Another wee Development League East report for...well, naebdy, really.
A cool, clear night at the Fracker's Paradise saw Alloa run out 4-1 winners against Forfar Athletic, in a game memorable for a couple of injuries and a few cracking goals. The first half saw both Forfar's #8 hobbling off with a painful leg injury caused by a head-on collision, and Alloa's Ryan Hoggan left early for the hospital after a rogue knee to the ribs left the player nursing a damaged arm. Despite this, the game was played out in good spirit, with nary a card to be seen.
Barely had the spectators present taken their first sip of Bovril before Forfar stormed straight down the wing from kick-off, cutting in a low cross for their energetic #11 to tap home past Mikey Couser in the Alloa goal. Couser in particular will be annoyed by this early lapse in concentration, as rarely did Forfar trouble him for the rest of the game, with every chance being dealt with confortably by the Wasps' keeper and his defence, which featured returning captain Lewis Wilson.
The game settled into an easy rhythm of attack and defence, with the teams looking fairly equal in quality, with Alloa's main weakness being the occasional sloppiness in passing that has dogged the first team in recent weeks. Aside from the impressive Couser, Alloa's edge came from a dominant attacking performance from Martin Hardie, whose delight in his role was clear to all, and a zippy Eddie Ferns.
Ferns & Hardie combined to great effect in the 35th minute, when a quick counter-attack found a well-timed run from Hardie on the left wing. The wee firebrand outpaced the retreating Forfar defence, before finding Ferns in the centre, who lifted the ball over the onrushing keeper into the net. Alloa then were ahead within five minutes when a corner was deflected out to the centre of the box, and an onrushing Hardie met the ball with a sweet volley past the helpless keeper.
Straight from the post-half-time kick-off, Alloa warmed the Forfar keeper's gloves, but few other chances were created until the 70th minute, when a rampant Hardie took a run through the centre of the Forfar defence, finishing from 25 yards into the right of the Forfar net. Immediately afterwards, Forfar carved out their best chance of the game, with a scramble in the Alloa box ending with a point-blank header to the top right of Couser's goal, which the keeper comfortably tipped over the bar.
The game began to peter out and, when Martin Hardie was taken off in injury time, anyone would be forgiven for thinking the scoring had come to an end. However, Hardie's replacement Anderson was obviously keen to prove himself equally worthy, and immediately took a mazy run along the edge of Forfar's box, striking a carefully-placed low finish across into the bottom-left corner.
There wasn't even time left to kick off, and Alloa would no doubt have left the field pleased with a result that leaves them undefeated in four home games, and in the middle of a good run of form due to improved performances.