Eye On The Ards

Keeping tabs on those ex-Ardsmen, some still plying their trade, some not...

If you come across a former Ards player or coach making the news, or some other interesting snippet, let us know and we'll run the Eye over it

Tuesday 5th November...

Belfast: Crusaders striker David Rainey was celebrating this week after being named by CIS as their Player of the Quarter-Finals for his part in the Crues' last eight win over Portadown. Rainey struck two goals in the final five minutes of that tie to complete a Crusaders comeback and put them into Tuesday's semi-final against Glentoran. The award comes in the midst of a fantastic season for David, who is displaying superb form for his team and currently tops the Irish Premier League goal-scorers chart with 13 goals across all competitions. In his four and a half years with Ards between 2001 and 2005, the always-popular Rainey played 140 times and was part of the First Division championship winning side in his first season.

Saturday 3rd November...

Belfast: Reports on Saturday morning had former Ards managers Gary Hillis and Raymond Morrison done with their posts at Amateur League East Belfast, where the pair had been in charge since leaving Ards last November. Without a win in the last four, including a 5-0 drubbing last Saturday at home to Comber Rec, the knives were apparently out for the duo. East certainly were struggling to attract and hold onto players, demonstrated by the fact that 43 year-old Hillis played some part himself in the Comber game. Ironically he and Morrison had offered their resignations earlier in the season, which were not taken at the time. On Saturday afternoon East went out of the Intermediate Cup 5-3 to Raceview Rangers.

Friday 2nd November...

Ballybofey: Friday evening's live televised game from the eircom League saw First Division title chasers Finn Harps play out a one-all draw with Althlone, a result that could dent their hopes for automatic promotion this season. Giving his thoughts to viewers immediately after the game was Harps assistant manager and former Ards nineties favourite Marty McCann. Marty assists former Institute boss Paul Heagarty at the Donegal-based club and the pair will watch patiently the fortunes of their nearest rivals Cobh Ramblers in the next couple of weeks as Harps find themselves only two points in front having played a game more than Cobh.

Saturday 27th October...

Belfast: Man of hour for Glentoran in west Belfast this afternoon was undoubtedly David Scullion, who bagged a fantastic hat-trick to secure a 3-all draw for his side against Donegal Celtic. A real end-to-end encounter it seems at Suffolk Park, with Glentoran leading twice and then falling behind at 3-2 only for Scullion to appear again and score for a third time. While David had famously failed to score in his one season with Ards, he hasn't been shy in finding the net since and he had put the Glens ahead in 43 seconds. Celtic levelled the game on 11 minutes, only for Scullion to score again two minutes later and then watch on as DC brought the scores even once again. Ciaran Donaghy then edged his Celtic side in front just before the break, but Scullion and Glentoran were not to be outshone and the former under 21 international struck his third goal on 66 minutes to secure a point. Coming off the bench in the second half for Donegal Celtic was one-time Ards striker Robbie White, who played in a handful of games under Shane Reddish.

Saturday 6th October...

Lurgan: Another goal at the weekend for former Ards striker Andrew Waterworth helped Lisburn Distillery to a 3-2 win over Glenavon. The Whites' win at Mourneview maintained their 100% start to the league campaign and their Carnegie Premier League top spot at the same time. Waterworth struck his side's opening goal to take his personal tally to five for the season, that includes a brace in the 4-1 demolition of Coleraine two weeks ago.

Other recognisable names on the scoreboard this weekend included Ronan Scannell, who scored Cliftonville's second goal just before half-time to complete a comeback against Armagh City, and one Lee Feeney, whose late goal earned a 2-2 draw for Newry against Larne. One player just narrowly missing out on being included in this list is Marty Hunter, who was denied a goal for Larne by a linesman's flag in the same game.

Thursday 30th August...

Crossgar: News comes out of Crossgar today that may raise a few eyebrows in that former Ards striker Gary Kennedy is to move into management. Amateur League Premier side Kilmore Rec, for whom Gary starred before moving to Ards in 2002, have announced that Kennedy, along with Paul Mullan and Davy Gordon will take charge of teams affairs. The club parted company with manager Paul Moore, following the four straight defeats that began the season. Kennedy had been with Cliftonville for the past two season, since his move from Ards and it appears his return to his hometown club has surprised even them. First up for the new management team will be a Border Cup tie against Malachians this Saturday.

Tuesday 21st August...

