'He couldn't wait to give it' - Falkirk boss John McGlynn slams penalty call against Alloa Athletic

That 1-1 draw now leaves the Bairns four points behind leaders Dunfermline, with the Pars also having a match in hand over their title rivals.

After a tightly-contested opening 85 minutes, it looked like McGlynn’s men were going to snatch another late victory when substitute Gary Oliver fired home from a set-piece – but the Wasps had a late sting in their tail.

In the fifth minute of injury-time, Brad McKay was penalised for handball in the box and Alloa’s Scott Taggart slotted home to ensure the home side shared the spoils.

“We have to take it on the chin and move on," McGlynn told the Falkirk Herald. “Against Kelty Hearts at the weekend we won the match late on and we decided to give an opportunity to the lads that came on in that game a real chance from the off.

“I am not suggesting it was down to that tonight in terms of our poor performance. We didn’t pass the ball in midfield well enough and we didn’t pass the ball at the back well enough. The ball was turned over too cheaply and we didn’t control the game.

“Overall, did we really deserve to win the game? Probably not in all honesty. But we managed to get ourselves 1-0 up late on and it is really frustrating to lose a penalty in the last minute.

“We had the win in the bag. Being honest and assessing the whole 90 minutes – I don’t think Alloa deserved to lose the game.”

The boss did however question the award of the home side’s penalty by match referee Calum Scott - who was also the whistler in charge of the Scottish Cup match between the teams last month, which saw him not give a spot kick to the Bairns for what looked to be a blatant foul on Blaine Rowe in the box.

"He couldn’t wait to give it,” McGlynn said. “I don’t know what it is that the referees have against us, because he isn’t the only one. We just don’t seem to get a break with them at all.”

Falkirk now have a break from league action, facing Darvel in the Scottish Cup on Monday night.