Airdrie 2 Alloa 3: Agony as Wasps sting Diamonds with late winner in group decider

Daily Record

2 days ago

The Diamonds were defeated by the League One side in the final moments to knock them out
Airdrieonians were stung by a late Wasps winner in their Premier Sports Cup Group C decider with Alloa - sending them crashing out.
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In a winner-takes-all clash at the top of Group C, League One Alloa came from 2-1 down to stun the Championship side and reach the last 16 with a thrilling 3-2 win thanks to Steven Buchanan's 89th minute strike.
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An Aidan Wilson stunner - his first goal for the club - after 50 minutes cancelled out Owen Foster's first half opener for the Wasps, before a Euan Henderson spot-kick turned the game on its head on the hour mark to put Airdrie in the driving seat.
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Their lead only last a few minutes before Scott Taggart netted a penalty for the visitors to restore parity.
With the game looking set for penalties, Sean McGinty gifted possession to Buchanan in his own half and he raced upfield to unleash a low drive into the bottom corner and send Wasps through with a 100 per cent record.
Airdrie could have qualified as one of the best runners-up if they had held on for a draw and lost on penalties, but they have missed out on goal difference.
The Diamonds made two changes from Wednesday's win at Montrose as Craig Ross and Rhys Armstrong were replaced by Dean McMaster and skipper Aidan Wilson. The League One visitors named the same 11 that defeated Dundee in midweek.
In three minutes, the hosts created the first opening of the game when Chris Mochrie got in behind and fired the ball across the face of goal. The Wasps were only able to clear the danger to the edge of the box, where the ball found Lewis McGrattan and his attempt to curl one into the top corner drifted just over the top.
Moments later Mochrie picked up the ball out wide on the right, left his marker for dead in the box and arrowed a strike towards goal, only for his thumping drive to find the side netting.
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The Diamonds were dominating possession, stringing some nice passes together, as they tried to find a breakthrough. Euan Henderson saw a strike on the edge of the box take a wicked deflection and loop just over the top, as the hosts turned the screw.
And from the resulting corner Airdrie thought they had grabbed the lead. Aidan Wilson poked the ball home from Jamie Barjonas' corner, but referee Sean Murdoch was quick to blow for a foul in the box in the build-up.
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McGrattan cut inside after 25 minutes and unleashed a fierce, low shot that Liam McFarlane did well to batter away and when the rebound came back to the Diamonds midfielder, he saw his follow-up strike deflected over.
From the corner, Airdrie came even closer to breaking the deadlock. King bent a corner towards the back post and Sean McGinty rose well to crash a header off the outside of the post.
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Down the other end, Luke Rankin should have done better when the Wasps got the break of the ball in the box. It sat up nicely for Rankin to have a swing at it, but he couldn't get the right connection on it to find enough power that would beat Cade Melrose.
But the Wasps still had a sting in the tail and, against the run of play, they took the lead in 29 minutes. A Cameron O'Donnell free-kick out on the right was driven towards goal and although Melrose got a hand to it to keep it out, the Diamonds defence failed to deal with the rebound. Steven Buchanan was able to hang the ball up to the back post and Owen Foster out-jumped his marker to head home his first professional goal, and stun New Broomfield.
Once again, Airdrie had the ball in the back of the net, only to see the goal ruled out. This time, it was Mochrie who turned the ball home but the near-side assistant referee flagged for an apparent handball in the build-up.
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The Diamonds turned to their bench at the break with Dean McMaster making way for Gavin Gallagher as they looked to get back into the contest.
And just five minutes in, they were level - and in stunning style. Lewis McGrattan saw his pass across the box blocked and when the loose ball broke to Wilson, he took a touch and curled an outstanding strike into the far corner off the post, leaving Wasps No.1 Liam McFarlane with no chance.
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Within seconds of the re-start, Airdrie were almost in front when a through ball found Mochrie, but McFarlane stood up well to deny him a certain goal.
That gave the momentum back to the hosts and on the hour mark, they found themselves in front. Henderson burst into the box and when Taggart stuck out a leg, he brought down the Diamonds winger. Henderson dusted himself down and converted the spot-kick, sending McFarlane the wrong way.
But any hopes Airdrie had of that being game, set and match, were quickly extinguished when the Wasps netted a penalty of their own in 64 minutes. McGinty clumsily barged into Kurtis Roberts as the pair went for an aerial duel in the box and referee Murdoch pointed to the spot again. That allowed Taggart to redeem himself, as the skipper stepped up and equalised from 12 yards.
Both sides pushed for a winner and it was Alloa who found it in the final minute of normal time. A miscommunication between McGinty and substiture Dylan Williams saw McGinty gift the ball straight to Buchanan just inside the Alloa half. The Wasps striker had loads to do, but he broke forward at pace and rifled home a low strike into the bottom corner to stun the hosts and book their place in the last 16.
AIRDRIE: Melrose, MacDonald, King, McGinty, Wilson (Ross 58), McGrattan, Barjonas, McStravick (D Williams 78), McMaster (Gallagher 45), Henderson, Mochrie.
Scorers: Wilson 50, Henderson 61 (pen)
Bookings: King, Barjonas, Henderson
Subs not used: Hutton, C Williams, McCabe, Aird, Cooper.
ALLOA: McFarlane, Taggart, Devine, Waters, Foster, Hetherington, Roberts (Sammon 72), Scougall (Clarke 83), Buchanan, Rankin (Orsi 65), O'Donnell.
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Scorers: Foster 29, Taggart 64 (pen)
Bookings:
HT: 0-1