Pathetic performance from Alloa today. No desire, no quality, no fight, no heart, nothing.

It was a thoroughly deserved defeat today, although the ref's decision to award the second penalty seemed a strange one to me as Buist's tackle looked fair from where I was. Judging by the EF players & fans' reactions I don't think they expected a penalty either. Ironically just 30 seconds before that we had a really good shout for one at the other end.

That is no excuse though, we were utterly clueless throughout and Willie McCulloch didn't have a single save to make all game. I didn't think EF were that great either (their third goal I think was the first actual chance created in the game), but at least they worked for each other as a team, something Alloa seemed incapable of. Too many players just going through the motions I'm afraid, very worrying.

Nevertheless, they're definitely going to win the league on the basis of a reasonable result against Raith and no doubt a "blistering" victory against an Alloa side you admit poor today.

The Gr£tnaesque bandwagon has already started!

Aye, totally fucking clueless!

Devoid of any ideas at all.

We’re playing against the stekkiest defenders in the history of the world, yet all we did was launch high ball after high ball right up the middle. I don’t think we won a header all day.
Jellema must be thick if he couldn’t see that he had to vary his ‘I’ll just shut my eyes and skelp it’ routine. That could also be said for, amongst others, Ian Campbell.

McCulloch kicked well and, first half, put it consistently out to Shields, who beat Campbell every time. Yet still we wouldn’t/couldn’t do anything about it. Right in front of the dug-out too!!

Anytime we got Steven ‘Exxon Valdez’ Tweed and Jonathon ‘Amico Cadiz’ Smart turned, we had a wee chance.

As for the goals – the first penalty, aye. The second – if someone could enlighten me how Shields got off with his lunge, I’d appreciate it. The third – Shields did excellently to get past Hill and put a decent ball in for McManus’ hat-trick.

Bomber, McKeown and McClune, I thought were the best least worst for us. No blame at all to Andy Ferguson, he didn’t stand much of a chance today.

For me, best for East Fife were Shields and Fotheringham.

In saying that, two not very good teams out there today, although with one a lot better than the other and fully deserving of the points.

Now I like Maitland, and it’ll take things to get even worse before I’d question whether he was worth keeping. Personally I think he is, but he’s going to have to kick some arses.

I’ll finish as I started – totally fucking clueless!

anyone no what the second penalty was given for? never saw it and no one where we were seemed to know either

Second penalty was for handball, although it was a bit soft.

I don't think it was soft at all. He more or less scooped the ball and threw it out the box whilst getting back up. Maybe he thought the whistle had blown or something but it was definitely handball.

Away 3-0 win so rare for you lot you need two threads for it?
Muppets.

Both started by Alloa fans......idiot.

Idiot? a Raith fan? surely not

You obviously were a bit blinkered with those massive, huge, humungus sunglasses you had on.

Not the largest pair I own either.

Anyway, they were on for medical needs. The brightness hurty my eyes. This is because I have a horrid sinus infection and it's bloody sore but, like the trooper that I am I made it to the football. Aren't ya just proud of me?

= Massive hangover glasses.

That's what they are normally used for but it turns out that they are very versatile! Gotta love big shades!

Two big decisions went against us, Willie McCulloch handballing outside of the box in the first half and the definite handball inside the box just before East Fife got their second penalty. That aside we didn't deserve anything from the game, we couldn't even force a save from Willie McCulloch.

We don't look like a team who know what they're doing at the moment, Jinky was constantly coming off the right wing in the first half but nobody was moving right to cover for him and all too often we seemed to have Kyle MacAuley, Jinky and Jamie all occupying the same space. Obviously you can't keep to a rigid set-up but players have to know what they're doing and cover for one another. We have tried a few times to play Jamie as a second striker, or just off the lone front man and it isn't working. We need to have him in midfield where he can influence the game and if that means the other central midfielder playing more conservatively than is their natural game then it's a role they will just have to perform.

Also, the decision to drop Dougie Hill seemed very strange as he has been our best, albeith that's not saying much, defender this season. I like Chris Townsley but for me hasn't reached his own high standards this year.

I really wonder how much Allan Maitland thought about the balance of his team when he was making signings in the close season. He brought in Scullion to give the defence a bit more cover, which was clearly needed, but unfortunately Scullion, thus far, just hasn't been good enough. Then we've got nobody who can play on the left wing but three central midfielders, Jamie Stevenson, Brown Ferguson and John Grant, who like to attack and at the moment all seem to be fighting for one spot where they can naturally play with the other being shoehorned into positions where they're not so comfortable.

Then there's the most glaring problem of all (and the one I've complained about after just about every game this season), that we do not have any pace at all up front. If we don't have a runner who can stretch defences, and get in behind the slower defenders in this league, then we will struggle to score goals.

What is the solution? With the surfeit of central midfielders that we've got I might be tempted to go 3-5-2 and play Steven McKeown, Brown Ferguson and Jamie Stevenson all in the middle of the park but the problem with that would be that we would struggle to fit Jinky into the team as I reckon he would struggle to play as a wing back. If we play 4-4-2 the we have go to solve the problem of not having a left winger as Kyle MacAuley is not the answer out there (I'd been advocating playing him out there but it clearly isn't working) and I think Kyle is currently our best choice of partner for Andy Ferguson.

Whatever happens Allan Maitland has to start to turn this around in the next couple of games or he will seriously have to look at whether he is the right man to take us forward.

Was it Dene Sheilds involved in both of them?

As said, the game turned on the 2nd penalty- blatant handball in the East Fife penalty area, stonewaller, then East Fife race up the park and get one. Couldnt comment on East Fifes penalty, too far away, but Alloas was an absolute stick on, how the linesman missed it is anyones guess.

A penalty was realistically the only way Alloa were going to get a goal, we could have played all day and not got one in open play. Steven Tweed is getting a bit of stick in this thread, but I would take him in Alloas defence right now- big strong and best of all experienced.