THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

DAVID FERGUSON
THE National Cup semi-finals are all about derbies, but just as Edinburgh Accies go into the capital affair with the underdog tag, so West of Scotland are relishing the chance to clip the Hawks wings in the first-ever all-Glasgow semi-final and secure a place in the showpiece at Murrayfield.

West are still in the running for a double after already securing their promotion to Division Two and John Beattie, the West coach, insists the emphasis is more on enjoyment than winning every game. But he admitted that today's meeting at Burnbrae promises to restore some of the lustre of great city games of the past.

The former Scotland and Lions forward said: "I remember great games when I played for Glasgow Accies, going in against players such as Sandy Carmichael, Ian McLauchlan and Lewis Dick, guys I'd only seen play for Scotland on TV.

"We have Gordon Bulloch, a Scotland and British Lions player, who has been fantastic for the club, and Guy Perrett, and Hawks have former Glasgow players Kenny Sinclair, Rory Kerr and Stephen Duffy, and playing with them and against them excites others. I also think the fact you don't get so many Glasgow derbies now has added to the great buzz around this match. It should be a great day."

West and Hawks have been working together to market the game and are hopeful of attracting over 1,000 people - the hosts are even reducing pints of beer to £1 in the bar afterwards if they upset the favourites and win, so a big, thirsty crowd is expected to turn out.

West of Scotland (v Glasgow Hawks at Burnbrae, 3pm): C Duck; A Park, S Malone, E Smith, B Wright; F Sinclair, S Service; E McLaren, G Bulloch, C Hastie, J Vos, G Perrett, S McKechnie, C Morrison, C Barrie. Subs: R Kelso, C Love, I Keith, L Menzies.

Glasgow Hawks: M Adamson; R Kerr, R Munday, S Duffy (capt), S Gordon; M Strang, K Sinclair; N Cox, D Malcolm, G Mories, S Warnock, N Caddell, J Maclay, J A Maclay, Fitzpatrick. Subs: G Macfadyen, S Kidd, S Pollock, R McKnight.

This article was posted on 21-Apr-2007, 07:10 by Hugh Barrow.