Glasgow Warriors' Mike Roberts' hopes of a quick comeback from injury were dashed as he was red-carded in a tetchy west coast derby battle at Millbrae.
The winger had intended to use the appearance for Ayr to prove his fitness with the aim of reclaiming his place in the Warriors pro-squad.

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.

Sporting Life reports that Roberts was initially in trouble when he was 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.

The home troops had been in total command during the opening quarter, but were unable to turn their territorial superiority into quick tries and had to rely on the boot of James Noonan to edge them in front.

He broke the deadlock with a 45-metre penalty in the wake of a powerful break by Roberts and was on target again from dead in front of the uprights when the Hawks defenders were lured offside as they tried to stave off another raid.

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 another Warrior, Colin Shaw, to reach the line after a loose Ayr clearance.

Adamson missed the conversion - but bounced back to snatch the glory with a pinpoint strike in the second minute of added time.

This article was posted on 17-Dec-2005, 23:08 by Hugh Barrow.