Belfast: News at the tail end of last week that midfielder Sean Cleary had requested a move away from Cliftonville has apparently been met with a plea from Reds boss Eddie Patterson that the player reconsider his move. Cleary was left out of the side that lined up against Limavady on the opening day of the season and that seems to have prompted Sean's desire to move on. His manager however was reported through the press to have asked the player to have a re-think on his situation in light of Cliftonville's emphatic win over rivals Crusaders on Saturday. Cleary joined Cliftonville in 2005 after three years with Ards, that had seen him voted Player of the Year by website visitors in 2004.

Thursday 16th August...

Belfast: Hard to believe it's been ten years since defender Winkie Murphy left Ards to start his career at Linfield and to mark that successful time, the big man will host a unique challenge game as part of his testimonial season later this month. On Sunday 26th August a Linfield Legends side featuring the likes of Jeff Spiers, Pat Fenlon and Lee Doherty will take on an ex-Irish League select side, manager by his former boss at Ards Roy Coyle. The match will be played at Paisley Park, Belfast at 1pm and the sheer number of household name taking part is bound to ensure a successful day for the player, who last season picked up the coveted Ulster Player of the Year award. Ex-Castlereagh Park men on the Linfield side include one of the league's most prolific strikers Martin McGaughey, stalwart defender Tommy McDonald as well as forwards Rab Campbell and Dessie Gorman. The League Select side is not without a strong Ards connection too, with former managers Raymond Morrison and Gary Hillis both on board. Former international goalkeeper and Newtownards resident Paul Kee will feature as will ex-Ards manager Bertie McMinn. Certainly an excellent line-up and a clear indication of the esteem that Winkie is held in in football circles.

Monday 11th June...

Belfast: Former manager George Neill has been hidden well out of the news since he departed Ards in February of last year at the culmination of a real bruising introduction to senior football. But now he's back in the game as the fairly high-profile assistant manager at Glentoran. He'll work under former Northern Ireland international Alan McDonald, who was only recently installed in the manager's seat himself, and for George it marks a return to the club he spent his best years at. The term legend wouldn't be out of place when describing Neill's playing time with the Glens and once he hung up the boots, he went on to run a very successful reserve side at the east Belfast club. Not too many will have a bad word to say about the man himself, who will of course hope he finds a more pleasant experience at the Oval than he did at Clandeboye Park.

Tuesday 5th June...

Dungannon: The news that Dungannon had chosen to place one David Scullion on the transfer list may have raised a few eyebrows, although under closer inspection there is at least a little more to this than meet the eye. For Scullion, who represented the Carnegie League last season and has been capped at under-21 level, has apparently come under the notice of one or two other clubs. Nothing wrong with that in theory but it's the manner in which things have been going on that has upset Swifts manager Harry Fay. It seems some unofficial moves, perhaps designed to unsettle the player have been uncovered causing the manager to adopt a 'put up or shut up' approach to the situation. Naturally David moving on would be a blow to the ever-improving Dungannon, who took part in the Setanta Cup for the first time last season, but it seems this may yet prove to be a case of calling one or two 'bluffs'.

Thursday 24th May...

Belfast: Midfielder Mark Magennis didn't have the best of 2006/07 - he played in just seven first team games, was plagued by injuries and was involved in a motor collision - and now he's been released by Linfield. The former Coventry man had far from a happy time during his spell at Windsor Park and now that has been brought to an end as manager David Jeffrey shuffles his pack. Distillery boss Paul Kirk was first to show his hand, being quoted in the press as intending to speak to the player. Mark's short stay at Ards came at the tail end of the 2002/03 season during Ards' year at Carrick when he impressed suitably enough to be re-signed, prior to returning to Coventry for the summer. He then simply never came back!

Tuesday 8th May...

Leamington: The Lord Mayor's Charity Cup provides the setting for The Eye to report on the fortunes of Avun Jephcott, now of Leamington. A meeting between Coventry City and Jephcott's new club ended in nothing short of a giant-killing when Avun arrived on cue to score the game's only goal. While the game may well have been a glorified friendly, City weren't without experienced heads, fielding half a dozen first-teamers against the side from the Midland Alliance league. Luckily for manager and former Northern Ireland striker Iain Dowie, he wasn't present see the sorry sight.

Friday 27th April...

