THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
GORDON ALEXANDER AT BRAIDHOLM
GHA 10

Glasgow Hawks 16

GLASGOW HAWKS coach Davie Wilson admits his side came close to blowing their victory hopes because they took their collective foot off the pedal after racing into a 16-0 lead.

Wilson was clearly relieved to see them cling on for the win, although much of its gloss was removed by a neck injury to front-row forward Gordon Macfadyen.

Play was delayed for almost 20 minutes in the second half to allow medics to strap on a brace and carefully move him onto a specially adapted stretcher.

Wilson said: "The stoppage probably helped us more than them because they were on top at the time."

GHA coach Roddy Moir said: "I'm not blaming the delay, but we seemed to lose momentum after that. I thought our forwards would dominate and their backs would give us a torrid time. I think it turned out to be the other way around."

Hawks had dominated before the break after Ally Maclay broke through for a try after just one minute. Mike Adamson slotted the conversion and added three penalties for a comfortable 16-point cushion.

But GHA refused to buckle and Rory Watson claimed their first touchdown five minutes after half time, with Andy Rushforth crossing to score after the departure of Macfadyen.

Scorers: GHA: Tries: Watson, Rushforth. Glasgow Hawks: Try: A Maclay. Con: Adamson. Pens: Adamson (3).

GHA: A Rushforth; R Watson, N Cassie, A Bulloch, R McClymont; C McKay, J Wright; J Welsh, D Sutherland, A Kelly, G Harkness, J Paine, C Channey, A Boag, C Forrester. Subs used: T Jercevich, E Baillie, D Ziolo, B Prescott, G Williams.

Glasgow Hawks: C Shaw; R Kerr, S Gordon, M Davids, M Adamson; I Noble, K Sinclair; G Strain, J Maclay, G Macfadyen, R Gray, A Kelly, M Sitch, R Hamilton, A Maclay. Subs used: S Murray, S Smith, D MacLeod, S Kidd, G Francis.

Referee: D Newitt

This article was posted on 5-Nov-2007, 08:28 by Hugh Barrow.