ALLOA RFC edged themselves as 35-33 winners over Strathmore Gryphons during a tight match at Earlsfield.

The hosts were boosted by the additions of Dale Foster and Joe Viggers in the pack, with Colin Jess starting at scrum half.

Club captain Martin McKenzie missed out, given a rest after picking up a knock last week, with Lee Cairney boasting the armband this week.

The captain would go onto add the first points on the board for Alloa with a penalty goal, but Strathmore responded swiftly, skipping past the defence and scoring the first try of the day.

Strathmore got their second try not long after, silencing the home support – but Alloa wouldn’t be beaten easily.

Cairney popped up again with a second penalty, but suffered a setback as Harry McKenzie was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for dissent towards the official.

Strathmore scored their third try as Alloa struggled to cope with the man disadvantage. The hosts had to make changes to regain a foothold, introducing Ally Edwards and Matthew Duncan into the game.

Alloa got their rewards as Rab McCran went over on the overlap, Cairney’s touchline conversion bringing the score to 13-19 at half time.

McKenzie was brought back into the fold for the second half, Rab Truesdale also came on and Alloa resorted to going route one to force a way back into the match.

Cairney scored a third penalty, while Alloa scored a try of their own through Daniel McGookin.

Callum McAllister added another and Alloa had now scored 15 unanswered points. Strathmore didn’t make it easy for them, however, reducing Alloa’s lead to a short two-point margin.

Dale Foster’s blistering run relieved the pressure for his side, allowing Alloa to seeing out the remainder of the match.