Cowdenbeath 0, Alloa Athletic 3 .

SPFL Championship Attendance-549.

A DREADFUL home performance by the Blues in a game they needed to win.

At Central Park on Saturday they never got going, although the cause was not helped by a substitution which saw a player who was not on the team sheet sent on.

Although Craig Johnston was subbed after only ten minutes the situation took the sting out of the home side and once Alloa grabbed the lead shortly before the break there was no way back for the Blue Brazil.

The Times understands that a clerical mix-up had led to Johnston, who had only passed a fitness test shortly before kick-off, being included but it had not been appended to the team lines handed to referee George Salmond.

Manager Jimmy Nicholl went back to his 3-5-2 formation but it was hard to take how it worked from the game.

The Blues lost their way completely after the substitution incident and completely played second fiddle to a Wasps team who clearly were surprised by the way things went.

Sean Higgins tried hard up front to turn the tide for his team but even he ran out of ideas eventually.

It was an all round bad day for Cowdenbeath who will have to greatly improve if they are to pull clear of danger, even thus early in the campaign.

Alloa forced a corner in the third minute and from Ryan McCord’s corner Ben Gordon headed over from 12 yards.

Cowden had to make a change in six minutes when Craig Sutherland limped off to be replaced by fit again Craig Johnston but when it was realised that the teenager was not on the team sheet Dan Jurisic replaced him.

Ben Gordon headed just wide for the Wasps as they made a good start but on the half hour Jurisic fed Milne and his pass gave Dean Brett a clear shot and his effort went inches wide.

Alloa grabbed the lead seven minutes from the beak when Kevin CAWLEY’s 30 yarder flew into the bottom corner of the net, the ball taking a big deflection off Darren Brownlie.

They stretched their lead three minutes after the break. Mark Docherty’s cross flew across the face of the Cowdenbeath goalmouth and Greg SPENCE had the easiest of opportunities to head home from close in.

Then six minutes later they grabbed number three. Spence’s fierce shot was brilliantly blocked by Flynn but Liam BUCHANAN followed up to score on his old stamping ground. Home skipper Armstrong’s header came back off the Wasps’ bar and Cowden came close to a goal on the hour mark when Sean Higgins got an effort on target but Gordon cleared off the line.

Cowden kept battling but there was no way back after a poor overall show.

Cowdenbeath: Thomas Flynn (6); Dean Brett (7), Kenny Adamson (6); Darren Brownlie (6), John Armstrong (6), Nat Wedderburn (6); Jon Robertson (6), Thomas O’Brien (7), Craig Sutherland (2) (Johnston 6 (3) Dan Jurisic 16 (4)), Sean Higgins (6), Lewis Milne (6). Subs not used, Iain Campbell, Chris Kane, Kyle Miller, Robbie Thomson.

Alloa Athletic: Gibson (7); Gordon (7), Doyle (6); Docherty (7) Meggart (7), Simmons (6); Cawley (7), Holmes (6), Spence (8) (Ferns 63 (3), Buchanan (7), McCord (7). Subs not used, Flannigan, Hetherington, Asghar, Tiffoney, and McDowall.

Referee-George Salmond (6).