Preview Alloa Athletic

Alloa and Dunfermline have only met twice in almost 22 years but now they must face each other twice in just four days

Alloa Athletic and Dunfermline Athletic have only met twice in almost twenty two years but now they must face each other twice in just four days in the two legged First Division Play Off Final. The last meeting was on 26th August 2008 when an Andy Kirk goal saw the Pars through by 1-0 to the next round of the League Cup. Before that on 26 September 2001 Barry Nicholson and Gary Mason (2) were the matchwinners for the Pars in a straightforward 4-0 victory in the same competition. 

The Pars have not played a competitive match at Recreation Park since 5th May 1985 and it is ten games back since Alloa last defeated Dunfermline.  Things are much closer now with the Wasps winning 20 of their 36 league matches to become runners up in the Second Division on 67 points. Possibly worryingly they have won more games away from home than on their own artificial playing surface.

The pitch will be another factor but several Dunfermline players have already played on it and done very well on it.  At the end of last season Chris Kane and Alex Whittle played trials in a bounce match there for Dunfermline against Falkirk. The Pars U19s played at Recreation Park back in 2010 but only Ryan Thomson played that day. Andy Geggan played there twice for in a Dumbarton side that included current Alloa full back Ben Gordon.

Just like the Forfar tie there is a number of former Dunfermline connections at Alloa too. Darren Young, Graeme Holmes and Stephen Simmons are all former first team players at Dunfermline. 

Alloa progressed to the First Division Play Off Final by winning 2-0 away to Brechin City and then losing 2-3 at home and going through 4-3 on aggregate. Their top goalscorer is Craig Cawley with 13 goals while Ryan McCord has added eleven.

DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC (v Forfar Athletic): Michal Hrivnak; Ross Millen, Kerr Young, John Potter, Alex Whittle (Chris Kane 112); Andy Geggan (Shaun Byrne FT), Stephen Husband, Josh  Falkingham, Ryan Wallace (Craig Dargo 12), Ryan Thomson, Allan Smith.
SUBS NOT USED: Fayssal El Bakhtaoui, Ryan Goodfellow (GK)

ALLOA ATHLETIC (v Brechin City): Scott Bain, Ben Gordon, Michael Doyle, Daryll Meggat, Graeme Holmes, Ryan McCord (Darren Young, 65), Stephen Simmons, Keith Moon, Jonathan Tiffoney, Calum Elliot (Eddie Ferns, 87), Craig Cawley
SUBS NOT USED: Craig McDowall (GK), Mark Docherty, Martin Grehan