At last, Alton earned themselves a takeaway when a Jason Grace try seven minutes from the end clinched a nerve-racking victory over a resilient United Services side at Burnaby Road.

This was their first win on their Hampshire One travels this year and victory has lifted a burden that was starting to weigh Luke Parratt's side down.

The euphoric reaction of the Alton players suggested that they were more than happy to get this particular monkey off their backs.

They did not leave it quite as late as they did against Southampton last week but Grace's try was certainly a long time coming as Alton, turning around at half-time 16-15 down, threw everything at US in a dominant second-half display.

This was another roller-coaster of a game which, like last week's affair, the elements threatened but failed to spoil. An absorbing and high-quality first half, played amid spray and a howling wind, did justice to the immaculately maintained Burnaby Road pitch and gave two fingers to the wretched weather. It was splendid stuff.

United Services, the only side to have avoided defeat at Anstey Park this season, again showed what a well organised, physically strong outfit they are.

The Navy club, enjoying the strong wind at their backs, took the lead after just 90 seconds when Alton spilled the ball at the kick-off and from the resulting scrum, centre Will Gerrard ran a clever line to breach the midfield defence and saunter over.

Steve Clunie added the conversion but the visitors hit back ten minutes later when from a trademark rolling maul, flanker Winston Carter touched down in the right-hand corner.

Clunie extended US Portsmouth's lead six minutes later when he slotted a penalty from under the posts, although it could have been much worse.

Only a minute or so earlier, a miraculous last-ditch tackle from Richard White grounded US's Carl Knight and forced him to knock on a yard short of Alton's try-line.

Ott and Clunie exchanged penalties before Alton took the lead for the first time in the game in the 32nd minute - and it was Carter again who claimed the try after a rolling maul, this time on the left-hand touchline.

Ott converted superbly from wide out to give Alton a 15-13 lead - a lead that lasted seconds after Alton were subsequently penalised for hanging on in the tackle after another messy restart. Clunie again did the honours to land his third penalty goal.

A point in arrears with the wind in their favour, it was Alton's game for the taking after the interval, but the killer blows proved to be elusive.

The fluidity and precision of the first period were replaced by scrappiness and errors as tiredness and the weather increasingly played their part.

But Alton were rampant in the scrums and enjoyed a monopoly on possession: chances came and went as US, under extreme pressure, doggedly clung on to their silender advantage.

Centre Andrew Davies had a try justly ruled out for a forward pass as Alton continued to carve out chances and half-chances. And just when it seemed that Alton would return home empty-handed, number eight Silas Jones managed to pilfer the ball from a US Portsmouth maul on their own 22 before making a clean break and slipping a well-timed inside pass to scrum-half Grace, who gleefully touched down.

Ott converted to give Alton a six-point advantage and they successfully negotiated the final seven minutes to claim the points and give a massive boost to their confidence.

And it is not quite all over as far as the promotion play-offs are concerned. Alton now lie third in Hampshire One, although they trail second-placed Ellingham & Ringwood by four points and leaders Trojans by five.

United Services: I McGrath (c); N McRoberts, W Gerrard, A Rook, B Fresher, A Watson, S Clunie; I Stonehouse, T Pilkington, G Dunn; M Smith, M Pritchard; C Ham, C Knight, B O'Shaughnessy. Alton: A Willman, H Petite; J Rees, A Davies, B Wallace; S Ott, J Grace; E Ross (S Watts), L Parratt (c), J Gay; M Greenhalgh, R White; M Forsyth (K Wilson 65), W Carter, S Jones. Sub not used: E Clark.