We travel to Clandeboye Park tomorrow afternoon to take on Ards in our next Lough 41 Championship fixture.
Match Info
When: Saturday 5th March – Kick-Off 3:00pm
Where: Clandeboye Park
What: Lough 41 Championship
Entry: Pay at the gate – £8 (Adult) / £5 (Concession)
The Opponents
Last week Ards and Dergview carved out a 2-2 draw at Darragh Park just a week after the venue was left underwater because of the recent storms. Matthew Kirk fired Dergview in front on 18 minutes with a successfully converted spot-kick but Ards hit back through Christopher Crane’s 30-yard effort into the top corner to level after half-an-hour. That was how it stayed until the 59th minute when Niall Fielding restored Dergview’s advantage with another long range strike but, as before, the visitors levelled soon after when Ross Arthurs turned home a header. The draw keeps Ards in 6th position, just a point ahead of Dergview who have a game in hand.
The Comrades
Ballyclare Comrades and Queen’s University battled to a 1-1 draw at Dixon Park with both goals coming in the first half. The home side came close to breaking the deadlock early on when an Ian Fletcher free-kick was headed against the crossbar by a visiting defender before, from the follow up, Michael Smith also directed his header against the woodwork. But Ballyclare did find a way through on 14 minutes courtesy of Kyle Beggs’ cross-come-shot which bypassed everyone to end up in the net. However the Students levelled just before the half-hour mark through Leon Bonnes after he got his head to a corner while, on the stroke of half-time, Fletcher was on hand to clear the ball off the line. The second half was a much less lively affair with neither side able to settle nor grab what could well have been the winner. The draw proved to be the last game in charge for Paul Harbinson, after a run of bad form over the last lot of months lead to the Comrades dropping to 9th position in the table. Club Captain, Chris Ramsey, will be in charge of all first team affairs on a caretaker basis while the Board of Directors carries out a recruitment process for a new Manager. Chris will be assisted by Adam McCart, Rob Murdie and Michael Higgins.
Last Time Out
The last time these two sides met, Ards swept to a 4-2 victory over Ballyclare Comrades at Dixon Park in December. Ards might have moved in front as early as the opening minute when presented with a penalty but Kyle Calderwood’s spot-kick was saved by Jack Ferguson. The deadlock was broken on ten minutes, however, when Ciaran Heggarty nodded Ballyclare in front from Ian Fletcher’s free-kick. However, two goals in quick succession midway through the first half tipped the balance in Ards’ favour. Conall McGrandles levelled on 21 minutes with a header from Patrick Cafolla’s corner before, four minutes after that, Ross Arthurs made it 2-1 with a finish in off an upright. Ards further extended their advantage just before the hour when Cafolla found the net but Ballyclare came back into proceedings on 73 minutes through Chris Ramsey’s header from Ashton McDermott’s cross. But Salou Jallow made sure of the points for Ards deep into stoppage time after rounding Ferguson to calmly slot home.
