The Scotsman-reports

WILLIAM PAUL
AT OLD ANNIESLAND

Glasgow Hawks 21
Ayr 10

GLASGOW Hawks retained their 100 per cent record in Premier Division 1 with another gritty, but untidy performance against an uninspired Ayr team in a game disrupted by a whistle-happy referee.

Paul Burr's name was being taken in vain in both dressing rooms afterwards and the clubs will be filing formal complaints with the SRU. The official referees' assessor in the stand already knows because rival coaches David Wilson and Craig Redpath teamed up to tell him just how unhappy they were with the ugly rugby produced by his handling of the match.

"You can't get a quality game of rugby when someone like that is in charge," Hawks coach Wilson said. "He didn't allow any phases or play to develop. There was no continuity. The players got frustrated. When you are trying to get people to come and watch club rugby you can't have it killed as a spectacle like that. I know referees have to learn but this guy has been around for a while and I don't see any improvement."

Ayr coach Redpath was equally scathing about the referee although the balance of the sin- binnings probably worked in his favour. But he refused to use him as a scapegoat for his side's defeat.

"Hawks toughed it out," he said. "They defied everything out there, including the referee. It looked as if it was going our way at one stage and we had our chances, but they have the kind of mental toughness that has won them two championships and because of that they probably deserved to win today." Hawks did not leave the scoring to the last minute as they had done in their previous games against Aberdeen and Watsonians, but coach Wilson's unflattering verdict was that they are still too fragmented and too indecisive, and if they don't improve soon someone is going to find them out.

Hawks, having already lost one full-back to the Glasgow pro team by pre-arrangement, then lost another when Colin Shaw was called up at the last moment although in the end he didn't even get a seat on the bench. Olly Jones was summoned from the second XV for his first outing in the premiership.

They started as if they meant business straight from the kick-off, running two penalties in the first ten minutes when it might have been wiser to take the points and let the game settle down.

The referee made a point of warning both sets of forwards about illegal hands in the rucks but it still seemed a bit early to yellow-card Hawks No8 Mark Sitch after only 13 minutes.

Mike Adamson opened the scoring with a penalty from inside the Ayr 22 and stand-off Murray Strang ended a long period of disjointed play that was going nowhere with a drop goal from almost 40 metres.

Hawks had all the pressure, and Ayr trapped inside their own half for most of the first 40 minutes, but never really looked like crossing the visitors' line. It was Ayr who created a try in their first real attack, stretching the Hawks defence right and then left and opening up space for centre Nick Lavelle to run in. Jamie Noonan's conversion put the visitors into an unexpected lead.

A second Adamson penalty nudged Hawks into the lead but Noonan replied minutes after the restart and Hawks, having brought on Scott Forrest and re-arranged their pack to try and produce more ball for their virtually unemployed backs, were behind again.

Ayr skipper Euan Logan was then yellow-carded for an offence at a ruck and Hawks, spurning the chance to kick for goal, went for the corner instead to be rewarded with a clean lineout take and prop Peter Dalton being driven over the line.

The missed conversion kept Ayr breathing down their necks until a lightning sidestep by Strang beat his man and the pass set up winger Steven Gordon to score near the posts. This time the conversion was good and the lead substantial enough to see Hawks out.

This article was posted on 19-Sep-2005, 07:34 by Hugh Barrow.