New striker Darren Armour had the debut that dreams are made of as he hit all three goals in this Ards win.

Three second half strikes from new-boy Armour lit up what was until then a frustrating game of mis-placed passes and weak finishing. Armour's move to Ards had come at just the right time, with Darren Stirling unavailable for this game and Darren Fitzgerald limping out after just 15 minutes.

Ards began the game, stripped out in the red of Ballyclare, as referee Evan Boyce had ruled a colour clash between the two sides. With no change of kit available to the satisfaction of the official, both sides were forced to turn out in the colours of the Dixon Park residents.

First half chances were at a premium for both sides, though Ards did have an excellent opening through Fitzgerald on 7 minutes. A pass along the right side had picked out the Ards top scorer and he cut into the box to get into a shooting position, only to drive a shot directly at keeper Johnny Pollock.

On 19 minutes Coagh's Stuart Dallas smashed a 20 yard effort off the Ards crossbar, mere moments after James Wright had hit over the Coagh bar at the other end. With Mark Picking now up front, in place of the withdrawn Fitzgerald, he won Ards a free kick on 31 minutes out on the right side of the Coagh area. Kris Pike's ball into the area looked set up for Armour, but he failed to properly connect, while Wright seemed stunned to have the ball land at his feet and he swung tamely at the cross.

Darren Armour - debut hat-trick

The last good effort of the half came as early as ten minutes from the break as Coagh defender David Hutchinson put a decent effort with his left foot just wide of the Ards goal. Thankfully the game sparked into life on the other side of the interval.

Ards went in front on the hour, when they won a free kick on the right side of the field. Aaron McKee supplied the ball into the box and Armour moved to meet, having time to control the ball and dispatch a low strike to the keeper's right corner. It was a goal Ards scarcely deserved and Coagh must have felt very hard done by to be hit again just sixty seconds later.

This time the cross came from the left, via substitute Dee Irvine, who beat his man to the bye-line and chipped a ball over into the area where Amour rose to meet with his head and direct goal number two past Pollock. With the hard-working visitors feeling shell-shocked after that one, worse was to follow as the 66th minute brought a third goal and a hat-trick for Armour in just seven minutes. The move this time was made by a run from David Cully, who sent the ball onto Craig McMillen down in the right corner and his low cross was met by Armour who cut a shot across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.

With his job done, Armour was replaced by Stephen Doyle on 74 minutes and he had a good opening for Ards' fourth, only to clipped from behind by a defender, though the referee was ill-impressed with Ards' penalty shouts. Perhaps a better opening followed on 83 minutes, when McMillen took the ball to the bye-line and knocked it back for Irvine just yards from goal, but the midfielder didn't react and the ball bounced harmlessly off him and away to safety.

The game concluded with a couple of chances for Coagh to salvage something from their trip to Ballyclare. First on 87 minutes, Dallas fired a low shot wide of McDonald's goal and then, two minutes later, when Nixon surrendered the ball into the corner, McMenemy got his head to a cross but directed his effort wide.

- AMIGO UPDATE

60 goals - £30.00

	6 Dee Irvine (for Wright 52), 12 Stephen Doyle (for Armour 74), 15 Gary Wray, 17 Mark Picking (for Fitzgerald 15), 18 Thomas Gorman
	Evan Boyce

26th January 2010

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