Kelty Hearts were victims of a second half Alloa comeback as the Wasps clinched a 2-1 win. The Maroon Machine were leading at the break thanks to a goal from debutant Alasdair Davidson, before a Callum Burnside brace turned it around.
The Maroon Machine enjoyed decent spells in the opening 45 minutes, and were worthy of their lead. The breakthrough came in the 27th minute through Davidson, making his debut after Jack Brydon was unavailable.
From a corner, a second ball came back out to Innes Murray who looped in a cross. Davidson found himself in the six-yard box and glanced a header into the back of the net.
Alloa found their equaliser in the 64th minute through Rangers loanee Burnside. A corner was swung in from the left and the cross was initially headed away. However the clearance was only as far as Burnside, who brought it down and sidefooted a finish into the bottom corner.
Just five minutes later, the Wasps had turned the game on its head through Burnside once again. Alloa acted quickly from a throw-in and Lewis Stewart teed up Burnside who provided a first time finish from just inside the box.
Kelty Hearts had a golden chance to equalise in the dying stages of the match. Murray Thomas drilled a cross in which Liam McFarlane parried. Cameron Cooper was the first to react, but from close range he couldn’t divert his effort goalwards and it went agonisingly wide.
Moments after the opening goal, Kelty could’ve doubled their lead. A Lewis Moore cut-back dribbled teasingly across the frame of the goal, before James Graham found Craig Clay who saw his shot saved.
Moore also came close to an equaliser late on, he had space in the box but his close range effort was just wide of the far post.
Reflecting on the match to Kelty Hearts TV, Thomas O’Ware admitted “I thought we were really good, that’s the annoying bit. It’s a game we should’ve come away with something – it’s arguably two of the worst goals we’ll concede. We were excellent in the game and we shouldn’t have been behind in it.”
Written by: Jamie Szmitz
Photography: Kevin Marshall (@KayemPhoto)