Garioch kept their promotion prospects alive in Caledonia 2 (North) by retaining second place behind leaders Highland, although the Inverness side has a superior points difference and two games in hand on the Inverurie men.
The win was hard-earned against a creative and enterprising Moray, who were twice in the lead in an open game which could have gone either way, although Garioch always looked to have the greater competitive edge.
A late try from Garioch’s Sean Dey sealed the win, which, given the lock’s influence on the game, was entirely appropriate.
Garioch coach Joe Blundell said: “He was a standout for us, although we were less convincing than normal, but we never lost faith in ourselves and stuck to our game plan.
“We were surprised by the way in which Moray stuck to their guns. It was a great game of rugby.”
Moray were first to settle, rocking the home side in only four minutes when they spun the ball wide for winger Dale Smith to score an unconverted try in the corner.
Garioch gradually asserted themselves, but took until the 24th minute to enter the Moray 22 when winger David Cribbes raced over for a try converted by Stuart Napier, giving the promotion hopefuls a 7-5 lead at half-time.
In the second half Garioch failed to make much of their possession count. Indeed had the Elgin side been able to release its excellent back three, there might have been a different outcome. However, it was two superbly taken penalties midway through the half from Smith that gave the visitors a 11-7 lead.
Garioch persisted and they scored a 70th-minute try when Dey plunged over between the posts to give his side the lead they deserved.
Napier added the extras to seal the win, but leaving Moray with a losing bonus point they certainly earned in front of a sizeable crowd.
In the only other game played in the regional leagues Aberdeenshire 2nds were 63-3 runaway winners at home to Aber- deen Wanderers.