Hamilton saves the day after Sturrock resigned to cup shock

Alloa athletic 2-2 Dundee United

PERHAPS it was just as well that Paul Sturrock made a decision about his future before Saturday's Scottish Cup tie with Alloa, rather than after it as he had first threatened to do. Otherwise who knows what he would have opted for after seeing his team out-played by the Second Division side for half the game and yet create enough chances to win the tie comfortably rather than face a replay on Tuesday.

This season's cup continues to be a source of discomfort for the top teams and Alloa have more than played their part in the process.Terry Christie's men had the right to feel aggrieved at the lack of recognition for their exploits in the previous round, which were overshadowed by Inverness Caley Thistle's triumph at Celtic Park, but there's an argument that the Clackmannanshire side's achievement was at least as great, given that Bobby Williamson's men had two chances, first at Rugby Park and then at Recreation Park, to overturn their lowly opponents.

Then again, perhaps it's just that we've all become inured to cup heroics from teams managed by Christie, and for 45 minutes on Saturday another upset looked on the cards. Alloa played with commitment and intelligence, looking to find the wings when they could, but more importantly keeping the ball as long as possible.

Helped by a United side, sleepwalking through the opening exchanges - "inept" and "unacceptable" were Sturrock's description - the Wasps quickly seized the initiative with a goal after just six minutes. A free kick 30 yards out gave David Beaton the opportunity to step up and curl an exquisite strike beyond the reach of Alan Combe in the United goal. Celebrating the goal, Beaton's face bore a mixture of delight and disbelief. But his strike fired the home side's self confidence and imagination.

"The lads played as well as I've seen a part-time team play," suggested the man in the duffel coat, and it was no great surprise when the bustling Martin Cameron made it two for Alloa in the 35th minute, running on to a neat hooked ball from Ian Little and firing home.

The second goal finally seemed to wake United up from their slumbers and they carved out a couple of chances before the break, most notably when Jan Telesnikov found himself free in the box with the ball at his feet, only to shoot into the ground rather than into the goal.

The Tannadice men gave themselves a chance in the game when they scored 10 minutes into the second half. Iain Jenkins found Steven Thompson in front of the box and his neat flick took out the Alloa back line, leaving Jim Hamilton free on goal to score his first for the club.

Having largely cruised through the first half, Alloa suddenly looked tired and started ceding ground to the Premier League side, who began to play their way into the game when they could be bothered to interrupt their inter-personal arguments.

Whereas in the first half Alloa had realised that the best form of defence was attack, as the lactic acid began to fill their muscles, that increasingly became an unrealistic option and they were more and more defending on their 18-yard line.

Hamilton almost headed an equaliser in the 70th minute, but Alloa defender Mark Wilson headed the ball up against the under side of the bar from where it bounced improbably clear.

Alloa's impressive goalkeeper, Mark Cairns, was injured in that attack and had to be replaced in goal by substitute, Gary Clark. His first action was to lift the ball out of his net, after Hamilton headed home a corner in the 81st minute.

That wasn't quite the end of the drama, as moments later United's Darren Patterson rightly received his marching orders after a blatant block on an advancing Willie Irvine. Patterson's initial yellow card for a two-footed foul might have been enough for some refs to see red.

United couldn't complete the turnaround with a winning goal but Alloa now have a goalkeeping problem for Tuesday's replay. Cairns is definitely out and the only alternative is an 18-year-old who has never played senior football. It's a worry for Terry Christie, but at least they can look forward to the financial reward of a replay, which is the very least they deserved and, after their first-half display, the most United could have hoped for.

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