PJ CROSSAN was thrilled to open his Alloa account as the Wasps comfortably beat East Fife last Saturday.

The teenager’s maiden strike in the black and gold came was vital as it levelled the scores, the visitors having taken an early lead at the Indodrill Stadium.

The 19-year-old is now hoping to add to his tally and help the Wasps rise up the League One table before he returns to parent club Celtic in January.

Crossan told Advertiser Sport: “It’s great to finally get off the mark. It’s been a long time coming but hopefully now I can kick on and get a few more.

"I’ve been trying to do as best I can to help the team but I’ve not been able to put the ball in the net up to now, so I’m very glad it went in.

“The reason I’m here is to help the team while developing as a player. It’s a big step to be playing against men.

"The boys have been great with me since I came in, especially Frank McKeown, Stevie Hetherington and Daryll Meggatt who have taken me under their wing.

"They’ve all been great. If I’m playing well I know I can help the team climb the table.”

Crossan admitted that recent results have been poor, but believes the players’ response against East Fife was exactly what was required as they ended a four-game winless run.

He said: “It was massively important to respond in the right way, especially in front of our own fans.

"The first quarter wasn’t good enough but there’s nothing we can do about that now. It’s behind us and now we have to focus on the second quarter.

“Everyone in the changing room knows things haven’t been good enough recently. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to turn things round and we got that.

"After that we played quite well and were a lot more like ourselves. Hopefully that will give us a boost going into the second quarter and help us reach the targets we want to get to.”

The 19-year-old is keen to keep any momentum going as they travel to face Queen’s Park on Saturday, and he backed manager Jim Goodwin’s appeal for a marked improvement on the first quarter’s results.

Crossan added: “We go out trying to win every game and Queen’s Park will be no different.

"The manager has said he wants to get double the number of points we got in the first quarter and with the players we have in the changing room, there’s no reason why we can’t. That’s the minimum we should be aiming for in the next few weeks.”