Dundee's Premier Sports Cup hopes dashed by Alloa
Dundee were on the end of another 1-0 defeat at the Indodrill Stadium after losing their opening game against Airdrie.
The decisive moment came midway through the second half when Luke Graham could only turn Steven Buchanan's shot into his own net as he tried to clear in the goalmouth.
The result moved Alloa on to nine points at the top of Group C, three ahead of Airdrie with a game more played. SNS Group
Mikael Mandron hit a hat-trick as St Mirren started and finished strongly in an 8-2 home win over Annan.
Mandron put Saints three up inside nine minutes following Killian Phillips' double but trialist Myles Gaffney pulled two goals back for the visitors before Richard King converted a penalty on the hour mark.
Stephen Robinson's side went goal crazy in the final ten minutes with Mandron completing his treble and Jayden Richardson and Roland Idowu also on target. SNS Group
Ayr are a point behind Saints with a game in hand in Group D after Curtis Main hit a double in a 4-0 home win over Arbroath.
Falkirk could not follow up their seven-goal thrashing of Brechin as they were held to a goalless draw by Cove in another trip to the North East. The Bairns gained a penalty shoot-out bonus point but Spartans moved top of Group A with a 2-0 win at Glebe Park.
Stephen O'Donnell hit the only goal as Motherwell moved top of Group G with victory over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview.
O'Donnell had earlier had a goal disallowed and Callum Slattery hit the bar from a free-kick before the defender converted from a back-post corner four minutes before the break.
Livingston bounced back from defeat by Kilmarnock with a 2-0 home win over Brora Rangers. Danny Wilson opened the scoring with an overhead kick just after the half-hour mark and Zak Rudden headed the second with six minutes left. SNS Group
Ross County cut the gap on Group B leaders Partick Thistle to two points after Jay Henderson's second-half winner in a 1-0 victory over Queen of the South at Palmerston.
East Kilbride moved top of Group F as they followed up their shock triumph over Raith Rovers with a 4-1 win at Elgin with the help of Jack Leitch's first-half double.
St Johnstone joined the SPFL newcomers on six points after Uche Ikpeazu's 90th-minute goal – his first for the club – earned a 1-0 win at Inverness.
Josh Cooper hit a double as Dunfermline got off the mark with a 4-0 win at Dumbarton.
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Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Hearts messages revealed as management make their feelings clear
SPFL Premiership season is just around the corner Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Clear and precise communication is central to any successful team regardless of industry. In sport, the aim is to inspire physical performance and generate energy. The new Hearts management team seem to excel in this particular area, driving standards and making their demands easy for players to understand. Australian midfielder Cammy Devlin revealed that the messages coming from head coach Derek McInnes and his assistants Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald are effective due to their simplicity. The Edinburgh club are preparing for the new Scottish Premiership campaign after four wins from four, and 16 goals scored, in the Premier Sports Cup group phase. Players are responding to McInnes and his staff already, although it must be remembered that opponents were all from lower divisions. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think all our performances in these four games have been quite professional and you can make hard work of them if you're not on it,' said Devlin. 'I think you have to be with the amount of players we've got. There is competition for places. The message from the first day of pre-season has just been: 'Right attitude, application and hard work.' The gaffer said everyone will get their chance and I feel like he tried to get everyone as much minutes as he can to show that they want the jersey. I really enjoyed it and I think, because the attitude and application were really good, I think it made it enjoyable.' Devlin's tenacity and application have helped him make an early impact on the new coaches despite seven new signings in Gorgie so far. 'I think you guys know me pretty well now. I'll work as hard as I can every single day. I'd like to think if I do everything right and perform as best I can in the training pitch, then at least if I'm not selected, that's his decision and not anything I could have done better. So I just try and work as hard as I can, put my head down. That will never change. Fingers crossed that I'll be playing as much as I can, but that's the same as I am all the time. 'I've really enjoyed it so far. I think there's a bit of freshness with a lot of new players in the squad as well, it creates that freshness. We've got a lot of boys who have come in and they're eager and they really want to do well. 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The aim was to ensure they all knew what he wanted and expected before pre-season training began. 'His message to me and the boys that have been playing in midfield is that he wants you to be really aggressive, which suits me. I like getting told to be aggressive because that's what I like to do. 'It was just to keep it simple, keep the ball ticking over. Everyone knows he likes his wingers and he wants crosses in the box, he wants numbers in the box. So just keep the ball ticking over, get it out wide and support when the ball goes in. When it comes back out, be there to either win it back or put pressure on the defenders - but just keep it simple. 'He is also big on expressing yourself and that's something that you have to do if you want to play for Hearts. It's been really good. I think I can speak on behalf of all the boys and say they've really enjoyed the pre-season. We've only had a couple of pre-season games. These [Premier Sports Cup] games aren't friendlies, they're games you need to win and if your attitude isn't right, you can really make hard work of them. Maybe that's something we would have done in the past. So yeah, it's been really good and his messages are really clear.' The instruction to be aggressive was music to the ears of the dynamic Devlin. 'That is what I like to do,' he acknowledged. 'I think he called most of the boys in the off-season that are going to be here to let them know what his plans are for each player. That was something he said to me: 'I just want you to be yourself - be your aggressive, tenacious self in the midfield.' That's something that if I got told not to do, I'd think I'd struggle quite a bit. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'His message to every player has been really clear. His communication with everyone has been really good. There are so many players it's hard to keep everyone happy, but I think he has spoken to everyone and it's been really good. His messages are clear, training has been really enjoyable and, because we're scoring goals, the games have been enjoyable as well.' The Hearts squad currently totals more than 30 players after seven summer signings, with more to follow. There will be departures but the extra competition is helping fuel excitement around Tynecastle. Optimism is unmissable. 'Yeah, I think there is,' remarked Devlin. 'I think you get this same feeling at the start of every season in terms of new players coming in. Even in the past when we've come third and we've got Europe, you forget the past season no matter what, and you look forward to what's to come. You see the new faces, the fans are excited to see what they can do. For the boys that have been here, I've been here quite a while now and I still get the same feeling. 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Burkinabe forward Pierre Landry Kabore is set to follow in the coming days, and there will be more thereafter. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's all been really positive,' commented Devlin. 'I think especially with Jamestown and the analytics, we're getting a lot of foreign boys coming in that you don't really know much about. With Stu coming in, you've played against him, you know what you're getting from Stu. The first thing I can say about all the boys that have come in is they are all great guys. That's not the most important thing because they need to be good players, but it is so important to just gel into what we've got. 'Because there are a lot of foreign boys, it might be hard for them. I speak English, but even for me when I came from the other side of the world, I found it really hard to just settle into a completely different life. So for them it can be quite tough, but yeah, they're all great guys. 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Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's healthy competition in my opinion because you don't want to be in a position where it's great to play every week, but you don't have someone right there who is ready and waiting. If you've got that - which I think we do in abundance in most positions now - it just pushes you on. It makes everyone better and makes the squad better and people are going to be unhappy if they are left out. 'I'm fuming when I'm on the bench or whatever but, in my head, I've just got to make sure I'm right that next day at training and trying to just work as hard as I can. It's healthy competition but it does just spur you on. It's only a week and a half away now and you want to be playing in that game. So, fingers crossed.' READ MORE: New Hearts transfer target
Press and Journal
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Don Cowie assesses Ross County's biggest Premier Sports Cup test - against league rivals Partick Thistle
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Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Daily Record
Airdrie win sets up Premier Sports Cup showdown cracker
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