Larne: The story dominating the news cycle over the past week has undoubtedly been the alleged playing of an improperly registered player by relegation-threatened Larne. That player in question is none other than Dundalk-based defender Padraig Gollogley, who spent an up-and-down season and half with Ards during the Shane Reddish period. The drama that unfolded through the media alleged that Larne had not received international clearance before playing Gollogley, who had briefly played across the border for an amateur side after leaving Newry last summer. The matter came to a head at IFA headquarters this evening when an independent panel ruled that Larne had failed to comply with the letter of the law. That resulted in a hefty fine of £500 for each of the 16 games big Paudie took part in along with, perhaps most importantly, a deduction of 16 points. That has seen the east Antrim side plummet to the bottom of the table, by-passing already-relegated Loughgall who now get a reprieve! Larne of course remain adamant that they did nothing wrong and the issue is certain to be appealed, while all the while the issue remains of who knew what and when and could this have been uncovered sooner?

Friday 20th April...

Belfast: The Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters' Club sit in judgment each season on who has been the top Irish League performer and who is worthy of the title 'Ulster Footballer of the Year'. This year's award was given very deservedly to Linfield defender William 'Winkie' Murphy, who has now spent some ten years at Windsor Park following his move from Ards in the late nineties. Murphy beat off the competition of teammate Paul McAreavey and Glentoran's Gary Hamilton to scoop the award that has been presented every season since 1951. Winkie was a popular and likeable lad during his time at Castlereagh Park, where he spent four years following a move from Carrick Rangers. He picked winners' medals in the County Antrim Shield and the League Cup and played in the 1997 Intertoto Cup campaign before moving onto Linfield. From that point his career has simply soared. Past Ards winners of the Ulster award have been Billy McAvoy and Billy Humphries (twice).

Tuesday 6th March...

Belfast: Roy Millar takes a Northern Ireland under 20 representative squad to Israel next week for two warm-up games as he looks ahead to this summer's Milk Cup and the upcoming U21 European qualifying game against Moldova in June. Millar has a assembled a squad of eighteen to take part in games on Monday and Wednesday on next week and includes seven locally-based players. Crusaders keeper Aaron Hogg joins Ciaran Boyd and Aaron Smyth of Cliftonville, along with Newry's Ian Curran. Ryan Mullan of Limavady is included, as well as striker Mark McAllister of Dungannon and one ex-Ards face in Lisburn Distillery's Andrew Waterworth. The call-up heralds a return to the international scene for Waterworth, who played for the under 19 team while at Ards in 2005. Andrew had a season and a half with Ards, playing under Shane Reddish and George Neill in some 38 games, adding a return of 11 goals. He then moved on to Distillery last summer, where he has hit eight goals this season.

Saturday 24th February...

Comber: Local favourite Craig McCracken made the headlines again last week when he helped himself to a hat-trick in Comber Rec's 5-2 win over Wellington in the Amateur League. This is the second time we've featured Craig in The Eye as an ex-Ards player, although interestingly he was able to don the red and blue shirt for several months between these mentions. Craig played in fourteen matches for Ards this season, before returning home to Comber in mid-December and he enjoyed his best return yet against Wellington since going back to Park Way. Craig's goal in the 28th minute put his side two goals in front and two more strikes on the other side of half time, including a late penalty, allowed him to notch up a hat-trick.

Saturday 20th January...

Lisburn: While it's certainly been a quiet transfer window in the Carnegie Premier League, there's at least one ex-Ards player packing his bags this week. Former Derby County apprentice Gareth McKeown has agreed a move to Portadown that will bring to an end his three year spell with Lisburn Distillery. The lanky left-back enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence in his game following his move to New Grosvenor from Ards in January of 2004, when he was released by then Ards boss Shane Reddish. He played in just over 50 games for Ards and is remembered most for his enthusiastic celebration upon scoring a crucial goal against Distillery at Ballyskeagh. He was expected to remain with the Whites until after the County Antrim Shield final on 23rd of this month but with his exclusion from the Distillery team for today's league game with Glenavon, it looks likely that he will have played his last game for Paul Kirk.

Wednesday 17th January...

Belfast: Linfield manager David Jeffrey gathered the media at the Europa Hotel today to announce his chosen squad of players for the representative match against the English Conference on 13th February. The former Ards captain will manage the side which takes on Paul Fairclough's 'National Game XI at Mourneview Park. No Ards players included in the 18-man panel obviously, but there are a couple of names that will be familiar to local followers none the less. Cliftonville defender Ronan Scannell is a very worthy contender for the starting eleven, and he was an immensely reliable defender in his two seasons at Ards between leaving the Reds in 2003 and re-joining them in 2005. The success David Scullion continues to achieve seemingly shows no sign of stopping and he follows up his caps at under 21 level last season with inclusion here. Dungannon player David has found the net seven times already this season from midfield.

