Lack of composure brings little to cheer about

ALLOA ATHLETIC 0-0 Ross County If only composure in front of goal had matched the chances created, then there might have been something to cheer at Recreation Park yesterday. As it was, even with the ball placed on the spot 12 yards from goal, nobody was cool enough to score.

A goalless draw, fair but hardly faltering for either side. They both strived hard enough, but conscientious as they were, there simply was not enough class on display to truly entertain the hardy 600 or so souls who turned up to watch First Division football at its most frustrating.

Given the standard of finishing, it was intriguing to see the home side faced by opponents liberally sprinkled with players for whom a Saturday afternoon in this part of Clackmannanshire would once have been considered an unlikely scenario.

Advancing years and diminishing returns may force some to drop down the divisions, but Brian Irvine still looks composed enough to operate at a higher level.

The veteran was joined in County's defence by Mark Perry, who made the move from Aberdeen to Dingwall last week. Perry was one of three new faces in the line-up, with Owen Coyle signed on a month's loan from Dunfermline, and Mark McCormick arriving for #30,000 from Livingston.

The visitors certainly produced the more cohesive football in a first half which began in the sort of murky half-light that signals that winter has really arrived. Yet it was Alloa who enjoyed the clearer chances, only to spurn them with a slackness in front of goal which infuriated manager Terry Christie.

The initiative was there to be seized as early as the sixth minute, as Iain Little and Grant Johnston combined with a neat one- two which set Little in on goal. In a cameo of what was to follow, the compact player blasted his effort high over Nicky Walker's goal.

There was more composure about County's play and the newcomers to Neale Cooper's side played pivotal roles, McCormick clever with his distribution, Coyle an experienced foil for Derek Holmes, and Perry carrying the ball out of defence with confidence.

Still they, like their opponents, lacked composure when it really mattered, with John McQuade and Steven Ferguson both blasting good shooting opportunities recklessly high or wide.

Given the uncertainty in front of goal, it was always likely that assistance would be required to break the deadlock and that came in the 26th minute, as the referee signalled for a penalty for Alloa.

Nicky Walker was adjudged to have pushed Colin Nish as the striker and goalkeeper jumped for an inswinging corner. If the decision was suspect, so was the spot kick attempt, which Little blasted off the bar.

He tried to make amends in the dying seconds of the half, setting a clever pass into the run of Ross Hamilton. Hamilton, in keeping with the dismal standards already set, lashed it well wide.

Who knows what the scout from Charlton Athlete made of it all, from his perch up in the main stand. The man from The Valley had travelled north to watch Nish, the lanky striker that Alloa have taken on loan from Dunfermline.

Besides his dubious involvement in the penalty incident, Nish had contributed little. Too often and too easily dispossessed, he lacked the physical presence to unsettle County's experienced defence.

Still credit him with persisting, even if his efforts earned him a booking early in the second half. The referee decided Nish had dived under pressure from Irvine as he galloped into the box. It seemed an odd decision, for the young man had nothing to gain from plunging to the turf given he had only the goalkeeper to beat.

Nish did manage to roll the ball into the goal 57 minutes into the tie, after Little had created the chance with a penetrating run and precise pass, but a flag curtailed celebrations as Nish was ruled offside.

Any hope this tie was to end in anything other than a goalless draw effectively evaporated 12 minutes from the end. Willie Irvine, on as a substitute, created the space on Alloa's right to blast in a low cross-come-shot. The ball hit fellow substitute John Fraser and the unintentional contact saw it cannon on to the post, with Walker stranded yards from the action.

For further proof of the fruitlessness of the efforts in either penalty box there was the final frantic exchanges in County's box. A corner, a typically powerful leap by Brian Irvine, a strong header goalwards. And there was Nish, to clear off the line with his knee.

Who knows. Perhaps the man from Charlton did go home happy. Certainly there was little to entertain anyone else at Recreation Park yesterday.

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