50 Years - The Story of the Championship Season PART THREE

Ards' form until the start of November had been anything but consistent, with less than half of the fifteen games to date heralding a victory.

Form was being shown however in the Gold Cup, where early victories over Bangor and Ballymena had earned the club a semi-final date with Glenavon. Windsor Park hosted that tie in the first week of November, but despite a goal from Liam Munroe, two Campbell strikes put Glenavon into the final, where they would be beaten by Coleraine.

The cup exit might well have put the players on a downer but ironically it was from this point that Ards' season had a re-birth. In the three remaining City Cup games, Ards banked three victories including home wins against Bangor 1-0 and a 3-2 score against Crusaders. But it was the result in the final City Cup match on 23rd November that suggested Ards just might have a team on the up.

Ards went to Lurgan to take on Glenavon, previously undefeated at home, and took the lead inside 11 minutes thanks to a Richardson goal. Glenavon were level by the half hour and then just before half-time went in front through a Jones penalty. Ards, however had a game to win and levelled the match with two minutes of the new half played, kicking off an onslaught on the Glenavon goal. Chances were missed before Billy Humphries turned the score 3-2 and Liam Munroe chipped in with a fourth on 75 minutes. He added another with a minute to play and Ards had exacted revenge on their Gold Cup victors, winning 5-2, and heading into the start of the league campaign on an undeniable high.

Glentoran 0-1 Ards  from Ireland's Saturday Night

Saturday 30th November was the date when the 22-game league season finally got underway. Ards had a date at the Oval, where Glentoran lay await, a side who had out-tussled Ards by a two point margin in last season's campaign. Reports suggest that Ards had the better of the Glens for most of the game and should have found goals easy to come by, but for some determined defending from the hosts. Following a scoreless half, Ards applied much more pressure and tactically kept Glentoran penned in their own half. However it took until the 79th minute for Ards to finally get a goal, with captain George Richardson finishing off a move that began with Lowry and Humphries.

A win at the Oval and an undeniably impressive display. The start of something, perhaps? The next result would make some wonder. Ards had already beaten Coleraine 4-1 in an early season City Cup match, at their own venue no less, so Ards might have been favoured in the following week's home league match. One for the neutrals was how this match could have been described - a real end to end tussle that saw both sides have the lead and then lose it again. Ards were in front, only for Coleraine to level and then take a lead. Ards would draw level only to head in behind at the break, following a nine minute spell that saw four goals. With fifteen minutes to play a Tommy Forde goal looked to have saved a point for Ards, only for Coleraine to snatch the win very late on as Coyle completed his hat-trick at the end of a 4-3 victory.

Away from the senior side, Ards Seconds were holding their own in the B Division league race. After ten games the reserves were lying in second place, boasting a so far undefeated record and challenging their first team counterparts to compete at the right end of the table themselves. The Coleraine result was, of course, disappointing, but who could have imagined how few defeats Ards would have to suffer during the rest of the season... to be continued

50 Years - Part One
Part Two