Ards' first encounter with a reserve side since they re-entered intermediate football ended with a positive, if not a convincing result.

Following quickly on from the Steel & Sons Semi-final defeat, Tommy Kincaid made four changes to his side, bringing in Gary Spence and David Cully to defence, Aaron McKee in midfield and adding Stephen Doyle to a three-man attack.

On a bitterly cold afternoon, it was the Distillery reserves who had the ball in the net after just seven minutes. O'Donnell made the breakthrough from the left side of the area, before thumping in a shot that Andy McDonald stopped with his chest, and the loose ball was hit home by forward McCurdy. Fortunately for Ards, he had been in an offside position when he received the ball and so the goal was ruled out.

First chance for Ards came on fifteen minutes when left-back Kris Pike hit the bye-line to send back a cross for Aaron McKee, but the Ards man side-footed over from 15 yards. Very little action followed that for the next quarter of an hour, until there was a low shot from Paul Dickson on 34 minutes that home keeper Chris McClusky put by for a corner.

And from that corner, Ards took the lead. James Wright was the man to supply the cross picking out the head of David Cully and though his shot was well saved, Darren Stirling was placed to get to the rebound and head in for one-nil.

Ards introduced Mark Picking for goal-scorer Stirling at the break and within forty seconds of the new half beginning, Picking had supplied an assist for the second goal. The move began on the right side of the field, with Doyle laying the ball off for Picking who put a cross over to Darren Fitzgerald and he headed in number two.

That goal had the game over as a contest, with the young Distillery side not looking like they were about to put together any sort of comeback. There were still 44 minutes to be played though and the question was: would Ards start to run up a scoreline?

No, was the short answer to that as only a few efforts troubled the home defence; perhaps the number of bodies on the field lacking match practice told a tale. A 66th minute chance for McKee that trundled along the ground and just wide didn't bother McClusky in goal, but a couple of better openings soon followed.

On 74 minutes Ards forced a pair of corners, delivered by Picking, the second of which sub Dee Irvine headed onto the bar, with the follow-up shot from Dickson hit over the top completely.

Late on, Distillery sub Traynor flashed a shot past Andy McDonald's goal that proved to be his side's only real effort of the second half, and that missed chance confirmed Ards' place in the last 32 of the competition.

- AMIGO BOX UPDATE

50 goals = £25.00

	5 Jimmy McIlhagga (for Wright 70), 6 Dee Irvine (for Doyle 64), 17 Mark Picking (for Stirling h/t), 19 James Wilson
	Graeme Harvey

28th November 2009

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