Alloa RFC 1st XV………………………………….15

Harris Academy FP 1st XV………………………45

MUCH to the disappointment of the majority of the large crowd, the eagerly awaited top of the table clash saw Harris turn in an outstanding display at Earlsfield to inflict Alloa's first league defeat of the season. This setback now means that Alloa have to defeat Kinross and secure a bonus point to clinch the championship in their backyard on Saturday.

On a dry afternoon, ideal for running rugby, it was the Dundee club who opened the scoring within the first minute of play with a sweeping move after Alloa failed to secure the kick-off. The Harris side were clearly the sharper of the two teams in the early exchanges and they ran in a second try from a quick tap penalty and a third try quickly followed which put them 19-0 ahead after only 20 minutes.

There was a quick repost from Ali Edwards when the big prop forced his way over however Harris secured the bonus point on the half hour mark.

The home side did manage a period of sustained pressure in the run up to the interval and skipper Gary Taylor broke through for his side's second try just minutes before the break (HT 10-26).

Both sides swapped tries in the early action of the second period (Taylor again on the mark for Alloa) however it was catch up rugby from the home side and they never really got close enough to their Tayside opponents to put them under any real pressure. Harris went on to score a penalty try from a collapsed scrum (the scrum being another area dominated by Harris) and then a sixth wide on the right to cap a good afternoon for the visitors.

Alloa must now pick themselves up from this disappointment and focus on scoring four tries and securing a win over 6th placed Kinross which would be enough to clinch the league title. Kick off at Earlsfield is 3pm.

Club vice president Gary McPhail says the players must look to bounce back quickly as they looked to seal promotion.

He said: "Amidst the general disappointment in the clubrooms on Saturday evening there was still a feeling that if our club had been offered the prospect of needing a bonus point victory over Kinross at home to win the championship at the start of the season then we would have been delighted to accept. We've had a serious reality check but we're not a bad team overnight and we'll be working hard through the week to put things right on Saturday."