Inverness Caley Thistle .. 4 Alloa Athletic .. 4

(After Extra Time: 90min: 3-3,

Alloa won 5-4 on Penalties)

GOALS and plenty of them. That is what supporters want and that is what over 4000 of them were given in the Bell's Challenge Cup final which Alloa, who were ahead four times during the match, won in a penalty shoot out.

This was also a final with a cruel sense of irony as Inverness Caley's Paul Sheerin, who scored three times - twice from the penalty spot - during playing time, could not beat goalkeeper Mark Cairns in the shoot-out.

Also, just for good measure, there was a touch of deja vu for Alloa manager Terry Christie, whose team had not won a trophy for 121 years. He was in charge of Stenhousemuir three years ago when they beat Dundee United in the final of this tournament, again after a penalty decider.

A division separates the two sides, but league status was immediately disregarded by Alloa who almost went ahead through a Dave Beaton header in six minutes.

However, Alloa continued to pressurise the Caley defence and in 19 minutes their efforts were rewarded when Gary Clark drilled the ball past Les Fridge from just inside the box.

Suddenly the Clackmananshire support were in full voice while their northern counterparts were murmuring their discontent, but it was early yet.

Even so, it was becoming quite obvious that the Caley defence were not too happy either as they were having difficulty dealing with the Alloa forward line.

However, they replied in emphatic fashion in 28 minutes when Barry Wilson chipped Alloa keeper Cairns from the edge of the box and the ball crept in under the bar.

The goal would have been drooled over in the Premier League, but the Caley fans had woken up now and they savoured it. In fact, a minute earlier, Davide Xausa might have beaten Wilson to the equaliser, but Cairns had the measure of his low shot.

However, neither the Inverness back four nor their goalkeeper could do nothing to stop Mark Wilson scoring in 33 minutes. He left a couple of defenders tackling his shadow before shooting low into the bottom left hand corner to restore Alloa's lead.

Three goals in just over half an hour, with the underdogs scoring two, it appeared the final of the tournament was living up to its reputation as a burial place for favourites.

Only a minute after the break it was 2-2, however. Caley were awarded a penalty after Derek Clark brought down Wilson inside the box and Sheerin made no mistake from from the spot.

However, before the Caley supporters could stop applauding, Alloa went 3-2 up when Martin Cameron got his name on the scoresheet, shooting beyond Fridge from the edge of the box. However, nine minutes later it was all square again, and once more Sheerin scored from the spot after Beaton handled inside the box.

Three minutes into extra time, man of the match Cameron came close to giving Alloa the lead for a fourth time with a shot which was blocked by Fridge. Never the less, after 103 minutes Cameron did score his second, and Alloa's fourth, when he picked up a pass from Max Christie then rounded Fridge before shooting into an empty net.

However, after 112 minutes Caley were level yet again when Sheerin completed his hat trick, shooting into the right hand corner from 15 yards out to make it 4-4.

The goal spree had to end and it did, at least until the penalty shoot-out, when the destination of the Cup was confirmed. Alloa triumphed 5-4 thanks largely to Cairns, who saved two and scored one.