AFTER relegation was confirmed the previous week, Alloa travelled to Cappielow Park to face a Morton side who were still fighting to retain their place in the Scottish Championship.

A little more than six months after the Wasps opened their league campaign in the same stadium, their penultimate game of the season ended in a 1-1 draw, a result that could have meant a lot more had the results of the past month been different.

For outgoing manager Peter Grant, he still believes an injustice was served on that opening day when Lee Connelly was seemingly fouled in the box in the opening minutes. No penalty was awarded and Morton would win that game 1-0.

He spoke of winning the first game of the season being a kickstart to the season, however it wasn't to be and Alloa were made to wait almost two months for their first league win.

So onto now, Alloa’s fate sealed and Morton’s undecided. Lucas Williamson replaced Liam Dick and Nicky Jamieson made a rare start at the back alongside Andy Graham and Scott Taggart. Williamson was almost caught out immediately when he was caught under the ball but Kalvin Orsi couldn’t get the ball from under his feet.

Minutes later it was Markus Fjortoft who misjudged the ball and allowed Innes Cameron to race towards goal. Unfortunately for the Killie loanee he sliced his shot and sent it well wide.

It became clear that Morton’s game plan was to get the ball over to Williamson’s side and allow Aidan Nesbitt to try his luck against the 18-year-old. A great piece of skill by Nesbitt left Williamson for dead and he was able to whip in a cross.

The next time the ball came over to Nesbitt, Taggart shuffled across and dealt with the danger.

Chances would fall to either side in the opening 45 minutes but nobody was clinical enough to make them count. Alloa passed the ball well and Taggart made some great diagonal switches to Jon Robertson as he pushed up the right wing.

Stevie Hetherington’s pass found Williamson but the youngster lifted the ball into the box. Alan Trouten was free for the cut back but he never spotted his run.

After a dull first half, Alloa took matters into their own hands at the start of the second and it wasn’t long before they had taken the lead. Hetherington’s deep corner went over everyone in the box but Innes Cameron and he jumped highest to get his head on the ball and power it past Aidan McAdams.

As has been the case on so many occasions with Alloa this season, it’s the hope that kills you. Within minutes Morton had equalised. Nesbitt’s corner somehow fell into the path of Fjortoft and his volley was too much for Neil Parry.

Just after the hour mark Liam Buchanan was introduced with Trouten complaining of a hamstring injury. Buchanan, who came off the bench to score the winner in Alloa’s last league win against Queen of the South, almost made another spectacular introduction. Kevin Cawley’s lay-off was met well by Buchanan but his shot was always rising over the bar.

Nesbitt was still causing problems for Alloa’s defence and a smart piece of skill deserved better, however after cutting inside past two players his shot was well off target.

With the game fizzling out, another seemingly blatant penalty for Alloa was denied. Buchanan found himself in the box and appeared to be clipped. However, the striker stayed on his feet and the move came to nothing. Had Buchanan gone down, a penalty would surely have been given. The striker would seem to have been punished for not going to ground.

In the end, Alloa can look at this as a point gained and another defeat avoided, however finding more positives than that may prove difficult after the events of the previous match.

Another 90 minutes for Williamson will undoubtedly go down as a positive, and the tough afternoon he endured at the hands of Nesbitt should prove to be another lesson learned on dealing with tricky wingers.

Grinding out a point away to the side above you in the league could and should be considered a decent achievement, however the damage was done a long time ago.

The Wasps are without a win in their last six matches, picking up two points from a possible 18. This shortened season is in danger of going out with a whimper.

They can look ahead to the last game of the season against Dunfermline on Friday and hope to end what is unquestionably been a disappointing season on a high.

ALLOA: Parry, Robertson (Brown), Jamieson, Taggart, Graham, Williamson, Grant, Hetherington, Cawley, Trouten (Buchanan), Cameron. UNUSED SUBS: Willison, Murray, Scougall, Thomson, Connelly