ALLOA skipper Andy Graham proved an unlikely match-winner for the Wasps as they battled past League One strugglers Forfar.

The central defender's first-half header was enough to see the Wee County side secure a vital three points.

And the captain was delighted to have kept his side's good run of form going with another hard-fought win at the Indodrill Stadium.

Graham told Advertiser Sport: "I'm delighted. It's usually the strikers who grab the headlines so it's nice for me to get a goal and most importantly the win.

"We were aiming to build on the performances against Raith and Ayr, because there is no point in beating Ayr if you then go and slip up the next week. It was really important that we did that.

"We made life hard for ourselves at times but the most important thing is that we've got the three points.

"It could have been more comfortable than it was and the manager keeps saying if we keep playing the way we are, the time will come when we will score three or four in a game.

"But it's a really tough league. Forfar went to Ayr and won 3-2 a few weeks ago so you know it's not going to be easy.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game. It was backs to the wall at the end but sometimes it's just going to be like that when you miss a couple of chances like we did. It's a natural thing to sit in after that but we held on.

"The boys were excellent towards the end. Everyone did their jobs at the back defending set-pieces and things like that."

Graham was also thrilled to have helped the Wasps to another clean sheet against a Forfar side who have strengthened their squad in a bid to move away from the third-tier trapdoor.

He said: "Forfar have improved in the transfer window and you could see that in their performance.

"They have a couple of really dangerous players, especially going forward. I'm pleased we were able to nullify that and get the clean sheet."

The victory moves Alloa into third place, behind Ayr United and Raith Rovers.

And although the Wasps face a huge task to catch the top two, the captain firmly believes his side are not out of the running just yet, and urged his team-mates to close the gap further with a win at promotion rivals Arbroath on Saturday.

Graham added: "The two full-time teams are where they are on merit, but Ayr going a bit further in the cup means they'll have more games to catch up on. That can be a challenge in itself.

"We are delighted to be up into third, and now we need to cement that with a win against Arbroath next week. That will be a big one.

"Nothing is ever out of the question. You just have to concentrate on yourself. We would need both Ayr and Raith to go on a bad run.

"We just have to keep the consistency we've started to show over the last few games. It's down to us to focus on ourselves and just keep winning games."