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Carnegie
First Division: Bangor 2-2 Ards
15th March 2008
 Ards
twice came from behind to claim a valuable point at Clandeboye on
Saturday and move up into ninth place as Bangor's title
aspirations were further dented.
With Ards'
midweek exploits seeing them taken to extra-time by Dundela this crucial
derby match just might have been a game too far for Tommy Kincaid's side
but Ards showed great effort in the second period to earn their point,
thanks to an equalising goal from David Cully.
The same
eleven men began this game for Ards and they found themselves a goal
down after only three minutes. A corner from the right, delivered by
Forsythe, caused all sorts of problems for Andy McDonald in goal and the
referee was eagle-eyed enough to spot that the keeper had indeed fumbled
the ball over the goal-line.
Ards fans
might have hoped that would be a wake-up call for their team, but the
fight-back never materialised in the first half and Bangor continued to
enjoy the possession. A 20th minute free kick from Forsythe, hit low
into the box, was met by Verner, and from six yards out he turned the
ball just over the Ards crossbar.
Ards'
chances in the first half were extremely rare, as Bangor did a decent
job of containing their opponents. Only once was Ryan Brown (I) called
into real action; to save an opportunistic shot on the turn from Craig
McMillen. Things changed three minutes after the interval when Ards
pulled level. A disputed throw-in down the Ards right saw the ball
played into Ricky Billing and his shot was parried by Brown. The ball
spun dangerously up into the air and there was James Wilson, well-placed
to head into a near-empty goal.
The Ards
jubilation didn't last long. On 50 minutes Ryan Brown (II) went on a run
down the right bye-line from where he swung in an inviting cross. Keeper
McDonald stretched forward for the ball, didn't nearly make it and
ex-Ards striker Darren Fitzgerald crouched to head in Brown's cross at
the far post.
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| David
Cully |
A 25 yard
shot from Johnny Roy flashed over the Bangor goal on 65 minutes and then
not long after that Ards keeper McDonald redeemed himself with a superb
save, to tip away Andy Morrow's goal-bound free kick at his near post.
Ards' squared the game again on 72 minutes with a goal from substitute
David Cully seconds after coming on. A free kick from around the halfway
line was chipped into the box by Spence to be missed by a couple of
players and Cully stole in behind the last defenders to nick the ball in
with his first touch.
The goal
was what was needed to finally boost Ards and they stepped up their game
for the final quarter of an hour. The closest either side came to
another score though was a hopeful Darren Stirling shot from the left of
the Bangor area that Brown looked to have covered only for the ball to
spin up onto the upright. All square then in the last meeting of the
sides this season; time will tell which team will find the point most
valuable.
| Team |
Substitutes |
| 1 Andy McDonald (capt.)
(GK) |
6 Gareth Walsh (for
Wilson 80) |
| 2 Darren Nixon |
16 Stephen Johnston |
| 3 Kris Pike |
18 David Cully (for
Pike) |
4 Gary Spence  |
20 Justin McBride (for
Billing) |
| 5 James Wilson |
23 Mark Parker |
| 7 Craig McMillen |
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| 9 Darren Stirling |
Referee
John McKnight |
| 10 Aaron McKee |
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| 11 Ricky Billing |
Scorers
James Wilson 48, David Cully 72 |
| 12 Johnny Roy |
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| 15 Gary Clifford |
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