JIM GOODWIN lamented his side's defensive lapses as they were punished by Ayr United on Saturday.

The Wasps fell to their third defeat in a row as Ian McCall's promotion challengers ran out 3-1 winners.

Alan Trouten had levelled for Alloa after Michael Moffat had given Ayr the lead, but a Lawrence Shankland penalty and a second at the death for Moffat sealed the three points for the visitors.

Goodwin told Advertiser Sport: "We are disappointed with the result. It won't be a surprise to anyone when they see the scoreline, but I think it flattered Ayr a little bit and made it look a bit more comfortable than it actually was.

"But, it's that old cliché that goals change games. I was looking forward to the second half and felt the draw at half time was fair.

"The penalty is a sore one because I feel we should deal with it better. It was a stonewall penalty, I can't argue with it.

"Then at 2-1 we are trying to get ourselves back into the game. We know Ayr are very dangerous on the counter attack and we worked on that in the week.

"It's fine margins, but the third goal is amateurish. Late on in the game, we should probably just play it out the park, but we play out way into trouble.

"It looks like a comfortable afternoon for Ayr United, but I don't think there was a lot between the two teams."

Alloa's miserable day was compounded by wins for relegation rivals Partick Thistle and Falkirk, who dragged the Wasps closer to the drop zone.

Two points now separate the teams with Alloa welcoming the sides to the Indodrill in what could be a decisive double header in the hunt for Championship survival.

Goodwin continued: "Both teams have been busy in January and have strengthened. Between them, I think they've signed about 20 players.

"They've had the cheque books out and obviously both teams are desperate to stay in the league.

"We always knew that would be the case that they would strengthen when the window opened.

"Our last two games have been against Ayr and Ross County and we are never expected to beat those teams.

"We've now got three massive games coming up."

Goodwin was forced to play a makeshift back four on Saturday after Sam Roscoe dropped out with an injury during the week.

Liam Dick moved to centre back and Jon Robertson played at left back with Alloa not bringing in any defensive cover during the window.

Despite the defensive lapses at the back that led to Ayr's second and third goal, Goodwin insisted he thought the backline had done well overall.

He added: "I thought defensively we were fine. Dick was excellent at centre half beside Andy Graham.

"Robertson never lets us down and was solid."