Saturday 13th January...

Loughgall: Shane Reddish enjoyed his first win as manager of Loughgall today when they progressed to the sixth round of the Irish Cup by beating Ballyclare at home. It was far from plain sailing for the Armagh club, currently bottom of the Carnegie Premier League, as they had to face a strong Comrades challenge. Reddish had made six changes to his side from the previous week's defeat to fellow relegation contenders Larne so he must have been pleased to see veteran Stevie Coulter give the Villagers the lead after half an hour. Ballyclare levelled before half time and continued to give Loughgall a scare before Ally Wilson popped up with a winning header 20 minutes from the end. Shane's side now face Armagh in the next round.

2006

Wednesday 20th December...

Obituary: Tommy Ferguson signed for Ards from Carrick Rangers and made his debut in an Ulster Cup game at Ballymena on Thursday 28th August 1975. Ards beat Ballymena United 1-0 with a Billy McAvoy goal. In his two seasons at Ards, Tommy made 59 appearances and scored four goals. Deepest sympathy is extended to his family from all at Ards Football Club.

Monday 27th November...

Larne: Larne's less than impressive start to the season, which currently has them sitting in 15th spot in the Premier League, claimed the job of Jim Hagan a week ago - the first managerial casualty of the season. More interesting to Ards fans was the development today which saw former captain Paul Curran installed in the Inver Park hotseat. Of course he performed the same role for Larne following his departure from Ards and his appointment today marks his first job in top flight club management. Curran spent two and half seasons with Ards, following a distinguished spell with Derry City and made close on a hundred first team appearances. He later joined up with former manager Trevor Anderson at Dundalk, getting involved in coaching roles and now takes on the challenge of steering Larne to Premier League safety.

Saturday 5th August...

Saintfield: While far from the biggest transfer of the summer, Andrew Waterworth's move to Lisburn Distillery certainly had a fair impact on the Ards team of today. Those supporters who had hoped to look to Andy for goals in this season's First Division, now must pin their hopes elsewhere. It is quite a tough pill to swallow then, when tales of Andy's prowess at the moment filter through the press. No doubting who the man of the match was during Distillery's game at Saintfield United today, with a certain Waterworth noted three times on the scoresheet. He struck the first goal in a 6-1 win for the Whites and later added two more in quick succession to give his new coach Paul Kirk something to consider when selecting his forward line in a week's time. Besides Michael Ferguson hitting one of Distillery's other goals, it is worth noting that two more were put away by former Ards left-back Gareth McKeown.

Tuesday 1st August...

Bangor: A pre-season meeting at Clandeboye Park tonight saw First Division hopefuls Bangor host Lurgan Celtic of the Second tier. Bangor have of course added to their ranks significantly over the summer, including a couple more ex-Ards players. The most notable being former captain John Bailie, with striker Paul McDowell also moving to the local rivals. He now partners one Andy Morrow on the front line, while Bangor can also boast of late nineties Castlereagh Park player Gareth Larmour. Meanwhile on the other side of this game, Lurgan also had a couple of ex-Ards players in their ranks. Fans might remember Donal McCourt from a short spell he had under Tommy Cassidy in 1999, with the mid-Ulster based player featuring in some 13 games. No doubt Sean Collins was a favourite on the pitch during the four seasons he spent with the club from 1996 until 2000 but for this game he was acting purely in a backroom capacity. Sean stepped in to run the Lurgan team in a temporary capacity but was left unable to boast of a win with the game finishing scoreless.

Saturday 1st July...

Portadown: There was one former Ardsman back on Irish soil today as Portadown hosted Welsh side Rhyl in a pre-season game at Shamrock Park. Andy Moran, who turned out for Ards in the First Division championship winning season of 2000/01 was in the Rhyl side that drew 1-1 with Ronnie McFall's team, who were using this game as preparation for their UEFA Cup campaign. Ards fans will remember that young Andy didn't exactly prove to be a hit during his ten appearances for Ards, but since then his career has rocketed. Since departing Ards he has spent five years at Rhyl, netting close to two hundred goals in as many games including an outstanding 47 goal haul in 2003/04. He didn't find the net on Saturday however, with teammate Connolly scoring his side's goal on 17 minutes. Portadown, who later equalised through Gary McCutcheon, gave a run out to former Ards defender Gary Wray.

