THE 2-2 draw with Alloa was a real disappointment for the Blues in their battle to stay in the SPFL Championship but Cowdenbeath head for Dumbarton bouyed by having top scorer Kane Hemmings fit again.

The result kept the Wasps five points ahead of Cowden but closed the gap on Raith Rovers to three.

Manager Jimmy Nicholl admitted it was a big chance lost but he was pleased with the way his men battled right to the end on Saturday and with nine games left he made it clear that they have to get three point hauls on the board in the coming weeks starting at Dumbarton on Saturday.

“To not win the game was a really big disappointment for, especially in the second-half, we had total control and while their ‘keeper had some great saves we should have converted more than two of the chances we carved out,” he said, “And what was also key was the loss of two goals, both should have been stopped.

“At the first one the scorer (Graeme Holmes) was given too much time to get a shot in and the second one again saw the lad (Ryan McCord) get his finish away with us having people in the vicinity.

“But despite that we levelled the game twice and kept on taking the game to Alloa in the closing minutes and really we should have got the winner in the closing seconds when Kyle Miller had a chance from very close in.

“That battling sort of performance is just what we will need in the closing quarter of the season.

“If we keep creating chances, and we had a lot against Alloa, we can get the points we need.” He feels that Dumbarton is a winnable game at The Rock this weekend but knows that Cowden cannot afford to give away cheap goals.

“Greg Stewart was excellent against Alloa and hopefully he will have his strike partner Kane Hemmings back beside him this Saturday,” added Mr Nicholl.

Stewart agreed that he is looking forward to having Hemmings alongside him this weekend, “I enjoyed scoring twice against Alloa and maybe should have had another and having Kane back in the team next week will help us.

“We gave away two sloppy goals which twice gave Alloa the lead but on the credit side we fought back well and we should have got the winner late on. We know what is needed and we can get the results we need if we keep making chances like those against Alloa.” Stewart and Hemmings have 30 goals between them in all games and clearly can worry any defence in the Championship.

Sammy Stewart made his debut in midfield against Alloa and won a lot of good tackles and Jon Robertson will also be available for the Sons game after his suspension against the Wasps.

So Mr Nicholl will have a full squad to pick from as the season goes into the last quarter and it could be that he will go for a central midfield of James Fowler, Sammy Stewart and Robertson against Sons and Hemmings and Stewart in attack.

Meanwhile Mr Mr Nicholl heads for Dumbarton as the Championship's Manager of the Month for February with two wins and a draw from the three games.