IT IS all square going into the second leg of the playoff semi final after Alloa played out a 2-2 draw at the Indodrill.

The Wasps hosted Hamilton in the first leg of the tie, with both aiming to get on the front foot before heading to New Douglas Park.

Andy Graham previously said the dead rubbers against Accies and Falkirk had left him with a lot of food for thought in terms of his starting XI and there were several positions in the lineup up for grabs.

PJ Morrison returned to between the sticks, with a back four of Scott Taggart, David McKay, Morgyn Neill and Ethan Sutherland in front of him.

A double pivot of Miko Virtanen and Kurtis Roberts lined up alongside eachother and Stefan Scougall rounded off the midfield.

Taylor Steven and Quinn Coulson started on the wings, with Bobby Wales leading the line up top.

The opening phases of the game remained rather tentative for both sides, with neither side really testing the opposition.

Hamilton had a golden opportunity to go in front as Reghan Tumilty got on the end of a Jamie Barjonas corner but fired wide.

Taylor Steven was Alloa’s brightest spark in the first half for the Wasps, driving forward and sending a cross into the box for Stefan Scougall, who charges forward and smashes it but the effort is wide of the goal.

That would prove to be Alloa’s best chance of the half and Accies responded by getting the first goal of the tie as ex Wasp Euan Henderson headed past PJ Morrison.

Minutes later, Morrison produced an impressive save to deny a dangerous cross from Kevin O’Hara who looked to replicate his fluke goal from two weeks ago.

Graham said: “First half, I thought we looked a little nervous and not as composed as we normally are.

“The first half wasn’t awful, we just weren’t intense enough, we still worked hard and they never fail in that regard.”

Alloa came out the break firing though, taking under a minute to find an equaliser through Steven.

Scott Taggart has his initial cross blocked but it falls to the St Johnstone loanee who fires into the far corner to draw things level.

This was a deserved goal for the youngster through a stellar performance, looking the brightest spark for the Wasps in the first half.

Alloa wasted no time in grabbing another – Quinn Coulson sends a cross into the box which initially misses everybody but it’s picked up by Steven whose initial shot is blocked.

A scramble in the box sends the ball high and it’s headed off the crossbar by Bobby Wales before Kurtis Roberts bundled it over the line.

Graham continued: “The second half was much more like us, we were much more aggressive in the way we pressed and showed a lot more composure on the ball.

“We won a lot of second balls second half and it really caused them a bit of problems when we showed much more composure on the ball.

“Second half we were worthy of our lead but Hamilton are a good side and they’ve got good players that are impacting the game.

“We spoke at half time when we came in about making sure we’re going to Hamilton with the score either level or we’re winning and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

“All square going into Saturday but looking forward to it.”

A moment of concern occurred when Ethan Sutherland went down, requiring short attention from the physios before being replaced by Cammy O’Donnell at left back.

The on-loan St Mirren youngster looked okay coming off, however, with the manager hoping it’s nothing serious but will be something to assess over the coming days.

“It’s hard at the moment,” Graham said. “You need to wait 24 hours and will be assessed by the St Mirren physio as well.

“We’ll see where he’s at but our bench tonight was so strong so if he’s injured, it’s an opportunity for someone else who step up to the plate and produce and I’m sure they will.”

Alloa visit New Douglas Park on Saturday for the second leg of the playoff semi final.

ALLOA XI: Morrison, Taggart, McKay, Neill, Sutherland (O’Donnell, 72’) Virtanen (Hetherington, 72’), Roberts, Steven, Scougall, Coulson (Sammon, 76’), Wales.