ALLOA ATHLETIC WOMEN kicked off their 2024 in the league with spectacular fashion, dispatching Dumbarton United in a nine-goal thriller.

Four goals from Rhiannon McMinimee, a powerful strike from Abbie Trotter and an absolute stunner from Devyn Thompson saw the Wasps trounce the visitors 6-3 at the Indodrill.

This was the women’s team’s first competitive match in the league of the new year and coach Allan Milne’s first league match since taking over at the club.

Speaking to Advertiser Sport after the match, the gaffer was delighted with the result, but cited there was still room to improve.

“It was a game we were very much in control of,” Milne said. “We set out a game plan for the girls and asked them questions about what they would do if situations arose and they answered it.

“When these situations arose, they manage to deal with them very well which was really good for us.

“In terms of our play, some of the football we played was phenomenal. They’re starting to see what we’re trying to build and what we’re trying to do with them.

“You can see the buzz in them seeing it all coming together, which was really good to watch.”

Alloa got off on a strong foot, with McMinimee scoring her first inside seven minutes, taking the keeper on one-on-one and beating her.

Just five minutes later, McMinimee teed Trotter up nicely, whose powerful strike finds the back of the net to give Alloa a two goal advantage.

Dumbarton pulled one back later on, but Devyn Thompson restore the Wasps’ lead with her goal, which Milne described as “an absolute screamer from outside the box”.

McMinimee came out the break hungry for more, earning her second hat trick for the club and also adding another to top things off, which saw the scoreline end 6-3 in favour of the Wasps.

“All of the players were very good,” Milne added. “There’s still room for improvement in terms of the goals we let in.

“Dumbarton were quick and they managed to get in behind us a few times. There’s still improvements to be made, but once we do that, we lose the goals that we concede and we just score more.

“We’ve had a few new players in who played on Sunday and we’re aiming to get a few more signed this week on loan.

“The squad is growing now and we’re bringing in players and we’re bringing in quality.”