Saturday 3rd April. Report and Pictures from Roy Lawton
Ards took a very youthful side to Eaton Park on Saturday in this rescheduled USL fixture against Ballymena. With an average age of only 21, Ards were looking to give some of their returning students and fringe players a bit of game time at the higher level.
The game kicked-off in sticky, blustery conditions with the odd peppering of showers and sunshine, as the visitors took the early initiative and ran the ball at the home side.
Stewart Paul controlled things well in the back division with some early breaks closely supported by Scott Young. And John Dowey marshalled his forwards intelligently to ensure enough support was on hand as and when required.
On 9 minutes, the Braidmen, broke through the Ards defence and scored their first converted try. Five minutes later Ards responded when Paul made a scything break from about the halfway line, then put in a cheeky little grubber for Young to race onto and score a very pleasing try under the posts, converted by Michael Lawton.
Ards then had the lions share of possession and territory with some good all round play from the forwards and backs combining well to force the home side onto the back foot as they were forced to defend more than they had intended.
Thirty three minutes into the game and Lawton landed a neat penalty to put Ards in front, only to have it cancelled out with a Ballymena unconverted try, a few minutes later.
Ards fought their way back up the pitch at the restart with some rugged work from Dowey, Kenny Heaslip, Andy Hassard and Kenny McCombe, and were rewarded with another penalty, again secured by Lawton to go into the break leading by a thoroughly deserved 13 – 12.
The alarm bells could be heard ringing in the Division One ranks, so some remedial action had to be taken otherwise one of the biggest upsets in years, was staring the home side in the face.
At the restart and throughout the second half the changes were made and this had the desired effect as the locals effectively closed out the game, preventing the visitors from getting their hands on the ball for long periods. Ards tried desperately to get back into the game and put in some huge hits, most notably from Johnny Garrett, but were unable to halt a glut of tries being scored as the game progressed.
The final whistle was greeted with great disappointment from the Ards ranks as the first half showed what they were capable of. Unfortunately, the Braidmen battling relegation from Division One, had to bring on their big guns to save face against the less experienced Ardsmen and ensure they went into next weeks final AIL game against Ballynahinch, with a spring in their step.
Next week, Ards are away to Rainey Old Boys. This will be their last AIL game of the season and may also serve as a double header, for a rescheduled USL game postponed over the Christmas period.
Both teams are safe in the AIL and with Ards just sitting above Rainey in the League table, the game itself promises to produce a bit of champagne rugby, as both sides aim to end this seasons campaign on a high.
Ards squad;- D Keys, J Garrett, J Millar, J Dowey, K Heaslip, A Hassard, K McCombe, K McIlwaine, M Banford, S Paul, G Wilson, T Ferguson, S Young, T Devlin, M Lawton, A Foster, P Henderson, N Cahoon, J Dawson.
