One couldn't fail to be impressed by the very slick performance of Dundalk on Tuesday night, as they easily disposed of Ards in a game that might have come just a little too early for Tommy Kincaid's side.

Sean Connor's team of full-timers, already some few months into their domestic league season had a commanding lead 4-0 lead by the 36th minute and among those goal-scorers was one time Ards forward David Ward.

His strike was in fact the first of the night, coming in the seventh minute, when a left-sided free kick was parried out by keeper Andy McDonald and Ward was on hand for a simple tap-in.

Ards' first effort on goal didn't arrive until the quarter hour mark, this one a chance for winger Craig McMillen, who impressed all night, but couldn't convert Darren Fitzgerald's low cross.

An excellent chance followed just a minute later for Ards when David Cully put a superb ball over the top of the visitors' defence for Fitzgerald to run on to. The forward took an early touch that nicked the ball past keeper Cherrie but couldn't get close enough to his own knock-on to finish.

Dundalk were playing the game at a fair pace and looked troublesome when going forward on either wing. On 25 minutes, they doubled their lead when a free kick from out on the left touchline found Simon Kelly and he knocked a slightly deflected shot past McDonald.

A third goal arrived four minutes after when a quick break from Daley saw him get in a shot that McDonald stunned with his legs, but there was nothing to be done about Jason Mok's quick follow up. Goal number four hit the Ards net on 36 minutes; this one a low Mark Griffen shot from the left of the area that just sneaked inside the upright.

Ards put a small mark on the game in the last minute of the half when a McDonald clearance found McMillen on the left flank and he put a timed ball through for trialist Stephen Doyle and the teenager finished well under the body of the goalkeeper.

A number of half-time changes, including the first pre-season appearances of Paul Dickson and Kris Pike, brought a different look to the Ards side of the second half and in fairness, the team did perform much better after the break.

First of all though, Dundalk had another good effort when McGinley got the better of James Wilson and was denied only by a good stop from McDonald. A Dickson corner on 67 minutes put a good cross onto the head of McMillen and he wasn't far away with a near-post header.

A better opening followed for Ards on 76 minutes when the speedy Doyle got to the Dundalk bye-line and pulled a good ball back for substitute Thomas Gorman. He connected well with the ball, but couldn't get the shot on target and the ball whizzed wide.

Ards had been performing pretty well to prevent any further scores up until the 83rd minute when a poor back pass across his own lines from Kris Pike left McDonald in no-man's land and Griffen nipped in to poke home the fifth goal.

That had the Southerners' business all wrapped up, however Ards were to get one more goal themselves when, in the final minute, a determined run from McMillen took him past a couple of opponents before he laid the ball off for Gorman. This time the striker caught the ball very well and fired in a goal, across the keeper and just inside the far upright.

	3 Kris Pike (for Wright h/t), 5 Jimmy McIlhagga (for Irvine (h/t), 8 Paul Dickson (for McKee (h/t), 9 Darren Stirling (for Fitzgerald (h/t), 12 Lee Mudd (for Cully 65), 15 Gary Wray (for Nixon 26), 18 Thomas Gorman (for Stirling 65)
	Alan Black

21st July 2009

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