IT WILL never be lost on those of us who love this crazy game how quickly the mood can change during the course of 90 long minutes.

If ever Alloa’s loyal contingent of fans who had made the short trip to East End Park needed reminding, this whirlwind of emotions was a timely intervention.

For 45 minutes, the Wasps produced arguably their most inept performance of the season as Dunfermline swept them aside with the sort of ease reminiscent of matches against the last part time team in this league.

At 2-0 down defeat seemed a certainty. But, this is a side who have shown so much character all season and Alan Trouten’s double, sealed with a stoppage time equaliser, was nothing more than they deserved in the end.

Seven days after boss Jim Goodwin decreed his Alloa’s seriousness in the Championship, his side picked the worst possible way to repay him by delivering a wretched first half.

In a week in which their relegation rivals had dipped into the market and splashed what little cash they could find, this seemed to be the worst possible time for Alloa to offer any undue hope that they are there for the taking in this relegation dogfight.

Dunfermline’s midfield triumvirate dominated the half with Iain Flannigan and Steven Hetherington given the runaround; the lack of bodies in the middle of the park hardly helped the pair.

Flannigan notched the hosts’ second with an unfortunate own goal to follow the unmarked Aidan Keena’s long range opener as Alloa seemed to be suffering from an extended Hogmanay hangover.

Time and time again the hosts poured forward and exploited the lack of numbers in the Alloa midfield as they threatened to put the game to bed by the break.

Not that Neil Parry was every truly tested – the two goals aside. Myles Hippolyte flashed one over, but that was really it in terms of clear cut chances.

The only saving grace of the opening period was that it somehow was only two at the break thanks to some rugged defending from Andy Graham and Sam Roscoe.

Trouten – who was one of many players who were anonymous in the first half – bundled one home in the 50th minute from Dario Zanatta’s ball across the goal to give the Wasps a, frankly, undeserved glimmer of hope.

So often have they fought back this season when they had no right to and, unbelievably, they did so again with a vastly improved second half showing.

A change of formation, with Trouten dropping deeper to help out Hetherington and Flannigan, and belief brought on by securing points from losing positions in three out of their last four games before Saturday seemed to reignite the Alloa charge.

Jordan Kirkpatrick, making his third debut for the club, went close with a long range effort. As did Roscoe with a header cleared off the line.

But Trouten has made a career out of game deciding goals and he would have the final say with a stunning finish in the dying moments after he showed fantastic poise to turn his man and force his way into the box.

In truth, it was a fully deserved point as the Wasps transformed the mood from hopelessness to jubilation in the blink of 45 minutes.

ALLOA: Parry; Taggart, Dick, Roscoe, Graham; Hetherington, Flannigan, Shields, Kirkpatrick; Trouten, Zanatta. SUBS: Cawley, Robertson, Spence, Burt, Brown, Aloulou, Henry.