BOYLE SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ards FC 1
Rathfriland Rangers 0
By Adrian Monaghan
A GOAL on the stroke of half-time was enough for Ards FC to return to winning ways when they welcomed bottom-of-the-league Rathfriland Rangers to Clandeboye Park last Saturday.
Having lost three Championship games on the bounce, Ards knew they could not afford any slips in this encounter, even at this early stage of the campaign.
Manager John Bailie fielded the same 11 who started the previous outing at Annagh United – a game his side narrowly lost, despite an encouraging display.
It was Ards who started brightest when Jamie Browne fed Fiontan O’Boyle at the near post, but the striker blasted over on four minutes.
Browne was in the thick of the action two minutes later, as he latched on to a careless headed pass-back from Brian Johnston. The ball eventually fell to Conor Scannell, who skied his shot from 25-yards out.
On 23 minutes, Rathfriland centre-half Johnston found himself unmarked in the penalty box, but his weak header sailed wide of the target.
Ards were enjoying the majority of possession, although they struggled to impose themselves in the final third, as Rathfriland had set themselves up well and were stubborn in their defensive play.
Ten minutes before the break, home captain Eamon Scannell controlled a high ball on the edge of the box and managed to get off a shot, which it was blocked, before O’Boyle headed over the resultant corner.
Eamon Scannell nearly broke the deadlock as the interval approached, when he directed a header towards goal and goalkeeper Ben McCauley saved to his right.
On the stroke of half time, skipper Scannell delivered a cross that was met by Browne, who headed across goal.
The ball appeared to be running harmlessly out of play, until O’Boyle arrived at the back post to poke home and open the scoring.
It was hoped that the goal would settle Ards a little, but the opening play of the second half was every bit as disjointed as the first period.
The ball spent a lot of time in the air and the game was crying out for someone to get it on the deck and take control, but it never happened.
Rathfriland were rarely seen as an attacking force, while Steven Gordon and Kielan Reid dealt well with the few incursions they did make into the Ards area.
James McClure, who had replaced O’Boyle on the hour mark, made a bit of space for himself after cutting in from the left, however, his shot was toothless and McCauley had little trouble saving.
A flurry of activity in the final 10 minutes livened things up. Conor Scannell crossed from the right, but his delivery eluded everyone and landed on the top of the net.
A late flurry of home corners ultimately came to nothing, as the nononsense Rangers rearguard reacted to clear the danger.
As the game came to a conclusion, Ards seemed content to retain possession, rather than going gung-ho to find a second to put the game to bed, with tactics perhaps dictated by the run of poor results leading up to the match.
The most welcome sound of the afternoon came when the referee blew for full-time, bringing an uneventful game to an end, albeit with a welcome three points and a clean sheet for the hosts.
Ards: M Matthews, C Scannell, C Crossan, K Reid, S Gordon, G Tipton, E Scannell (captain), C Maxwell, F O’Boyle, M Brammeld, J Browne. Subs: J McClure, P Cafolla, E Simpson, J Smith, R Bailie.
Rathfriland: B McCauley, D Tate, B Johnston, M Beattie, R Fitzpatrick, C Dobbin, S McCavitt, A Neale, M Holloway, L Barr, S Teggart (captain).
