Date: Saturday, 17th December 2005
Kickoff time: 15:00
Against: Ayr
Team: Hawks 1st XV
Location: Away
Competition: Premiership Division 1
Final score: 8 - 6 (won)

FIRST XV MATCH REPORT v HAWKS 19/12/2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From Ayr website Ayr 6 Glasgow Hawks 8............. It was close, oh so close but in the end, Hawks ability to grind out a result was the key factor in an enthralling BT Premier Premier Division 1 encounter at Millbrae. A Mike Adamson penalty in injury time was the heartbreaker for an Ayr side who had played for twenty seven minutes with fourteen men and held on to a one point lead only to see the win they wanted so badly snatched away in the dying seconds. So fortress Millbrae was breached and the league leaders got back on track after last weeks first defeat of the season against Watsonians while Ayr were left desperately disappointed at not adding the current champions to the list of scalps they have taken at Millbrae this season. Controversy preceded the game with Craig Redpath opting to take the option of playing Glasgow Warriors Mike Roberts on the wing. The pro is allocated to Ayr and the coach felt that the added power that roberts offered was sufficient reason to include him and in the opening minutes, it was obvious why he had taken that decision. A Roberts burst deep into the Hawks danger zone in the sixth minute led to a penalty in front of the posts which James Noonan slotted with ease and again the big winger looked about to cause havoc but was adjudged offside as he collected Nick Lavelle’s clever chip into space. Ayr kept up the pressure and with the Hawks defence looking out of sorts, another Noonan penalty took Ayr to a six point lead in thirteen minutes. Hawks started to put phases together but the Ayr defence coped handily until a loose kick was run back and from outside the Ayr twenty two, the ball was worked back to Mike Adamson whose shimmy took him into space and with Colin Shaw supporting from full back, timed his pass beautifully for Shaw to race in at the corner. Adamson missed the kick then came a couple of incidents which were t have considerable significance later. First Roberts was penalised and warned for slow release then four minutes later was yellow carded by referee Peter Allan for the same offence. Ayr appeared undaunted by the loss of the winger and with Damien Kelly and James Eddie storming into the Hawks defence , the home side kept up the pressure but then suffered a serious blow when prop Ewen Logan had to leave the field with a serious arm injury which, if early reports are correct, seem set to keep him out for a few months. Hawks continued to defend with considerable discipline, No8 Mark Sitch and lock Richie Maxton frequently in the thick of things but close to the break, Noonan spotted Eddie McLaughlin free on his wing, the kick picked him out but the most subtle of interference on the speedster as he raced to collect was enough, his balance and the chance had gone. The referee was obviously enjoying himself since he played about seven minutes of injury time and at that point Hawks tightened the screw but Ayr turned then over and the second half was going to be all about who blinked first. Sitch picked up a yellow early in the second half, a punishment, which like that of Roberts earlier hardly seemed to fit the crime but did fit somewhere in Mr Allans catalogue of ‘very naughty things’ and he had ten minutes to contemplate his sins. Roberts followed Sitch nine minutes later, this time off for the rest of the game when the referee was left with no option after the Ayr wing had give more than a nod in the direction of Ally Maclay’s face. In that spell too came an incident which will be talked about at Millbrae for many a day, Eddie McLaughlin latching onto a Hawks fumble on the Ayr ten meter line and scorching away from the Hawks defence to score under the posts after a sixty yard lung burster. Imaging his horror when he turned to find touch judge Andy McPherson had his flag up adjudging that he had put a foot in touch on the half way line. That score would surely have killed the game because, even with fourteen against fifteen Ayr were looking less and less likely to leak a score and indeed one Paul Burke thrust almost put them further ahead. However the Hawks defence can only be described as remarkable since, even under the stiffest of pressure, they kept their shape discipline allowing Ayr not a single kickable penalty all afternoon. Noonan sclaffed a drop goal but Cammy Taylor almost got the touchdown, Ian Kennedy made two raging counter attacks for Hawks off loose kicks and deep into injury time, a lapse of concentration gave Hawks their final opportunity. Penalised at a ruck thirty eight yards out, Ayr could only hope that Adamson would choke but the Hawks stand off held his nerve, got the line and the distance right and that was that. “It wasn’t champagne rugby but we had two teams knocking seven bells out of each other and I am happy that we showed the passion and desire that is needed to win that sort of game” said Hawks coach David Wilson. “We should have won but perished on a couple of loose kicks and not taking our chances” said Craig Redpath. “At this level in this sort of game you have to take every chance you get if you want a result.” “I cannot criticise the team though particularly with fourteen against fifteen for twenty seven minutes and conceding only a penalty in injury time but looking back we shouldn’t have been in a position where a late kick denied us a win. As well as being hugely disappointing for us it is also disappointing for Premier Division 1 because if we had won then it could have opened the league right up.” It may have been a disappointing result on the field but off the pitch again Ayr proved that, if you put the work in then you can achieve something special. Many of the visitors to Millbrae on Saturday were first timers or had not been to the club for a while and were astonished at the atmosphere at the ground. The crowd, the facilities, the atmosphere as well as a game which came into the epic category made even the most fervent critic admit that there is no better afternoon out in Scottish rugby than at Millbrae on a big match Saturday. Ron Evans Hawks clinch win but Roberts dismissed AYR 6-8 GLASGOW HAWKS MIKE Roberts' hopes of a quick comeback from injury and a return to the Glasgow pro-team squad were dashed as he was red-carded in an abrasive west coast derby battle at Millbrae. The wing had intended to use the appearance for Ayr to prove his fitness with the aim of reclaiming his place in the Warriors line-up. But now he faces another spell on the sidelines after being dismissed by referee Peter Allen, the red card overshadowing the stoppage-time penalty clincher for the champions by Mike Adamson. Roberts was initially yellow-carded for failing to release the ball in contact, then Allen had no option but to send him packing as he appeared to headbutt Ally MacLay. Two penalties from James Noonan had edged Ayr in front, but the visitors began to settle into a rhythm and snatched the initiative before the break. Clever work involving MacLay and Adamson created the time and space for Colin Shaw to reach the line. Adamson missed the conversion - but bounced back to snatch the glory with a pinpoint strike in the second minute of added time. No team list has been added yet.

Paul Dearlove

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