Alloa Athletic — Stranraer: 2:1, Challenge Cup

Alloa Athletic beat Stranraer 2-1 in the Challenge Cup Group Stage - 1 on Monday evening. The hosts took all three points at home after a match decided by three second-half goals. L. Donnelly opened the scoring, O. Foster levelled, and R. Foster put through the victory with a late strike.

Donnelly found the net in the 58th minute to give Alloa the lead. Stranraer responded quickly with O. Foster's equaliser just five minutes later. By then the momentum had shifted, and Alloa needed to respond. R. Foster delivered that response in the 83rd minute, and the visitors found no answer from that point on.

Alloa registered 54 attacks compared to Stranraer's 46, and the statistics tell a similar story. Both sides had four shots on target, but Alloa were more clinical with just one off target against five for the visitors. Possession sat at 50-50, and Alloa earned five corners to Stranraer's seven. Two yellow cards were shown to the hosts while the visitors remained clean.

Alloa came into this fixture after a mixed run, including a 2-2 draw with Stranraer in their previous meeting. Stranraer had lost their last two matches before this result, conceding four goals without reply. The victory gives Alloa a positive start to the group stage after those earlier setbacks.

The win moves Alloa ahead in the standings while Stranraer will need to regroup. Three points from a group opener matters more than the quarter-by-quarter details. The goal difference now sits at +1 for Alloa and -1 for Stranraer after this single match.