ALLOA recorded their first win under Brian Rice on Saturday in a result that all but secures the Wasps' position in League One for next season.

In his fourth game in charge of the Wasps, Rice finally got his first victory on Saturday as his side defeated Peterhead 1-0 to go seven points clear of the relegation play offs with six games to go.

A positive result this weekend – against East Fife, anchored at the bottom of the table – would surely see the Wasps save and give the club time to begin laying the foundations for what will hopefully be a more successful second season in League One.

Before this match, Rice's record read two points from nine. Considering the circumstances, it's still been a thoroughly impressive start to his life as manager of the club.

They were painfully unlucky against league leaders Cove Rangers, a little lacklustre against Aidrieonians and then drew with Queen's Park only through a wonder goal. Against three of the top four, it's been a promising introduction to life in the Wee County.

Saturday's performance was when it all clicked. Rice played a different side to what he would have preferred to against Queen's Park the previous weekend, utilising the height and strength in the squad to adapt to a terrible surface.

On Saturday, on a crisp 3G surface, Rice's playmakers came in. Steven Boyd, Stefan Scougall and Kevin Cawley all returned to the starting line up. Jon Robertson came back after his suspension and Craig Howie kept his place in the defence.

For the first half of the first half, Alloa dominated the ball, had the lion's share of possession and should have been in front. Boyd was the first to take a shot off and blazed over the bar. An early warning sign against his former employers.

Conor Sammon should have put his team ahead. Getting on to the end of a cross, he actually headed the ball into his own path and, with the ball bouncing, had time to wait for it. He smashed the ball into the ground, past Brett Long, but Andrew McDonald was on had to clear it off the line.

Peterhead eventually came back into the game and started to get a hold of the ball. Ryan Duncan managed to squeeze past Andy Graham; however, Mark Durnan was on hand to clear the ball.

PJ Morrison, who had hardly touched the ball, was called into action and reacted well to tip a thunderous Grant Savoury shot over the bar. Peterhead had been quiet, but the threat was still there.

Minutes later, Russell McLean tested the keeper but once again he was equal to it.

After a disappointing first half, Euan Henderson showed exactly what he's capable of seconds after the restart. Picking up the ball with his back to goal inside his own half, he turned his man, knocked it past another and then drove into the box. At pace, he cut inside and tried to poke the ball to Sammon but the defence cut it out.

Alloa should have taken the lead through Henderson but Peterhead somehow dealt with it. A nice piece of interplay between Sammon and Boyd eventually allowed Boyd to slip Scougall in behind the defence and his cut back was smashed at goal by Henderson. Long saved the shot and, somehow, was able to stop the rebound off Scott Brown from crossing the line.

Minutes later Duncan smashed a long distance effort off the post. Alloa were dominating but Peterhead were always in it.

Thankfully, the Wasps finally made the most of their domination. A low corner by Boyd was recovered by Graham, who slid in to poke the ball into Cawley's path. His composure took him past one defender, his second touch opened the angle up and his third touch saw him smash the ball into the far corner.

Peterhead should have equalised not long after when Duncan got on the end of a cross on the six yard line but could only fire over the bar.

Two great chances would fall Alloa's way but they couldn't convert. First, Henderson was given time to cut inside and rifle a shot off the crossbar. Adam King, only just on the park, then found himself one on one with the goalkeeper but could only hit Long with his effort.

Alloa held on and secured a precious three points. Safety is all but guaranteed and, perhaps more importantly, the team are now playing with a promising identity. Rice sets his team up to win, but isn't afraid to ring the changes if necessary.

After playing three of the top four, Saturday's game was the first of four against the teams in the bottom half of the table. Alloa can take a lot of confidence from the previous four games, and should be looking for another three points when they travel to East Fife this weekend.

ALLOA: Morrison, Durnan, Graham, Howie, Cawley, Taggart, Robertson, Scougall (King), Boyd (Niang), Sammon (MacIver), Henderson. UNUSED: Hutton, Armstrong, Riley-Snow, Church, O'Donnell, Armour