Final Home Game Brings Victory

The Stags welcomed Alloa to Glensburgh last Saturday for the final home game of the season. Before the game there as a minutes applause from players and supporters in memory of club secretary and team manager Fred Rae who sadly passed away last week. On a very warm April day it was Grangemouth who were on top from the start. Skelton kicked deep into the Alloa 22. The lineout was secured by Hind and the pack drove towards the line before McNiff peeled off to crash over for the opening score. Skelton added the extras. Grangemouth dominated possession and territory in the opening quarter but were unable to increase their lead. As the game entered the second quarter the Stags finally added to the score. McNiff and Allan combined down the right touchline. The ball was moved wide for Skelton to make the initial break and when he was tackled Dempsey was on hand to score. Skelton kicked the simple conversion. Straight from the kick off the Stags dropped the ball. The Alloa centre kicked ahead and outpaced the cover to claim the touchdown. The conversion was successful. Grangemouth were quick to respond and increased their lead on 30 minutes. A simple back move saw Dempsey hit the line at pace. He seemed to be stopped but showed great strength to burst out of the attempted tackle before racing away to score under the posts. Skelton added the conversion. Soon after the Stags collected the bonus point score. This time it was Gemmell who came on to the ball at pace to cut through the defensive line. He pulled in the fullback before his long pass found Skelton in support to run in for the try. The stand off converted his own score. HT Stags 28 Alloa 7

There was an explosive start to the second period. From the kick off Hind collected the ball and made 20 metres. He passed to McNiff and the flanker showed his pace by running round the fullback to score. This time Skelton was off target with the kick. Grangemouth continued to pile on the pressure. From a scrum in midfield Ward and Hind combined before the ball reached Allan. The winger beat his man on the outside before running round under the posts. Skelton duly kicked the conversion. As the game entered the final quarter Allan was unlucky after a good chase almost produced his second try. However a few minutes later Grangemouth did score try number seven. The ball squirted out from a retreating Alloa scrum. Dempsey picked up and cantered in from 20 metres to complete his hat trick. Skelton slotted the conversion. The closing 10 minutes saw Grangemouth add 2 further scores. First Gemmell made another break. Denny acted as the link and his pass released Hind for his usual score. With five minutes left the Stags pack took another scrum against the head. Dempsey made a dart before releasing Allan who rounded the defence to collect his second score. Skelton added both conversions. With the final play of the game Alloa had a series of drives close to the Grangemouth line before finally crashing over for a consolation unconverted try. FT Stags 61 Alloa 12.

This was a very comfortable win for the Stags as they gained revenge for a heavy defeat at Alloa at the start of the season. The pack was dominant throughout especially at the scrum as they drove the opposition back and took several against the head. The backs enjoyed the conditions and looked dangerous with ball in hand. Gemmell and Dempsey in particular caused problems to the Alloa defence. This Saturday the Stags have their final game of the season as they travel to play Aberdeen Wanderers with KO 3pm. The bus will leave the club at 10am and supporters are welcome.