With the recent visit to Armagh in the Ulster League and the defeat of 47 points to 13 still fresh in their memory the Ards team must have had some serious sessions on the training field and some very strong words from their coach, Mervyn Tweed. From the kick-off the visitors played with a vigour which wasn’t evident during their previous trip to the Palace Grounds. On the other hand, Armagh’s coach, Andy Hughes’s had problems when a mysterious gastric bug hit the home team on Saturday morning. Several last minute team changes were required. Luckily, the Armagh seconds had no fixture so Hughes was able to call in replacements from the talented two’s squad.
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The game was played in near perfect conditions with a stiff cross wind and a temperature of 22 degrees! Bearing in mind the torrential downpours experienced during the previous match this game promised to entertain the large crowd.
After twenty-five minutes play the Armagh fullback, Richard Reaney, placed a beautifully judged kick behind the Ards right winger. The ball was collected by James McBriar who went on to score his inaugural try. He then went on to land a very difficult conversion in the tricky wind. Score 7-0 to Armagh. Ards responded immediately with a try in the right corner after some careless defensive tackling from the home backs.
The conversion fell short and with the score at 7-5 the visitors were back in serious contention. The Ards blind-side flanker, David Calvert, was forced to leave the field with a dead leg. Just before the break Armagh’s captain, Phill Hill went over for a fine try which McBriar duly converted to bring the score to 14-5 at half-time.
Just after the break Mc Briar landed a fine kick behind the Ards centres which then let Armagh’s Matthew Irwin collect and touch down. Again, McBriar converted to bring the score to 21-5. Score number four came when Mattie Irwin stormed over under the Ards posts which McBriar converted bringing t score up to 28-5.
At this stage of the game the Ards pack appeared tp flag and a turn-over scrum against the head confirmed Armagh’s supremacy. This was further illustrated when Armagh’s number 8 crashed over in the right corner. Unfortunately, McBriar’s conversion went wide to prevent his 100per cent kick rate. But the score of 33-5 reflected the home team’s confidence. Ards, on the other hand, never gave up and challenged every ball right to the final whistle.
Wednesday’s Ulster League home fixture against Ballymena will be a much more challenging game. Armagh’s coach emphasised in his post match team talk that a resolute performance is required from the whole squad.
