Morgan Acad FP RFC 1st XV…………….15

Alloa RFC 1st XV………………………33

It was a changed Alloa side which took to the road and the miles to Dundee, with a number of 1st XV regulars unavailable for selection. This could have been a potential banana skin for the Wee County side and indeed, for periods during the match the home side did put pressure on the Alloa defence, but in the end, despite not hitting top gear, Alloa deservedly took maximum points with a competent display on what was a chilly afternoon for players and spectators alike.

The visitors were quick to stamp their authority on the match when with only 5 minutes gone, Gary Taylor did well to secure scrappy ball from a scrum 10 metres out allowing his fellow Forwards to regroup and drive at the heart of the Morgan defence, before the ball was released to the Backs and a nicely timed pass found Alan Keir in acres of space on the wing and the pacey Fullback scored out wide.

Despite facing a much larger pack, the Alloa Forwards were putting in the hard yards as they kept the game tight and drove at their opposite numbers and it was not long before the home side conceded a second when Alistair Edwards bulldozed his way over from short range leaving an easy conversion for Lee Cairney.

The game was a slightly one sided affair at this point and with only 15 minutes gone, Daniel Murrell cleverly looped a perfectly timed pass to the supporting Keir who doubled his personal tally when he outpaced the cover defence.

The visitors had another couple of chances to secure the 4 Try bonus point, but some careless passing relieved the pressure from the Morgan defence and when one of these loose passes was intercepted by the home sides’ Fullback, he ran the length of the park before being caught by the covering Philip Edwards, who managed to bundle the attacker into touch just short of the line.

From the resultant line out, the Morgan Forwards drove for the line but were held up short, but the referee had spotted an earlier infringement allowing the Morgan kicker to put their first points on the board.

This gave the home side some hope that the game was not yet beyond them and they quickly added a try of their own when the Forwards drove over from short range to reduce the deficit to 9 points.

However, a try either side of half time from Matt Pope and Sabelo Sam effectively settled the match.

Despite the score line, the Forfar Road side did not give up hope of getting themselves back into the game, but their only reward was a final consolation Try late on as Alloa continued on their unbeaten league run.

Next up for Alloa is a trip to Grangemouth on Saturday 5th December – 2pm KO.