Hawks given early chance to avenge Scottish Cup Defeat

Glasgow Hawks open the 2014-15 BT Premiership campaign with a visit to Heriots at Goldenacre in Edinburgh on Saturday the 30th of August. The sides last met in the Scottish Cup Final, in the last match of the season, when the Edinburgh side had the upper hand on the day at Broadwood.

Coach Jamie Dempsey said, “It’s an absolutely fantastic tie and the players won’t have to dig too far for motivation after the Final. We had a couple of great matches in the league last season as well and came out winners in a high scoring match at Goldenacre in March. With both sides playing an attacking style it will be a match for the fans.”

The fixture list has Hawks playing the top four sides in last season’s championship on successive Saturdays. Their home fixtures, and defence of The Bill McLaren Shield, will start on Saturday the 6th of September when Ayr make the trip up the coast for a local derby.

“There’s a good rivalry with Ayr, both sides know each other well and are always out to win the local bragging rights. The match at Old Anniesland was close and we had a great result against them in the Cup, so we are confident that we can defend the Shield.”, Dempsey added.

The Premiership format has changed this season and Hawks have targeted a place in the newly established play-off finals at the end of the season as their immediate goal.

Dempsey continued, “Last season, we surpassed our targets and consolidated our place in the top flight. We had a lot of narrow defeats which gave us plenty of bonus points but this year we are aiming to be on the winning side of those games.”

Hawks pre-season will start with games in Greenock and Stirling before they travel to Hull to play English National League side, Ionians. In their final friendly before the league commences the play host to top Irish club Belfast Harlequins.

“It’s a tough pre-season but we’ll feel the benefit in the early matches and we are looking to start the season in peak condition.”

This article was originally posted on 23-Jun-2014, 11:33 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 23-Jun-2014, 11:34.