BOROUGHMUIR coach Bruce Aitchison hailed the calm and nerveless approach of marksman Chris Laidlaw after his last gasp conversion clinched a dramatic 20-19 triumph over Glasgow Hawks.
The hosts had looked set to cling on for glory in spite of losing Tom Steven then David Milne to the sin-bin. But up stepped Laidlaw to bang over the touchline strike in the wake of Iain Moody's try.
Aitchison said: "I am pleased for the guys because they have stayed positive and showed immense spirit throughout a difficult season.
"Hawks are a strong side who dominated the set-piece, so it took a lot of character to earn that result under pressure.
"Iain gave the performance of a Club International player and Chris showed amazing calmness to slot the tricky conversion."
The win took Muir level on points with Hawks in the relegation play-off spot, while also consigning Edinburgh Accies to the drop.
Home assistant coach Peter Laverie - whose men have a game in hand - declared: "Having held out with 13 men, we were penalised for offside in front of the kicker. That enabled Muir to find the hole in the corner.
"It was very frustrating as the players put a lot into that game and we didn't get enough from our dominant scrum."
Ayr boosted their hopes of claiming a home play-off by edging out pacesetters Heriot's 25-23 at Millbrae.
Stuart Fenwick emerged as the hero with a late score, but it was Ross Curle who had been the main weapon with five penalties.
Curle also bagged a try, while Colin Goudie, Dave McGregor and Russell Nimmo went over for the Edinburgh outfit.
Elsewhere, Stirling County's stirring fightback wasn't enough to prevent Currie carving out a precious 22-19 victory at Bridgehaugh.
Touchdowns by Chris Logan, Malky Peacock and Robbie Nelson proved vital in their charge towards play-off contention. Centre John Coutts snapped up the crucial try as Hawick outmuscled doomed Edinburgh Accies 14-7 in a dour affair at Mansfield Park.
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