Dunfermline RFC 1st XV …...............19

Alloa RFC 1st XV …...........................33

BT Caledonia League, Division 1

ALLOA RFC overcame a powerful side to bring victory home from Dunfermline at the weekend with a familiar old face returning to red colours.

Saturday, September 2, provided the perfect day for rugby with both sides going at it hammer and tongs for the full 80 minutes.

The two teams probed for gaps in the defence in the opening exchanges on even footing and the Clacks side were unlucky when a Graham Lindsay surge up the touchline was stopped just short of the try line and bundled into touch.

The winger, who was actually playing his old scrum half position, was making a return to the club after 17 years away on a successful career both at Stirling County and Falkirk and had a big part to play later on.

No scores were recorded in the first 20 minutes, but the following acts saw a bonanza of tries with Dunfermline putting themselves onto the board first when one of the big forwards managed to stretch over the line following a series of well-controlled rucks close to the Wee County line.

A short-lived lead, Alloa's Matt Pope spotted a gap in the Fife defence and ran in from 20 metres to equalise.

There was again very little wait for the next score, which came when Alloa ran the ball out from deep within their territory, only to drop a pass midfield.

A Dunfermline player quickly pounced on the opportunity and ran in unopposed under the posts.

Still composed, the Clackmannanshire side were determined and it was Martin Mckenzie's turn to make the magic happen when he caught a long clearance punted by the home fullback.

He cleverly shaped to return the kick before setting off on a mazy run through the home defence and slipping a lovely pass to the supporting Alan Keir who simply strolled in under the posts.

Dale Foster also set off on a weaving run before releasing Kerr to complete a quick double just before the break to make it 14 – 21 at half time.

Starting where they finished, the visitors very on the front foot and soon forced a penalty which was missed by the usually reliable Lee Cairney.

It looked like it could have been crucial as Dunfermline forced a line out on the Alloa '22 with a quick catch and drive over to reduce the lead to just two points.

At this stage the home side had the momentum, but Alloa kept repelling attack after attack and eventually Dunfermline looked to have run out of ideas on how to break the red wall down as they reverted to kicking from deep.

The excitement was in danger of boiling over in the last 20 minutes of play – firstly Stevie Jack and the home winger were awarded with yellow cards for exchanging handbags, they were soon followed by a home forward who cynically ran offside to prevent Alloa from progressing to the try line.

Despite the one-man disadvantage for 10 minutes, Dunfermline continued to be dangerous, but once again the red rear guard were determined to keep the gates shut.

Michael Doig, Ali Edwards and Matt Pope were especially effective in driving the opposition back and it was when both sides were back to even numbers that Alloa made the breakthrough to stretch the lead to nine points.

It was when Graham Lindsay made a break for the opposition line before releasing a pass to Ed Waller who squirmed his way through a number of tackles and popped a pass off to the well-timed Stevie Jack.

The big second row barged his way over from close range with Alloa fans on their feet.

There was more in the bag, however, when the referee awarded a late kickable penalty to Alloa.

Graham Lindsay was not going to have the easy three points – instead he took the defence by surprise with a quick tap and powered his way over.

Alloa return to Earlsfield on Saturday for a BT Caledonia Shield first round tie against Moray RFC – 3pm KO.