THIS was probably not quite what Jim Goodwin had in mind when he had asked what would happen if his side took the lead.

In many ways, this smash and grab win was the perfect tonic to several disappointing weeks for the Wasps.

Jordan Kirkpatrick stepped off the bench to be the hero as he nodded the ball past Alan Martin deep into injury time to secure a vital three points and lift Alloa off the bottom of the Championship.

Andy Graham’s instinctive first-half finish had put them ahead midway through the first half, before Kyle Jacobs pounced on a loose ball to level.

It seemed like there was only going to be one winner from there as the Doonhamers put the Wasps under relentless pressure throughout the second 45.

And yet, when Kirkpatrick popped up at the death, it was hard to argue that Alloa didn’t deserve the three points, if not for their dominance, but for their never-say-die attitude.

Even before Graham had shown instincts that would have made the predatory Stephen Dobbie proud, Dario Zanatta had already twice threatened to break the deadlock.

The Canadian’s leading of the line was terrific in the game’s opening half. Having already been denied what looked a clear penalty in just the fourth minute when Jacobs brought him down to end a dangerous run into the box, it was his persistence in squeezing a shot away which brought the corner that led to the opener.

Queens had actually started the brighter of the two sides and Lyndon Dykes, the less heralded understudy to Dobbie, nearly squeezed home the opener. First Neil Parry and then Graham combined to stop his header crossing the line.

Jacobs had also gone close when he got on the end of Scott Mercer’s inviting corner and headed the ball agonisingly over.

It seemed only a matter of time before the home side took the lead until Graham showed the instincts of a striker as he fired the ball into the bottom corner. Perhaps Queens had doubted the stalwart’s ability with his feet? He delivered his retort with vigour.

Time and time again, Zanatta emerged with the ball from a tricky spot when he had no right.

On one such occasion, he earned a free kick for his troubles and Iain Flannigan – whose corner had yielded the Graham strike – once again caused panic in the Queens defence with a delicious delivery.

On another, he found a pocket of space and tested Martin with a daisy-cutter.

Connor Shields had played a pivotal role in the build up to Zanatta’s penalty claim and the Sunderland loanee should have doubled the Wasps' lead as half time approached. The winger could only blast Scott Taggart’s inviting cutback disappointingly over the bar.

More pleasingly for Alloa, the goal seemed to have taken the sting out of Queen of the South, while some rugged defensive diligence from Steven Hetherington and Flannigan was blunting the home side’s attacking threat.

When Queens eventually found a way through, Parry was there at the start of the second half to deny them with a stunning double save. Dykes may have been flagged offside, but the big goalie wasn’t to know.

Rather than wilt to a second half onslaught from the hosts, the Wasps continued to swarm forward whenever they got the chance. Trouten curled one just wide, but it was clear the home side were now in the ascendency.

Jacobs, who had previously threatened from a couple of set pieces, then levelled when he was quickest to react to an initial save from Parry.

Both teams looked for a way to find the winner and, in truth, Queen of the South seemed the more likely to do so as Dobbie turned the screw. The veteran, who had been kept quiet for most of the day, had the ball in the net but was flagged for offside.

Then, out of nothing, Zanatta found space on the left and swung in a superb delivery which Kirkpatrick was only too happy to nod beyond Martin and lap up the jubilation of his teammates.

ALLOA: Parry, Taggart, Dick, Roscoe, Graham, Hetherington, Flannigan (Robertson 87'), Cawley, Shields (Hamilton 67'), Zanatta, Trouten (Kirkpatrick 72'). UNUSED SUBS: Aitchison, Brown, Peggie, Henry.