West coach in a sweat as his relegation-haunted side is hunted down

GLASGOW HAWKS 22 Tries: Harris, Wallace, Mathewson Conversions: Martin 2 Penalty: Martin

WEST OF SCOTLAND 16 Tries: Diciacca Conversion: Curtis Penalties: Curtis 3

THE fag end of a club season,riven by doubt and uncertainty, threw into conflict some ofGlasgow's finest; the combined harvester of High School, Kelvinside and Accies masquerading as Hawks, whose huge success rate last season had, indeed, proved formidable, against a beleaguered West of Scotland, Glasgow's "outsiders", desperately trying tosurface from a sequence of close-run things. But this was the crunch, according to the West coach, Brian Edwards, who only a few years ago had savoured the sweet smell of success with the now doomed Stirling County. Before kick-off, the smartspeculation surrounded therespective levels of motivation and commitment. West were surely up for it in a way which would brook no interference from a side whose casual indifference was now anintegral part of their profile. Predictably, the Hawks were perverse, winning in the end quite comfortably by three second-half tries to one, with a few penalty goals thrown in. However, it was a tense, fractured and negative contest, in which one's thoughts oft strayed to the far Kilpatrick Hills on the threshold of summer and, more worryingly, to the volume of traffic filtering through Anniesland Cross. This was rather more interesting than the traffic flow on the big pitch, where the level ofhandling skills on display from both sides was the subject of some attention from the crowd. The anxiety of the West support was matched only by the ennui of the Hawks. The score had stood at 3-6 at half-time, penalties all, fromEugene Martin and Guy Curtis, New Zealanders both, in a half which was termed "scrappy" - and this was a match for which the word might well have been invented. Certainly, Murray Wallace had been industrious, as ever, and Cammy Little his ubiquitous self, while the West forwards hadcontested matters with someenthusiasm and, in the case of Mark Pope, a little over-exuberance. But the second period did spawn some tries. With seven minutes gone, after a lengthyassault on the West line, Martin threw out an enormous pass which Peter Harris gratefullyaccepted at the posts, virtually undiscovered. And, while GuyCurtis was to cut the deficit withanother penalty goal, the references from the West supporters to "tempo'', and its upping, were seriously misjudged. Evidence of that was soon forthcoming with two further home tries. After Gerry Hawkes wasrestrained on the left, a scrummage pushover was awarded to Murray Wallace who, moments later, broke magnificently from his own 22, drew the defence and beautifully timed an inside pass to Torquil Mathewson, who scorched to the posts from 40metres. Martin's conversion made the score 22-9. The visitors briefly rallied, and a solitary rolling maul allowed Carlo Diciacca to touch down at thecorner, a try which Curtismagnificently converted. And so it closed at 22-16, providing small comfort of a bonus point for West. "We struggled and struggled," said Edwards, "it remains to be done". The imponderables, too,remain still to be settled by the Glasgow side's visit to Currie next weekend. Thus, Burnbrae hopes are not quite extinct, and West are not yet down, although the Old Anniesland stand is scheduled to do just that in the near future. A new edifice is planned, but the plans at Burnbrae are all askew. referee: J Johnston (Gala) glasgow hawks P Harris; T Mathewson, M McGrandles, D Wilson (capt), G Hawkes; E Martin, C Little; K Horton, C Docherty, M Blackie, C Afuakwah, S Hutton, B Irvine, A Plastow (S Winter 45), M Wallace. west of scotland G Curtis; N Craig (J Livingston 50),I McInroy, A Gibbon, A Williamson; A Hogarth, N McLeod; R Balmer, C Diciacca, D Gibb, C Hamilton, S MacKechnie, G Howieson, C Houston, M Pope.

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