Tuesday 11th May...

Newry: Former two-time Ards boss Roy Coyle was a busy man today tying up deals with not one, or even two former Ards men, but three in total at his current club Newry. Two of those were new arrivals and both of them featured by The Eye in recent months. Paddy Quinn was well known to be unhappy at his lack of opportunities with Portadown and had been looking away from Shamrock Park during the January transfer window. A move at the time didn't come off but now he has seized his escape route and signed on for Coyler. Joining him there is Armagh midfielder David Ward, who has just finished a very successful season with the Mid-Ulster club. David in fact scored in both league matches against Ards in the season just past, and his departure from Armagh at this time does seem to indicate that all is not well with Colin Malone's side. The final bit of business conducted this week by Mr Coyle then was to convince 'Golden Child' Lee Feeney to extend his stay at the club, where he has experienced a resurgence in form over the last few months.

Tuesday 11th April...

Bangor: The Carnegie First Division continues to wind down to the end of the season and HW Welders played their penultimate game away to Bangor on Tuesday. Simple enough stuff for the East Belfast side in the end, who had a fantastic start when an awful backpass from former Ards defender Andy Massey let in Alan Craig for the first goal. Definitely not one for big Massey's scrapbook. A truly shocking Bangor performance in the first half could have seen the visitors three or four up by the break and in fact they had taken their lead to three nil within five minutes of the restart. At the back for the Welders was Stephen Johnstone, who had played 27 games for Roy Coyle and Tommy Cassidy in 97-98 and another dozen the following season. He had two other former Ards men named among the Welders' substitutes. Marc Hanna played eight times over two seasons from 2000 to 2001, while Mark Roy, older brother of Ards' Johnny was a reserve player a number of seasons ago and was in fact a summer transfer target for George Neill last summer.

Thursday 31st March...

Obituary: John 'Bap' Dunlop played a few games for Ards in the 1942/43 season when Ards played in the Intermediate League during the Second World War years. At the club, he played with Hugh Rankin, Jimmy Todd, Harold Black, Paddy Carroll, and Billy Beattie to name a few. 'Bap' becameone of the many characters of irish League Football and the Amateur international and Inter-League full back played for Bangor and Glentoran in the late 1940s and the 1950s. At Glentoran he won League and Irish Cup medals. Sympathy is extended to his family from all at Ards Football Club.

Saturday 25th March...

Bangor: Plenty of worthy mentions for former Ards alumni this Saturday, with no fewer than six past players on the scoresheet for their respective clubs and all at Intermediate level too. There was clear man of the day though with Cullen Feeney's three goals for Bangor virtually ensuring them a win over Ballymoney. He struck the first from the penalty spot, and then knocked in a further two in the final ten minutes, either side of Andy Morrow's third goal to lift Bangor into fourth place in the First Division. Also on target in Intermediate One was Craig McCracken who struck the opening goal in Dundela's 3-1 over HW Welders, scored incidentally, past one Andrew Fox.

Belfast: Down into Division Two and the PSNI kept themselves on course for promotion at the end of the season with a 2-nil home win over league leaders Ballinamallard. They opened the scoring just ahead of half-time and then doubled the lead on 53 minutes though striker Chris Towell, who beat the goalkeeper at the second attempt. Towell played 13 times for Ards in the first half of the season and seem now to have got his confidence and his shooting back back. We go down a league further to find our next goal-scorer and check in on Albert Foundry in the Premier Division of the Amateur League, who upset the odds to beat table-toppers Newington 4-2. On the scoresheet in Belfast for Foundry was our own John McGrath, older brother of Ian McGrath, who played at Ards earlier in the season.

Belfast: Finally it would be remiss of us not mention the achievements of Stephen Baxter's Crusaders who clinched the First Division title on today with two games to spare. The Shore Road side were away to second placed and only challengers Donegal Celtic and emerged with a 3-2 win thanks to goals from Colin Coates, Stephen McBride and a Joe Donnelly og. No ex-Ards men among the scorers there, but there was one in the DC side, a certain John Annesley who thumped in the final goal of the match to pull one back for his side.

Saturday 18th March...

