SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY REPORTS

Glasgow Hawks 19 - 15 Ayr: Hawks fly a little higher

Published Date: 19 September 2010
By Iain Morrison
at Old Anniesland
Glasgow Hawks 19

Ayr 15
Two good teams, perfect conditions and a decent crowd so there were no excuses but for some reason this match between two Scottish club heavyweights never quite got off the ground. Perhaps it was the latent aggression between the west-coast rivals thADVERTISEMENT

at was never far from bubbling over. Perhaps it was the fact that the starting referee limped off after six minutes and his replacement never quite showed the same authority. The poor man was still lecturing players deep inside the second half when an early yellow card would have ensured a far better spectacle for everyone, players and spectators alike.

It resulted in a scrappy, stop-start game when the only two yellow cards were shown for fighting, with Rory Hamilton and Grant Anderson left to cool their heels for ten minutes in the sin bin. That was just one in a slew of touch judge interventions for various pieces of skullduggery which prevented the game from gaining any momentum and if it hadn't been for the Gossman brothers it would have had none at all.

With Kerr on the wing and Craig playing in the Hawks' 15 shirt, at least the home support had something to shout about when either of the quicksilver brothers got hold of the ball. Both are electric runners and each has the added ability of beating the first defender and, more often than not, the second and third.

Mike Adamson kicked two early penalties before the Gossman brothers combined to give Hawks the first try of the match. Kerr came off his left wing to make the extra man on the right flank and enable Craig to touch down in the corner. Just as Hawks seemed to have established a decent advantage Ayr struck back. Damien Kelly didn't travel far to score but every try counts just the same and immediately before the half-time break is a useful time to score.

With the wind behind them, the visitors dominated the second half just as Hawks had bossed the first 40. Ross Curle kicked an early penalty which was quickly negated by Adamson's third goal but that was about that. The visitors enjoyed a good few attacking opportunities but they lacked the guile to find a way to the line and, for once in their life, they failed to muscle their way over the line - at least not until it was too late to matter much.

Instead Craig Gossman popped up at the opposite end of the field to carve out Hawks' second try and make the game safe with ten minutes still to play.

This article was originally posted on 19-Sep-2010, 06:29 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 19-Sep-2010, 06:29.