Grangemouth take the points at Alloa

The Stags made the short journey to Alloa last Saturday for week 10 of the league campaign. Grangemouth made 2 changes from last week with Mallinson and Gowdy replacing Mncube (unavailable) and Dalgleish (injured) The previos meeting between the clubs was a tight affair and on a very heavy pitch with an equally heavy ball this game followed a similar pattern. Alloa attacked from the kick off and after Sangster's attempted clearing kick was charged down the home side were only denied by some powerful defnce by the Stags. However Alloa took the lead after 4 minutes with a penalty kick after Grangemouth were offside at a ruck in midfield. The Stags gradually came more into the game and a break by Gowdy was carried on by Stangoe and Brough before Allan was bundled into touch inside the Alloa 22. Grangemouth kept the pressure on and Alloa were unable to clear their lines and conceded the opening try after 15 minutes. Grangemouth won an untidy lineout and Neill picked up and drove 10 metres before setting up quick ruck ball. The ball was moved along the back line and full back Parsons burst through on an angled run to score near the posts. McInally added the conversion. Both sides missed kicks at goal as the half drifted on. Alloa narrowed the lead just before half time with their second penalty following a break by their centre and missed another long range kick at goal with the last play of the half. HT Alloa 6 Grangemouth 7

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with neither side dominating territory or possession and both sides making numerous handling and kicking errors. McInally increased the lead for Grangemouth after 45 minutes with a penalty after Alloa were penalised and then marched back 10 metres for talking back to the referee. Neill made a few strong runs but much of the play became bogged down in midfield as both sides continued to make mistakes. Alloa missed another kick at goal but rarely threatened the Stags line. Wih 12 minutes to go Grangemouth scored their second try to seal the victory. An initial surge by the forwards took the ball into the Alloa half and when the ball was moved to the blindside Parsons fed Allan and the winger outpaced the defence to score. McInally missed the conversion and also failed with a late penalty. Final score Alloa 6 Grangemouth 15.

This was a hard fought victory for the Stags under difficult conditions which made handling very tricky. Once again Neill was man of the match with several powerful runs and again the defence prevented their opponents scoring a try. Grangemouth remain top of the league and unbeaten after week 10. Next Saturday its back to the regional bowl competition with Moray making the long trip south to Glensburgh. Please check the website for the KO time which is likely to be 1.30pm