Airdrie: One former Ards player you would expect to have no worries in making the starting eleven for his club each week is goalkeeper Stephen Robertson. The 29 year-old Glaswegian turns out regularly in the Scottish First Division for Airdrie United and on Saturday notched up his second clean sheet in a row in a home game against Hamilton. That followed on from another shut out the previous week, as Stephen's team mates strolled their way to a 7-0 win over Dundee. Although mid-table Airdrie wont be making a push for the Premier this season, our Robbo certainly deserves his place in the first team of a top side. Ards fans will remember his frequent outstanding saves during his two years under Frankie Parks and Shane Reddish, which allowed him to sweep the board at the 2003 Player of the Year awards.

Sunday 5th March...

Mansfield: Another worthy mention in The Eye this week for ex-Ards striker Richie Barker. The Englishman who currently plays his football with Mansfield Town has just been named as the Coca-Cola League Two player of the month for February. The BBC Sport pages carry the story here, pointing out that the 30 year-old netted four times in five games last month to earn himself this prize. Indeed Richie has never been shy of the goal scoring charts; you'll remember seven in twelve games for Ards in 1995 during his loan spell from Sheffield Wednesday.

Saturday 25th February...

Coleraine: Although he may be retired from the game himself, former midfielder Marty McCann still keeps himself in the thick of the action through his involvement with university coaching. In fact the nineties Castlereagh Park favourite takes his Magee College side to the annual Collingwood Cup tournament, which takes place in Coleraine this week. There his side will face a first round match against Cork in a revamped competition which runs until Friday. Marty is eager to get started and enters the tournament with hopes of causing a few upsets, as not many are staking their money on a win for Magee.

Obituary: It is with great sadness that we recall the death of our former player Ward Fulton. Ward, from Bangor, first appeared for Ards in the 1944/45 season when Ards were playing in the Intermediate League during the Second World War years. Young Fulton was a forward in those days and his debut was away to Linfield Swifts on 18th November 1944. After 15 games and one goal during the war years Ward went on to have spells at Linfield and Cliftonville and eventually at Bangor. When Bangor released Ward he once again signed for Ards and made his second debut against Linfield in an Ulster Cup match on 21st September 1953. He won a County Antrim Shield medal with Ards 1955/56 and B Division and George Wilson Cup medals with the Seconds in 1957/58. His last senior appearance for Ards came in an Irish Cup match at Ballymena Showgrounds on 1st March 1958. In his two spells at Ards, Ward played a total of 130 games and scored 6 goals. To his family the deepest sympathy is extended from all at Ards Football Club.

Wednesday 14th February...

Armagh: Former Ards forward Derek Delaney is on the move. He departed Armagh City during the recent transfer window to move south and has now signed for Kildare Town. Delaney was an Ards player for some six months last season under Shane Reddish but departed the club in January 2005 for Glenavon. He moved on from the Lurgan Blues to Armagh during the summer but didn't have the best of times, suffering an ankle injury just weeks into the season. He didn't play again for the club and after relocating to Dublin, decided a move nearer his new home would be best and so got his release out of Holm Park. Kildare are currently an eircom League Divison One side and with Delaney's capture will hope to push for promotion when their season kicks off in April.

Thursday 2nd February...

Belfast: There was excellent news for one former Ards striker this week when he received a call up to the Northern Ireland under 21 squad for the upcoming internationals in Israel. That player is none other than David Scullion, now of Dungannon Swifts, who has been in excellent form this season for the Mid-Ulster club. David spent a season with Ards during the Taylor's Avenue period after returning home from Aston Villa. The season was much of a disappointment though for player and fans alike as David failed to hit the target in any of his 27 appearances. He left in the summer of 2003 bound for Glenavon and a move a year later took him to Dungannon, who converted him to a wide man and the goals have been flying in ever since. Fourteen strikes so far this season, a fantastic record from a young player, who sadly never really looked like making it during his time at Ards. Now he will link up with his new international team mates for a trip to the middle east and two friendly games against Israel on Monday 6th and Wednesday 8th of February.

Saturday 28th January...

Obituary: It is with sadness that we recall the death of local Ards man Jimmy (Scratcher) Johnston. Jimmy made his senior debut for Ards on Wednesday 7th April 1954 at Grosvenor Park in a second round County Antrim Shield game against Distillery, who won the game 1-0. Before the 1953/54 season had ended, Jimmy had won a Gold Cup medal when Ards beat Distillery 2-1 on Saturday 15th May at Seaview. Although troubled by injury, Jimmy spent three seasons at Ards making 17 appearances along the way. His last appearance was on Easter Tuesday, 3d April 1956 as an outside right at Mourneview Park when Glenavon beat Ards 6-0 in a league game. Deepest sympathy is extended to his wife Edna, children Stephen, Paul and Karen from all at Ards Football Club.

