EVERY game in league football is important. There isn’t a player at any level of the game who will tell you anything different.

But, sometimes a single 90 minutes matters just that little bit more to a club’s fortunes and that’s very much the case when Alloa welcome Arbroath to the Recs on Tuesday night. 

The Wasps are bottom of the Championship, four points adrift of Partick Thistle and seven to Greenock Morton, and face a stern task of creating Wee County history once again. 

No one inside the Recs is preparing to go down without a fight and proving the naysayers wrong has become something of a habit for those in black and gold. 

Finally ending their hoodoo against fellow part-timers Arbroath - Dick Campbell’s Red Lichties have bettered the Wasps in the league this season - would go someway to giving them a platform for safety. 

“We have got to win,” Robertson told Advertiser Sport. “We have had three very tight games against Arbroath this season, including in the cup at the start of the year.

“Every game has been separated by a goal and I could have even levelled it up in the last game.

“I expect it to be a close game again and they’ve got threats that we are well aware of and a big, lucrative squad, which they are using very well.

“I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them but I look forward to it because it’s a game that if we win we can drag them just a little bit closer to us.”

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: Arbroath boss Dick Campbell has praised the Wasps for their style of football Arbroath boss Dick Campbell has praised the Wasps for their style of football

If they do survive, Robertson knows full well they may come to look on their Scottish Cup exit to Inverness Caley Thistle as a blessing in disguise, despite the disappointment on Saturday.

The Wasps were narrowly edged out by John Robertson’s Highlanders in a closely-fought contest at the Recs as Alloa were punished for three slips at the back. 

Aaron Doran opened the scoring when he pounced on a stumble by Robertson, only for Kevin O’Hara to level with a flick from a corner. 

Alloa created enough openings to go ahead as Mark Ridgers single handedly kept the scoreline level, before Jordan White made it 2-1.

The Wasps refused to wilt and O’Hara scored his fourth goal in five games with another equaliser but it was ultimately in vain when Charlie Trafford nodded home from another corner to secure his side’s place in the fifth round.  

“They are a decent side but they are a massive and a huge team and they obviously scored two goals from corners,” Robertson said. 

“It’s hard to defend people who are big and good in the air. I’m not saying they can’t play as well and I am not trying to do them a disservice. 

“I am a bit frustrated at the first goal because I am going to head it and I slip. If I don’t, then I clear it and it’s a simple header.

Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser: Robertson says the Wasps struggled to deal with the physicality of Inverness' players, including striker Jordan White Robertson says the Wasps struggled to deal with the physicality of Inverness' players, including striker Jordan White

“We didn’t get the rub of the green in terms of stuff like that and they also used their stature well when it came to set pieces.”

The Wasps have earned plenty of plaudits this season for their lovely football - no more than from Campbell - but Robertson believes they have to find a way of turning performances into results before it’s too late. 

He said: “Everyone knows we can play, especially at home when we are pretty good and really comfortable on the ball.

“That only gets you so far. I like we are good on the ball and I like we try to pass the ball. That’s what the majority of players want to do, especially the original Jack Ross Seven, who are here.

“You have got to be ruthless and when you are down where we are it takes that little bit more to get results from games.”