ALLOA boss Jim Goodwin admitted his side were second best as they tumbled out of the Betfred Cup following a group stage defeat to Ross County.

The Wasps needed just a point to seal their progress in the competition, but were unable to hold the visitors, who progressed instead thanks to goals from Callum Morris and Harry Paton.

Goodwin told Advertiser Sport: “In fairness Ross County were the better team and there were no arguments about the result. I was expecting a reaction from them after their poor performance against Arbroath.

“We didn’t create anything of note.

“When you look at the goals we conceded, there wasn’t a great deal we could have done about them. I’m not particularly bothered. It would be different if we were getting picked off and losing by four or five, but I’m not concerned just now.

“We are disappointed because we have got eight points from a really difficult group, yet we were nowhere near getting through in truth.

"We knew we’d need nine points before a ball was kicked. To get through would have been great, but it just wasn’t to be.”

Goodwin admitted that the game showed the pitfalls of having a thin squad, and believes playing four games in two weeks took its toll on his players.

He is now determined to bring attacking talent to the Indodrill Stadium ahead of the start of the league season on Saturday.

He said: “I couldn’t have asked any more in terms of effort but I think it was just one game too far for the boys. We had four games in two weeks and we have a very small squad. That showed, because we looked a bit leggy.

“The evidence is there that the squad is light and I need to work hard this week to get some more bodies in to try and help the lads out because we are limited.

“It would be nice to have a few more attacking options there so that is my main job before the window closes.”

Despite closing out their league cup campaign with a defeat, Goodwin insisted that the Wasps can’t wait to kick-start their Championship campaign.

Alloa travel to Dingwall for a rematch with County in their first second-tier fixture since 2016, and the manager wants to see a reaction from his stars.

Goodwin added: “We will pick ourselves up now and look forward to the league kicking off. We are really looking forward to it.

“It’s a great away day up at County and we will certainly be looking for a reaction from our players. We know what to expect now.

"We will have to be better, but we have the whole week to recover and hopefully we will have a bit more energy in the tank come Saturday.”