Saturday 21st January...

Lurgan: Although there were several ex-Ards men on the scoresheet in today's Carnegie Premier League games, one we haven't featured before is Lisburn Distillery's Aaron Johnston, who found the net against Glenavon. Eighteen year-old Aaron was a member of Ards' first ever under 16 side in 2002/03 and spent a year at the club, ending the season as the Players' Player of the Year. Following that he switched to New Grosvenor and has been working his was up through the ranks before earning a spot on the bench against Glentoran at the start of January. He was starter in their side against Glenavon on Saturday and struck the first goal of the game against debutante keeper James Millar on 25 minutes.

Drumahoe: A conversation with Ards supporter Ivor Edgar on Saturday revealed he is closing in on the completion of his eagerly awaited history of Ards book. In the making for a couple of years now, school teacher Ivor is now at the stage of choosing photographs to compliment the publication. The book will contain an impressive array of facts and statistics, including every result in senior football and all appearances and goalscorers. Quite an under-taking indeed and I'm sure everyone will agree worth getting absolutely right before publishing.

Sunday 8th January...

Portadown: Former Ards midfielder Paddy Quinn is one player who intends to be on the move in the next couple of weeks. The southerner has spent just over a year at Shamrock Park since being the first Ards player to quit over proposed wage cuts in October 2004. Now, after failing to ever hold down a permanent place in the Portadown team, he has been told that he can leave. And it seems he is very keen to get out the exit door before the January transfer window is over. The player told the Sunday Life: "I would describe the time I have spent at Portadown as devastating. I joined the club because I was inspired by Ronnie McFall's plans. He has a great vision for this club and is trying to build a team that will be successful. However it became obvious that I was going to be a bit part player. I was fourth choice behind Mickey Collins, Wesley Boyle and Richard Clarke. When I did play in games I gave 110%." But now his Portadown career seems to be over, with Quinn largely considered disappointing in his time at Ards too.

2005

Saturday 31st December...

No less than five former Ards players on the score sheet in the Carnegie Premier League on Saturday, further promoting the theory that footballers play their best prior to joining and after leaving Ards! Two of Linfield's three strikes against Newry City at Windsor Park were from ex Ards players. Their first, an equaliser to Newry's opener came from the head of William 'Winkie' Murphy, a left-back in his time at Ards from 93-97. Following that came the 26th goal of the season from Glenn Ferguson, who has gone on to be one of Northern Ireland's most prolific goalscorers since he departed Castlereagh Park.

Elsewhere, Dungannon's David Scullion was one of the heroes at Stangmore Park as his goal helped the Swifts to a 2-1 victory over Glentoran. David has certainly been a revelation at Dungannon, whom he joined after a season at Glenavon. Now deployed on the wing, he has regularly been among the goals in stark contrast to a goalless season up front for Ards in 2002/03.

Two former teammates of Scullion's also found their way to goal on Saturday for their respective clubs. Mark Magennis, who we mentioned a few weeks ago, got Limavady's only goal against Glenavon at the Showgrounds, while the equaliser for the Lurgan Blues was one Aiden McVeigh.

Saturday 24th December...

Belfast: A very Happy Christmas for a couple of ex-Ards men following the Christmas Eve Steel & Sons Cup final at Seaview. First Division leaders Crusaders picked up their second trophy of the season, adding to the Carnegie League Cup won last month, by sweeping aside the challenge of Dundela 4-1. Winning manager was of course Stephen Baxter, a former Ards striker and his side were helped to victory by a fine goal from David Rainey in the first half. On the opposing side ex-Ards forward Craig McCracken got the only goal for Dundela before he was surprisingly substituted, despite being his side's best player! Two other Ards old boys on the Dundela side in Darren Nixon and Gary Walker, while there were further Newtownards connections in Crues' midfielder Stephen Shaw, who scored twice, and Dundela's Johnny Nixon, nephew of Castlereagh Park legend Billy Nixon. Stephen Baxter does of course run a successful sports shop in Ards town and is in fact the supplier of the Ards team kit. And just one last Ards connection too - former manager Tommy Cassidy was part of the medal presentation team as a representative of sponsors Crest Teamwear.

