CONOR SAMMON’S late winner fired Alloa into third place as they beat Annan Athletic 2-1 at the Indodrill.

Bobby Wales opened the scoring in a pretty comfortable first half for the Wasps, with Annan coming out the break much sharper.

Aidan Smith equalised for Annan, carrying on his form against Alloa, with the number 9 scoring in all three fixtures between the two sides.

The points were looking to be shared between the sides, until super substitute Conor Sammon poked in the winner, after great work from Steven Buchanan to set it up.

Gaffer Andy Graham was delighted as his team fought to the very end to earn three points, albeit not a vintage Alloa showing.

“It wasn’t a great performance,” Graham said. “We started brightly, in the first half I thought we were okay, we were good, we went in 1-0.

“The second half we were poor from about 55 minutes onwards, it wasn’t a great performance from us but they’ve got a lot about them.

“It’s a poor goal to lose from our point of view but I take responsibility for that, that’s me to deal with that from set plays.

“It’s a great finish but to then not feel sorry for yourself, go up the park, score and win the game, you’ve got to credit to the boys character and that’s testament to that group in there.

“It’s not just the starting XI, it’s the guys that are coming on that are impacting it – Steven Buchanan who’s crossed it, it’s a great effort from Kurtis, it’s a great save from their goalkeeper but there’s Sammo to tap it in.

“The boys are all delighted for Steven and Sammo, it’s that togetherness that we’ll see through games like tonight when we’re not playing at our best.

“We got three points and that’s the really important thing.”

Conor Sammon was back to doing what he does best, scoring all important match winning goals for Alloa.

His goal against Annan is his seventh of the campaign, and his third match winning goal of the season, following on from Cove and Dunbar.

The veteran striker continues to be a hugely reliable option when called upon, something Graham puts down to his character.

“That’s testament to his character and his professionalism,” Graham continued. “He’s the first one to be celebrating when we score a goal and he’s on the bench.

“Likewise, the boys that get taken off, when Sammo goes and scores the winner, you see them all, they’re all in this together.

“That’s really important at this stage of the season that we’ve got a dressing room that are like that and you see that in their reaction.

“I’m delighted for Sammo because he deserves it for the way, not just him, they all look after themselves and take their opportunity when it comes.”

Alloa’s attention now turn to Cove Rangers this Saturday, who visit the Indodrill after slipping to fourth place in the league.

The Wasps’ victory over Annan tonight lifts them into third place, with Saturday’s crunch match against Cove deciding who remains there.

While Alloa have a good record against Cove this season, winning two from two, it will undoubtedly be a tough test against the full time team.

Graham added: “The positive thing for me is – we didn’t play well Saturday, we won, we didn’t play well tonight, we won.

“That’s really important at this stage of the season when you’re trying to fight for those playoff positions and there’s plenty of teams making a bid for it.

“We’re one of them and we’re hoping to be right in about it come the end of the season.

“Cove are a really good side and it was a really tight game when we played them up there, scored in the last minute.

“It’s down to us to improve on tonight’s performance first and foremost and work on a game plan to hopefully get us another three points.”

Alloa host Cove Rangers at the Indodrill this Saturday at 3pm.

ALLOA XI: Morrison, Taggart, McKay, Neill, O'Donnell, Roberts, Virtanen, Scougall (Donnelly), Steven (Buchanan), Sutherland (Roy), Wales (Sammon).