Hawick overcome Ayr in U16 National Youth League Cup Final

Hawick Albion defeated Ayr 13-10 at BT Murrayfield in the U16 National Youth League Cup Final on Friday night to win the competition for the first time since 2003/4. The opening stages of the match witnessed both teams settling their nerves in front of travelling support from the West and the Borders at the national stadium.A fine break from Hawick captain Andrew Mitchell looked to have sent Hawick into an attacking position within the 22 but the ball was lost and the Millbrae youth cleared their lines.Ayr reacted with an impressive kick down the right wing from Chris Easton, only for the ball to spill out into touch and for Hawick to regain possession. Ayr then found themselves in prime position with a line-out metres from the whitewash and with captain Ollie Mossie setting the ball in contact, the dangerous Scott Clelland brushed past several tackles to crash over right of the sticks.Jake Jacobson pushed the conversion attempt wide and it wasn’t long before Clelland made another run through the Hawick defence as the Borders pack remained strong in the close quarters.In the 28th minute, Bailey Donaldson nailed a long range penalty attempt to get Hawick on the scoreboard.Mitchell then broke at the other end for Hawick, the centre using pace and power to move across the defensive line and round the outside, before being manoeuvred into touch after the half-hour mark.Half-time: Ayr 5-3 HawickThere were several breaks after the interval which swung momentum either way, another scintillating charge from Hawick’s Mitchell was answered by a winding run from Ayr winger, Jonathon Easton.The Borders side then found momentum in attack and with a charge down of an Ayr kick from Donaldson, Mully Bannerman collected and made his way over to take the lead for his team.In the 56th minute, another penalty from Donaldson extended the lead for Hawick as the side who were on the back foot in the first-half maintained possession in the closing stages.Ayr continued to probe through the forwards but it Hawick’s day at BT Murrayfield with the youth in green holding out until the final whistle.Full-time: Ayr 10-13 Hawick Referee: Michael ToddPlayer of the Match: Andrew Mitchell (Hawick Albion) National Youth League Cup U16 FinalAyr: Jake Jacobson; Chris Easton, Chris Bain, Tom Lanni, Jonathon Easton; Andy Morrison, Craig Doolan; Conlan McLuckie, Scott Clelland, Ben Cree, Euan Bulloch, Dylan Wilson, Harry Ledgerwood, Olly Mossie CAPTAIN, Stephen McLarty. Replacements: Matthew Field, Conrad Lynch, Mark Brennan, Max Glen, Jason McGinness, Keelan McCartney, Ross Watson.  Hawick Albion: Bailey Donaldson, Finnen Gorden Woolley, Mully Bannerman, Andrew Mitchell CAPTAIN, James Delaney; Evan Alexander, Paul Brunton; Nathan Murray, Moises Silveira, Aaron Fletcher, Ben Murdoch, Jamie Grant, Macaulay Walker, Rhys Tait, Billy McNeil. Replacements: David Palmer, Ryan Middlemas, Dylan Wyllie, Paul Goldie, Ben Chelley, Brodie Graham, Alex Jones.