QUEEN OF THE SOUTH...............0

ALLOA ATHLETIC........................1

Scottish Championship

WHEN the curtain finally came down on this long awaited win, there were no scenes of extravagant jubilation.

This was a professional job well done by the Wasps and the only surprise must have been the comfort with which they were allowed to execute their game plan.

It wasn't pretty but Alloa got the monkey off their back when Alan Trouten popped up to stroke the ball between Robby McCrorie's legs and maintain the Wasps' recent upper hand over the Doonhamers.

Not that the visitor's defence was ever unduly stretched, however, with Queen's barely laying a glove on Neil Parry's goal across the 90 minutes.

It was a game which took some time to brew and when it eventually did Alloa quickly took the sting out of the contest with Trouten's second half strike.

Nervy – there was no other word for it during the opening period.

There will have been less tension in Downing Street last week and it's little wonder that neither side was able to work Parry or McCrorie in 45 minutes devoid of serious quality.

The best chance of the half fell to Stephen Dobbie when Parry was forced to claw an inviting delivery from a corner off his line into the veteran's path. Surprisingly, he could only send a hooked effort over the bar.

That was that in terms of moments of real note but Alloa couldn't be accused of not trying to impose themselves on a suspect looking Queen of the South rearguard.

Kevin O'Hara knew it and the forward's energetic running was doing its best to expose the Doonhamer's lack of pace. Every time Iain Flannigan or Alan Trouten enticed O'Hara into the channels the Wasps sensed danger.

Lee Kilday was the first victim and when O'Hara raced into the box and put it on a plate for Robert Thomson, the former Morton man was unfortunate to see his first time shot fall just wide of McCrorie's post.

Queen's had actually started on top and the returning Andy Graham – who brought a much needed sense of composure to the Alloa rearguard – was on hand to clear the danger on more than one occasion in the opening minutes.

It took Alloa some time to settle and the unmistakable Blair Malcolm encapsulated this in midfield. The debutant treated the ball like a hot potato in the opening minutes but soon found the perfect temperature to link the play down the left.

It was down that side the Wasps strung together their best move of the half. Malcolm found O'Hara lurking between the lines and his team-mate picked out the rampaging Liam Dick inside the Queen's box. Kilday was on hand to scramble Dick's cross over his own bar and the resulting corner came to nothing; much like most of the football in a frustrating first half.

The crumbs of an improved performance from a dreadful loss to Arbroath were there for Peter Grant and the Wasps soon showed why.

Trouten has such a canny knack of popping up when Alloa need him most that he might soon need to trademark it. His first time finish was no different as he stroked the ball home with swagger.

The whole move was full of it. From the moment Flannigan intercepted the ball and glided into Queen's half, to Thomson's guile to get away from Darren Brownlie and lay it on a plate for Trouten, this was the Grant gameplan at its best.

By now the home support were baying for Alloa blood and Dobbie was doing his best to give it to them.

Dobbie against Graham; it was a duel for the ages but the Alloa skipper came out on top. On one occasion when Dobbie managed to wriggle his way into the box, Graham came out of nowhere to block his goal bound effort.

Graham was in the thick of things as Queen's tried to muster an onslaught but it never did come. Dobbie's slalom aside, Graham and Robbie Deas stifled attack after blue shirted attack to keep Parry relatively untroubled.

It was the Wasps, in truth, who were unlucky not to make it two when Liam Buchanan's first touch forced McCrorie to spring to his right and make a flying save.

ALLOA: Parry, Taggart, Dick, Deas, Graham, Flannigan, Malcolm, Cawley, Trouten (Robertson 60), O'Hara (Brown 79), Thomson (Buchanan 85). UNUSED SUBS: Henry, O'Donnell, Stirling, Gillespie.