Ards RANGERS 0
LISBURN RANGERS 2
ARDS Rangers were unable to put a dent in Lisburn Rangers’ title hopes as the visitors moved to within one point of league leaders Derriaghy CC with victory at Drome Park.
Lisburn were not without their chances in the first half, but striker Jamie Willighan missed a bagful of chances and deadlock ensued at the mid-way point.
Still, the away side were not to be discouraged, continuing to put their hosts under the cosh, while surviving potentially deadly counter-attacks, and sealing a vital three points thanks to second-half goals from Joshua Lynch and Craig McCutcheon.
It was thought that Ards would get off to a fast start, when Aaron Dunlop appeared to be felled in the box by visiting captain Jaimie McGovern, yet referee Mark McCurdy showed no interest in the penalty shouts.
The lucky escape brought Lisburn out of their shell, and it was largely one-way traffic from that point onwards, as they began to get the ball down, play nice football and attack in numbers.
Winger McCutcheon was first to try his luck, slaloming into the box, confusing his marker, only to smash into the side netting with a powerful effort.
Despite controlling the lion’s share of possession and dictating the play, Lisburn seemed to be letting the struggling Ards off the hook, with 17 minutes passing before their next clear-cut opportunity.
However, that chance would be the closest they would come to scoring before the half-time interval, as a trio of corners asked serious questions of the home side – the third of which called for defensive heroics.
Lynch’s in-swinging delivery was cleared by Philip Simpson and Jason Johnston took it on the volley, forcing Ards captain Lewis Roy to throw himself at the shot direct the ball over the bar.
There was more of the same minutes later, when Jack McIvor played a cross to the back post, Willighan side-footed goalward and Roy covered ground to block in front of goal.
Lisburn seemed to sense that it would be a cross that led to the opening goal of the game, peppering balls into the home area for the remainder of the first period.
Lynch produced a fantastic delivery to pick out Willighan in the six-yard box and although he really should have scored, the towering centre-forward headed over.
The next attempt came courtesy of a low, driven cross from William Faulkner, also finding Willighan, but again he was off target, dragging his shot wide.
Willighan was offered the chance of a reprieve moments later too, when McGovern clipped the ball into the penalty spot, only for him to scoop wide and leave the sides level at the half-way stage.
There looked set to no change in the ascendancy after the restart, with home goalkeeper Marc Orbison called upon after only a minute, making a a superb diving save to deny a strong header from Adam McCallum.
However, Ards did eventually get going, opting for counter-attacking football and coming to within inches of a shock opener when Alexander McIlmail had ’keeper Brian Neeson panicking with a dipping effort that just went over the bar.
McIlmail then turned creator, whipping a cross into Dunlop, who side-footed goalward and brought an athletic save from Neeson.
Any inroads the hosts were making quickly evaporated unfortunately, as Lisburn netted twice in 11 minutes to as good as guarantee the points.
Talisman Lynch ended the stalemate just before the hour mark, meeting a cut-back from McCutcheon and calmly rolling the ball into the bottom corner.
The pair traded roles for the second goal, with Lynch delivering a corner to the front post and McCutcheon making a timely run to meet it, finding the roof of the net with a fancy flick.
Many a team would have admitted defeat at that time, but Ards introduced fresh legs and attempted to reduce the margin, despite there being mere minutes remaining.
One such substitution threatened to pay off as young Jay Dalzell drilled a shot through a pile of bodies and forced Neeson to push it out of his far corner.
Ultimately, the lack of first-half impact had left them with too large a mountain to climb and with Lisburn able to run down the clock, the home side left no great mark on the game.
Ards Rangers will look to pick up maximum points in their final three games of the season, facing Islandmagee twice and East Belfast – two sides that sit below them in the table.
Ards Rangers: M Orbinson, L Roy (captain), S Cockcroft, S Spiers, P Simpson, L Adair, H McIlwrath, R Newberry, A McIlmail, A Dunlop, C Gillan. Subs: J Dalzell, D Annett, M Armstrong.
Lisburn Rangers: B Neeson, J McIvor, S Foster J McGovern (captain), C Savage, A McCallum, C McCutcheon, J Lynch, J Willighan, J Johnston, W Faulkner. Subs: D McAllister, D Farr, M Drysdale.
