HOW apt that on a day which started with Remembrance that Alloa rediscovered their winning mojo in timely fashion.

The Wasps brought their winless run to a halt as the wee men had a big say in their fight for survival.

Kevin Cawley’s second-half header dragged Alloa out of the relegation play-off zone for the first time since mid-October with Alan Trouten finding the net for the sixth time in eight games against his favourite opponents.

The ever influential Trouten understandably took the headlines with his tenth goal of the season but he had a say in both ends of the pitch, handing Dunfermline their equaliser by giving away a penalty. He more than made up for this with a sparkling second-half display and hand in the winner.

But, it was Scott Taggart’s desire under the watchful eye of the Ochil hills to chase down a cause so lost even the mountain rescue had been called which made the opener. It had been a fairly serene opening quarter of an hour when he set his sights on Josh Edwards.

He simply had no right to nick the ball off Edwards' toes, but, as the Dunfermline man dallied on his own byline, Taggart smelled blood. He pounced on his victim, fed the ball to Kevin O’Hara, and watched as Lee Ashcroft cynically stopped the striker getting a shot on goal.

Craig Napier didn’t think twice about pointing the spot and it’s unlikely Trouten did either as he stroked it coolly beyond Ryan Scully.

It was the least Alloa deserved for an encouraging start and - a couple of wayward headers from their guests aside - they were the ones making all the right noises in an attacking sense. The sunshine of Barcelona might feel like a pipe dream in the ice cold of the Wee County but at times Alloa caressed the ball with remarkably attentive care.

In the best move of the half, Trouten ghosted beyond the Dunfermline midfield and stormed towards the box, flicked the ball to Adam Brown who laid it off for Cawley. The little winger prodded it into the path of the rampaging O’Hara but he could only narrowly fire wide of Scully’s upright. The Wasps fans lapped it up as their side looked desperately to end their winless run.

Dunfermline had shown their travelling support flashes of encouragement, too, and weren’t just looking to make up the numbers. Kevin Nisbet delivered a timely and deserved equaliser when he took full advantage of the second influential puff of Napier’s whistle to slot beyond Jamie MacDonald.

The keeper had hardly been troubled in the first-half but kicked off the second with a flying stop to deny a drive from Nisbet after he escaped the clutches of Andy Graham and Robbie Deas. Ashcroft kissed the crossbar with a free header from the resulting corner.

Their woodwork may have been shaking but the Wasps didn’t allow themselves to be rattled by the Fifers’ play and, be it the enforced change of shape due to Brown’s injury which saw Robert Thomson tasked with leading the line or a half-time rousing from Grant, their tails were well and truly up.

Trouten was back to influencing things at the right end of the pitch and the wily old veteran showed every bit of his class with a couple of incisive passes into the path of Taggart, whose balls across the face tested the Pars’ backline.

But, it was the other little legend of these parts who had the deciding say, when Cawley rose tallest at the back post to power home Iain Flannigan’s inviting delivery and secure all three points with his 50th league goal for the club.

ALLOA: MacDonald, Taggart, Robertson, Graham, Deas, Malcolm, Brown (Thomson 39), Flannigan, Cawley, O'Hara, Trouten. SUBS: Buchanan, Gilhooly, , O'Donnell, Gillespie, Henry.