Thursday 15th December...

London: A little change of direction for The Eye here as we highlight a rare Ards appearance in the national press. Somewhat quiet times around the club at the moment with barely a mention in the local media, so imagine the surprise when little Ards of the Irish League turned up in the Daily Star sports crossword. 'Irish League football club (4)' was the straight-forward enough teaser that would lead you to the answer for '3 down', made a little easier of course if you had already identified Sam TORRANCE as the former European Ryder Cup captain.

Saturday 10th December...

Bangor: A couple of former Ards men on the scoresheet this weekend in the First Division for Bangor. Two-time Ards and Linfield midfielder Lee Feeney struck two of Bangor's goals in their 4-0 win over Tobermore, a victory which lifted the side up to fifth in the table. Lee scored with a very early header before adding another ahead of the break. He then passed the scoring torch onto strike partner Andy Morrow for him to hit the last goal of the game five minutes from time. Morrow was part of the Ards squad in 2002 when he make 16 appearances for the first team returning only one goal. However his time with Bangor since then has been a much more fruitful experience, exactly why his manager was raving about Morrow and Feeney following Saturday's game. The third former Ards players in the Seasiders' panel was Cullen Feeney, younger brother of Lee, who had spent several successful seasons with Portadown before drifting out of the game for a couple of months earlier this year.

Friday 9th December...

Lurgan: Certainly an interesting night for one David Ward at Mourneview Park on Friday, who found himself the most referenced player in most of the weekend's reports on this game. Why? you might ask. Well, first of all he did put the ball in the net twice, all in the space in of five minutes, including by those same reports a bit of something special for the second. That however was where the good times ended for the Armagh midfielder, who spent four months at Ards earlier this year. His handball inside the area led to a 77th minute goal from the spot for Glenavon, before Ward got involved in a pitch side confrontation with two Glenavon opponents and exited the game some nine minutes before the rest of his teammates. Still it's not all bad for the Dundalk man, who took his season's goalscoring tally to nine with this brace, in stark contrast to his somewhat goal shy appearances in red and blue last season. He did of course find the net against Ards at Clandeboye Park in October.

Saturday 26th November...

Auckland: We've certainly searched the world to track down one former Ards player; all the way to New Zealand to find out the latest on Simon Yeo. The English Army man had been plying his trade with Lincoln City in the Coca-Cola League, and was a member of the party which played Ards in a pre-season friendly three seasons ago. He departed Lincoln in the summer though to link up with the New Zealand Knights, a franchise team formed in 2004 playing in the elite Australian dominated Hyundai A-League. 32 year-old Simon was in the side on Saturday evening when his Knights side lost 3-2 to Melbourne Victory and although he was not among the scorers, he has found the net three times so far for the bottom placed side. Simon's stay at Ards in 1997 was a short one, with just seven appearances made before he indicated his imminent return to England. Imagine the surprise then for Ards boss Roy Coyle, when Yeo turned out the following week in the Irish League for Coleraine!

Mansfield: Fondly remembered from his time at Ards ten years ago, striker Richie Barker is still getting his name on the scoresheet back in England for League Two side Mansfield Town. Richard, as he is now known, got the second goal in Town's 2-1 win over Stockport at Field Mill to take his tally to 10 for the season, making him the club's top goalscorer. Despite his fine form in his 31st year, Mansfield sit in 20th position from 24 having only won five times from their eighteen matches so far this season. In 1995/96 Barker made a dozen appearances for Ards during a loan spell from Sheffield Wednesday, netting seven times. He returned to Northern Ireland the following season, signing for Linfield, but did not enjoy the same level of success. Since then he has played for Brighton, Macclesfield and Rotherham.

Saturday 19th November....

Tobermore: Popular ex-Ardsman David Rainey has certainly made sure to get himself in the headlines in this last week. After notching both goals in Crusaders' midweek capture of the Carnegie League Cup, David was again on the scoresheet as the Crues got back to league action against Tobermore. However the day did not end well as David found himself the second player of the day to be dismissed; this one a straight red for what many thought to be normally only worthy of a caution. This rules Davie out of Wednesday's Steel & Sons semi-final against DC.

Ballymena: On the scoresheet again this weekend was Mark Magennis for his new club Limavady United. A signing for them at the end of the last transfer window, Mark has been getting all the headlines coming out of the north-west club lately. The former Coventry City player spent a couple of months at Ards during the 'