As @ymip says the first half performance was pretty rotten. We tried to force our way through the middle of the pitch a lot of the time which was pointless as Alloa frequently had nine men behind the ball and were very disciplined defensively and broke with real pace whenever our attacks broke down which was quite often. The likes of Polworth and Chalmers tried to force balls through to White or Doran / MacDonald cutting in from the flanks but they never found their man. Our best chance probably came when Doran chipped a ball in from the left flank but it evaded White and MacDonald. Prior to this Alloa had taken the lead from the penalty spot when Donaldson bundled over Zanatta and Trouten easily found the net sending MacKay the wrong way.

We were lucky to just be one down at the break but Robbo shuffled the pack taking Polworth and MacDonald off for Austin and McCauley and going two up front with Austin slightly withdrawn off White. With this change we were a lot better and started to find a bit of space in wide areas to send a few decent crosses in which Alloa struggled to deal with at times. A Rooney header at the back post was a sign of things to come as Alloa started to struggle with our balls in from the flanks. Chalmers found himself with a bit of time on the left side to loft the ball into the area which Alloa only partially cleared and Rooney strode on to the loose ball to blast in the equaliser. 

White almost bagged a second goal moments later but Parry was equal to his effort. However we weren't to be denied with Chalmers again the provider. A low corner was hooked into the box by Chalmers and Trafford arrived at the near post to flick the ball into the net. 

Alloa nearly drew level late on when MacKay spilled a long range effort but was alert to get up and fist the loose ball away before any of the home teams players could seize on the opportunity. There then came a penalty appeal when Graham (?) fell over under pressure from McCart who was clearly incensed and his anger set off a bit of a stramash between the sides but ended with McCart going into the book. 

Fortunately we hung on. Not our finest performance of the season but it could be a vital win for us. The extra money from 3rd place would be very welcome as Robbo has said already this week. McCart was an absolute stand out for us and a clear MotM. We'll need to improve a lot if we want to progress through the play offs.

[old caley girl]

1 hour ago, ymip said:

An absolutely dreadful first half performance today. Things improved after the break despite rather odd substitutions. Felt a bit backs to the wall when Tremarco limped off leaving us with only 10 men for last 15 minutes. A good three points but we will need to see a vast improvement to make progress in the play-offs.

One point I would make is that Robbo should be using up all his jambo  brownie points to get Dario Zanatta in on loan next season. I lost count of the number of times he skinned Rooney today.  Think he'd be an excellent addition to the squad.

Said the same re Zanatta. Looks a real talent at this level. 

[IBM]

A good 3 points although going by RiGs report not a great game. 

[Huisdean]

18 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Are you on a stag-do ?

Maybe it should be a staggie do hunt

[Kingsmills]

21 minutes ago, Huisdean said:

Maybe it should be a staggie do hunt

There was a Staggie do in Dingwall on Friday.

We need to make sure that we have a similar but louder Jaggie do on the 26th of May.

[Jack Waddington]

5 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

There was a Staggie do in Dingwall on Friday.

We need to make sure that we have a similar but louder Jaggie do on the 26th of May.

And more excitement

God, their celebrations were boring as all hell. Compare that to 2010, we were all on the pitch that day...

[Kingsmills]

3 minutes ago, Jack Waddington said:

And more excitement

God, their celebrations were boring as all hell. Compare that to 2010, we were all on the pitch that day...

Being the boring old fart that I am, I stayed in my seat in the Main Stand applauding politely

[MorayJaggie]

2 hours ago, Jack Waddington said:

And more excitement

God, their celebrations were boring as all hell. Compare that to 2010, we were all on the pitch that day...

I remember running the length of the pitch to celebrate infront of the Dundee fans at the final whistle.

[caley100]

1 hour ago, MorayJaggie said:

I remember running the length of the pitch to celebrate infront of the Dundee fans at the final whistle.

What....all 3 of them?

[Robert]

Just watched the (brief) highlights. The penalty looked soft to me.

I know we give Rooney some stick, but that was a fine shot, and he has weighed in with a good few goals this season.

Great to see Trafford score: he has come on immensely recently, although still prone to easy bookings, and could be even more important next season without Polly.

Have we any players at risk of suspension at present?

Hopefully we do better than Ayr on Saturday and secure 3rd but, to be honest, at the start of the season I'd have seen a cup semi and play off place as a great outcome. Well done lads, lets go for it over what will hopefully be the next 7 games!

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

15 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

Being the boring old fart that I am, I stayed in my seat in the Main Stand applauding politely

I was in the Main Stand at Ayr

 

[Satan]

The guy behind you with the stick....Think he was looking for his sheep back!

[RiG]

Highlights from Alloa YouTube. Having watched them back I think the first penalty is very soft.

 

[caley100]

Couple of neat goals and a good win, but how often did Zanatta skin Rooney!    made him look like lead boots.