Allan Moore’s first competitive game in charge of Arbroath ended in disappointment and frustration as the Red Lichties lost heavily to Barry Smith’s impressive Alloa.
A stunning early strike from Stephen Simmons and a second-half hat-trick from Greig Spence earned the Wasps a comfortable passage through to the next round of the Petrofac Training Cup.
Moore refused to use the excuse that his side couldn’t have expected much more from playing a team from two divisions higher up the Scottish league hierarchy.
He said: “That’s got nothing to do with it. It’s all about basic defending and we didn’t do it.
“As a team we have to defend better.
“What annoys me is that we are losing simple goals. Players are giving the ball away when they are under no pressure, and that’s something we need to change.”
Simmons fired the Wasps into a ninth-minute lead when he latched on to a poor clearance to send a spectacular 25-yard volley high into the top right corner of David Crawford’s net.
Daryll Meggatt came close with a couple of headers but the Lichties got to the interval without further damage.
However, nine minutes after the restart Liam Buchanan evaded a tackle on the far right and sent a low cross into the box, which Spence prodded home from close range.
The Alloa striker was on the mark again in the 70th minute when he outpaced the home defence before shooting low beyond the reach of Crawford.
And the Wasps’ hitman completed his hat-trick seven minutes from the end when he nodded home from six yards after Mark Docherty had done well to flight a cross from the left-hand side.
There was one bright spot for the Lichties when Simon Murray grabbed a late consolation with a low shot which went in off the foot of Alloa defender Jonathan Tiffoney.