EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REPORTS

Fairytale fails at final stage for Accies
EDINBURGH ACCIES 13 - 24 GLASGOW HAWKS

EDINBURGH Accies star Alistair Marsh's wedding fairytale didn't quite come true and he was in no doubt afterwards what had gone wrong.

Such was Marsh's determination to play in the Scottish Cup final at Murrayfield that he helicoptered direct from his wedding in Hawick to pack down at prop forward.

But, after a 13-24 defeat to Glasgow Hawks, he was clear that Accies could have done better and pinpointed the key moment when his dream of a double celebration died.

Marsh said candidly: "One mistake resulting in a yellow card changed the game."

That ten-minute sin-binning of second row Ed Stuart preceded a blitz of 15 points by the men from along the M8.

They went from 3-8 to 18-8 since the miscreant only slipped back onto the field on or around the decisive second try of the banishment period, which started with a penalty for the original offence.

"The boys were in control up until the yellow card. It cost us. We felt it was very close especially if the ref [Peter Allan of Watsonians] had not given the yellow card straight away for one offside too many in going over the top of a ruck to steal the ball when they were attacking," said Marsh.

His typically-honest assessment extended to noting how the error was then compounded two minutes later. He said: "Ross Browne, our full back, made two bad plays. He lost the ball in contact when he should have put it up in the air."

That was a reference to how a loss of his bearings saw an infield pass from Browne, apparently to nobody in particular, gratefully intercepted by John Fitzpatrick who, with the aid of a firm hand-off, galloped in from long range for a crucial try.

But, while highlighting those faults, Marsh was right to talk up the Accies' contribution to a match which drew a crowd of 4667 with further, refreshingly straight talking.

He insisted that the mistakes would be learned from and that his newly-promoted club is at the beginning of what could be a glory run. He said: "There is a lot we can take with us into the First Division next season.

"It's a disappointed dressing room but, hopefully, the team can pick themselves up and accept being beaten by a better side on the day.

"The boys played their hearts out and now know that, if you make a mistake against Division One teams like Hawks, you will be punished.

"Also, we need to be sharper and maybe a bit fitter. If we do those things then hopefully we can take the title next year because we aren't going in there not to win it.

"After all we are now working as a team and not just as a powerful forward pack."

With that reference to how Accies had produced a rounded display, albeit in defeat, Marsh was off back to new wife Lorraine and their wedding guests.

The pity was that others did not show the same drive and composure as former South Schools ace Marsh, 27, otherwise Accies would not have been back on the back foot so often in key phases of the game.

But his willingness to confront adversity with a view to being back among silverware at the highest level next season points the way ahead.

The issue of the importance of the sin-binning was picked up on by Hawks coach David Wilson but he, too, offered positives for the Capital side.

Wilson said: "We knew we couldn't get bogged down in any Accies forward-orientated approach and the sin binning helped us, not just because of the points scored during the absence, but because we were able, with the extra man, to get necessary momentum.

"But they have a back row in Dan Teague, Greg Campbell and Jamie Parker, who are very workmanlike and very capable of slowing things down and turning over possession.

"So Accies will definitely be challenging in Division One next season."

And Wilson made it clear that overcoming such an up-and-coming force had added to his team's satisfaction.

He added: "In all fairness we knew there would be mind games from Barney [Accies coach Ian Barnes], which is why he wanted them out to spread the ball wide."

That contrasted with a traditional up-the-jumper style which had produced notable scalps but was, intriguingly, abandoned for spells when it mattered most.

If the Accies' tactics were modified, it was only up to a point according to Wilson, who claimed his team took extra strength from calling Barnes' bluff.

"We defended effectively against the first-half wide game and, when Barney went back to plan A which was keeping it tight, we had prepared for taking Accies on around the fringes.

"We had studied videos of Accies games against Boroughmuir in the Cup and also in the league against Hamilton.

"We were prepared for what to expect in defence and, by the end, were on top," said Wilson.

With that the one-time Currie captain was off to celebrate adding a coaching medal to one he earned as skipper of a Cup-winning Hawks side a few years ago - a possibly unique feat.

At the outset, though, such a celebration had seemed unlikely as, with 20 minutes gone, Stuart crashed over from a ruck for the opening try for Accies.

The try went unconverted but Gavin Douglas was soon on the mark with a trademark drop goal to cancel out the first of four penalties by Mike Adamson.

Then came Stuart's switch from hero to villain at the brandishing of the card and Hawks surged ahead with another penalty followed by those tries from Fitzpatrick and fellow back row fleet-foot Ally Maclay, with Adamson adding the second conversion.

True to form, leading from the front as always Dan Teague mustered a close-range try.

But, despite further heroics from Nathan Pike who pocketed a vital Hawks throw-in five metres out, the Accies defiance petered out as two further clinching penalties from Adamson went over.

The Hawks kicker's accuracy was also enough to see him out-poll 20-year-old Accies scrum half Mike Campbell for the man-of-the-match award.

Accies had been made to pay but would things have been different if iconic coach Barnes had stuck with the shorts he wore for previous victories against Hawick and Boroughmuir - long trousers, it seems, do not have the same talismanic effect?

In truth there are more pressing - and less flippant - matters to be concerned with.

For all that Accies lit up this season's knock-out tournament, there remain question marks over their discipline and single-footedness in key positions.

And, for all that centres Paul Loudon and Luke McCann produced fabulous tackles on Murray Strang and Ricky Munday respectively just seconds apart before the interval, a Hawks team commendably rejuvenated by a coaching team also including Edinburgh's Dave Cockburn were able to pour through midfield with ease.

Scorers: Accies - Tries: Stuart, Teague. Conversion: Douglas. Drop goal: Douglas. Hawks - Tries: Fitzpatrick, A Maclay. Conversion: Adamson. Penalties: Adamson (4).

Accies: Browne, Howison, McCann, Loudon, Rattray, Douglas, Campbell, Burns, Edwards, Marsh, Stuart, Pike, Teague (captain), Parker, Campbell. Subs: Walker, MacLeod, Stott, Paterson, Kinloch, Bonner, Niven.

Hawks: Strang, Gordon, Munday, S Duffy (captain), Kerr, Adamson, Sinclair, Cox, Malcolm, Mories, Dale, Warnock, Caddell, Fitzpatrick, Maclay. Subs: McFadyen, Maclay, Francis, Low, McKnight, Smith, Kidd.

This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/rugby.cfm?id=706992007

This article was posted on 7-May-2007, 14:17 by Hugh Barrow.