SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY REPORTS

Hawks eye up future
SANDY STRANG AT ANNIESLAND
DEPOSED champions Hawks refused to surrender their Premiership One title lightly. For the second successive week, the rejuvenated Old Anniesland men dealt a severe blow to the key league aspirants. Last week leaders Currie were derailed in the Malleny murk; this week second-placed Ayr were sent homeward to think again.

"This season was always about development and rebuilding with a new set of players," said an exultant Hawks coach David Wilson, "but we've worked away quietly and in these last two victories against the first and second in the league we've amply demonstrated that we still have a lot to come."

Ayr, minus the influential presence of coach Craig Redpath, laid low by a virus, were on the defensive from the off, and after three failed attacks, Hawks took the lead in seven minutes, prop Nick Cox bursting through right of the upright for a captain's try.

Ayr's cause was further hampered by the loss of flying winger Pierluigi Gentile to a knee injury after only 15 minutes, Stuart Sutherland substituting. But the away support took some encouragement from a Nick Lavelle penalty which pegged the score back to 3-5. Their mood soon darkened again, though, as news filtered through that leaders Currie, starting an hour earlier, were prevailing 39-26 with the bonus point, making it a must-win situation for Ayr to keep their league hopes alive.

Undaunted, the Ayr pack, driven on by locks Damien Kelly and captain Scott Lines, launched a sustained assault and were rewarded when No.8 Glenn Tippett fed winger Ryan Holland, who raced in to touch down in the right corner for an 8-5 half-time lead.

Immediately after the restart, Hawks centre Jamie Kerr passed up the chance to grab back the lead, instituting a fine run on the right by Stuart Low, only to drop the returned pass.

The first 20 minutes of the second half belonged to the home side as they wrestled back the initiative.

It was only justice when substitute stand-off Mike Adamson, on for Murray Strang, levelled the scores at eight each with a straightforward 20-metre penalty after splendid work by winger Max Evans, eventual man of the match, before the Kerr brothers presented Adamson with an identical opportunity two minutes later to prise back the lead at 11-8 with just seven minutes remaining.

Ayr threw everything at Hawks in a final despairing effort and home No.8 Sandy Warnock was sin-binned during the onslaught, but they could produce nothing further for their titanic efforts than their losing bonus point. All the celebrations were destined for Currie.

Glasgow Hawks: R Kerr; S Low, J Kerr, R Munday, M Evans; M Strang (M Adamson, 52), R McKnight (S Biggart, 52); N Cox, J McLay (M Smith, 11-50), G Mories (C Aghanya, 55-70), A Dale, A Kelly, G Francis, J Fitzpatrick, S Warnock.

Ayr: T Taylor; R Holland, B Colley, N Lavelle, P Gentile (S Henderson, 15); R McCallum, A J Macfarlane, J Kee (S Kerr, 30), P Macarthur, E Logan, S Lines, D Kelly, E Kellow (S Sutherland, 57), P Burke, G Tippett.

Scorers: Hawks - Try: Cox. Pens: Adamson (2). Ayr - Try: Holland. Pen: Lavelle.

Referee: A Macpherson (Stirling University)

This article was posted on 24-Dec-2006, 09:12 by Hugh Barrow.