Peter Breen deserved to kick the winning penalty because he was the best player on the paddock when Alhambra-Union beat Dunedin at the North Ground.
The Alhambra-Union first five had an eye for the gap and exploited it with judicious tactical kicking and astute running down the blindside.
Alhambra-Union's two first-half tries came from strong running by Breen down the short side. He made one try for hooker Ben Pereira and scored the other one himself.
In the second half, his wide tactical kick was collected by Pereira who scored wide out and drew Alhambra-Union level at 20-20.
The strong Dunedin pack, spearheaded by loose forwards Gareth Evans and Mitchell Zandstra, lock Sam Poole and prop Kelsey Miller, won a wealth of possession.
But the backline muddled its way through the game, dropping passes, knocking the ball on and taking wrong options. They were not able to put phases together.
Alhambra-Union put numbers to the breakdown and this put pressure on Dunedin.
The home side led 15-8 at the break but Dunedin came back into the game in the second spell by putting more phases together. When prop Will Henry and halfback Brad Weber scored tries in the first 22 minutes Dunedin led 20-15 and looked in control.
But Breen then exerted his magic and Alhambra-Union won the game. The other players of note for Alhambra-Union were prop Scott Manson, lock Matt Kissick and loose forward Rory Naylor.
Alhambra-Union 23 (Ben Pereira 2, Peter Breen tries; Breen con, 2 pen), Dunedin 20 (Brad Weber, Will Henry, Pera Gibbs tries; Gibbs con, Jesse Toto pen). Halftime: Alhambra-Union 15-8.
