Saturday 27th February. Roy Lawton reports.
Heavy rain on Friday, forced a change of venue for this Ulster Senior Cup first round tie on Saturday, when Ards had to host Portadown at Regent House School playing fields at Circular Road in Newtownards. Regent has some excellent facilities on site and after a bit of a scramble to pull the game back together, was able to accommodate Ards at very short notice. And because of the England v Ireland clash in the Six Nations at Twickenham at 4pm on the same day, it was agreed that the Ards v Portadown game should kick-off at 1.30pm, to allow everyone time to get in front of the telly to watch the big game.
In almost perfect playing conditions at Circular Road, the game commenced with Ards fielding an exceptionally young side, including many of last seasons U20s and this seasons U19s. From the start, Ards decided to take the game to the visitors and soon had them under the cosh with a well struck Paul Cox penalty after only 4 minutes. The restart was a mirror image of the earlier scene with some great handling and strong running in the backs from Mark Banford, Paul Cox, Taylor Ferguson, Alan Crawford, Trevor Devlin, Michael Taylor and Willie McAllister, who all broke the gain line to put the visitors under more pressure before they conceded another penalty on 8 minutes for Cox to slot between the sticks and extend the lead by six points to nil.
Johnny Garret was relishing his start as hooker and was putting himself all round the park to show what he is capable of. His lineout throwing too was spot on. Johnny Dawson had been moved to blindside flanker and was making a big impact with his strong carries and sound defence.
As the game progressed under the captaincy of veteran lock John Dowey, things were looking good for Ards to open up and set the stage alight and on 18 minutes, Taylor Ferguson did exactly that. The big robust centre blasted his way up the pitch and crashed over the try line for a great score to loud cheers from the sizeable crowd watching from the touchline. The conversion was missed but Ards were in full control.
Andy Hassard had switched to open side flanker and created all sorts of bother for the opposition back row and out half as he worked his socks off keeping them pinned down to prevent much of what they had in mind. Jaydon Hill also stood tall with some massive ball carries and breaks forcing the Ports to track back in numbers to haul the big man down.
On 30 minutes, Ards unleashed their free flowing back division once again with swift hands and good footwork for Michael Taylor, looking more comfortable in his accustomed position at fullback, to race over and score another fine try on the right flank, converted by Cox, to push the score up to eighteen points to nil as they approached the halfway mark.
With David Algie partnering John Dowey in the second row and Andrew Foster and Johnny Millar propping up Johnny Garret in the front row, Ards were looking very balanced as they competed well and supported the ball carriers to ensure maximum ground was made in opposition territory.
At the break, Ards were still looking fresh and eager to get things moving again and as the second half progressed a number of changes were made more to do with game time rather than injury. Big Gary Presho came on for the impressive John Dowey, Scott Young replaced Taylor Ferguson in the centre, and Richard Hamilton and Conor Piper came on for Andrew Foster and Johnny Garrett in the front row.
On 61 minutes after more fancy footwork and great supply from Mark Banford at scrumhalf, Scott Young was released to nip and skip his way through the Ports defensive line and score another well taken try and Ards third of the day.
The conversion was missed but things were going well according to plan for the Ardsmen and giving some of the younger fringe players plenty of opportunity to strut their stuff on the bigger stage.
As the final whistle sounded, Ards coach Cois Beukes was delighted with his team’s performance and progress into the next round of the Cup. This was a pleasing performance, with all the players looking very comfortable beside each other, but then many of them have been playing alongside each other for a number of years in the clubs Youth section and so know what makes the other tick.
Next week, it’s back to AIB League action when Ards host Nenagh Ormond at Hamilton Park. This is likely to be a big day as Ards continue with their push to retain their senior status for next season. Entry to the ground will be via the top gate to help facilitate local residents as they go about their daily business. Visitors to Hamilton Park are requested to park inside the ground, or be considerate if parking in the surrounding area.
Ards team :- J Millar, J Garrett, A Foster, J Dowey, D Algie, J Dawson, A Hassard, J Hill, M Banford, P Cox, T Ferguson, A Crawford, T Devlin, W McAllister, M Taylor R Hamilton, C Piper, G Presho, S Paul and S Young.
