Hawks Under 15s took the trip down the M77 today to face Kilmarnock in the
Glasgow District Cup Semi Final.

11 of the squad had played three games yesterday in the Dalziel tournament
but all reported fit for action.

Hawks had met Kilmarnock twice in the league, winning 30-5 at Kilmarnock
and 43-12 at Old Anniesland and so were quietly confident going into today's
match.

This really was a game of two halfs.

Hawks opened the scoring early in the match through captain Kris MacDonald.
Kilmarnock though were to prove that they were not going to roll over easily.

Keeping the ball with their forwards they launched attack after attack on
the Hawks, using their stronger forwards to maul their way up the park and
disrupt Hawks at the breakdown. They were rewarded with 2 converted tries
taking them into a 14-5 lead.

At this stage Hawks could do nothing right. Restarts not going full distance,
attempted tap restarts on the 22, missed passes,merely aided the Kilmarnock
confidence. Hawks though gradually pulled themselves back into the game and
Kris MacDonald crashed over for his and Hawks second try, James Hendry added
the extra points.
Kilmarnock 14 Hawks 12

The lead then changed hands for the second time when Mark Kemsley went over
in the corner after some fine handling by the Hawks.

Kilmarnock 14 Hawks 17

Kilmarnock were not giving up and came storming back with a third converted
try.

Kilmarnock 21 Hawks 17

Hawks were now moving the ball around with more confidence and finding gaps
in the Kilmarnock defence. With 4 minutes of the half remaining(according
to the ref) Callum Kerr went over in the corner for try number 4.
For an incredible fourth time the lead had changed hands:
Kilmarnock 21 Hawks 22.

The last four minutes of the half then lasted almost ten minutes but Hawks
were now in the ascendency, and Kilmarnock seemed to be tiring.

Half Time:
Kilmarnock 21 Glasgow Hawks 22

Coach Jim Gossman had some finely chosen words for the team at half time.
Not many could be repeated here as they consisted of a lot of F*** etc.

Having made two changes in the course of the 1st half, Hawks introduced 4
replacements at half time.

The second half belonged to the Hawks. Using their pace, some sublime handling
and finally getting the support runners in the right place Hawks started
carving holes in the Kilmarnock defence, and with some fantastic tackling
and disruption at lineouts played the game in the Kilmarnock half.

Four unaswered tries, 2 for David Currie, one a piece for James Hendry and
Euan Robertson, with 2 converted by James Hendry took the Hawks into a 46
- 21 lead.

Kilmarnock to their credit battled back to score their own 4th converted
try.

Kilmarnock 28 Glasgow Hawks 48.

Hawks were to have the final say with Euan Robertson going for a wander through
the Kilmarnock ranks before scoring between the posts. He then drop goaled
his conversion in the final act of the game.

Final Score:

Kilmarnock 28 Glasgow Hawks 53

Despite scoring 9 tries, this was not a vintage display by the Hawks, and
the manner in which we lost 4 tries will be addressed before next weekend.

Considering 11 players had played 3 games yesterday the squad must be congratulated
on their efforts today.

So now the Hawks face GHA in the Cup Final next Sunday at a neutral venue
decided upon by the SRU.

The neutral venue is, according to the GHA website, Braidholm - home of GHA.
I guess someone in Edinburgh isn't quite up on home grounds and the meaning
of neutral.

Anyway Hawks will travel to Braidholm with the squad of players that have
played throughout BOTH the league and Cup campaign.
GHA have proved themselves difficult opponents in the league and have defeated
West, Dalziel and Greenock on the way to the final.

We are looking forward to a tough encounter next Sunday and hopefully return
to Old Anniesland with some silverware.

Also a thank you the the S2 parents who turned out at Dalziel yesterday.

I'll let you know kick off time as soon as I have the info. As this is a
"home" game for GHA all support for the boys would be most welcome.

This article was posted on 23-Apr-2006, 21:22 by Hugh Barrow.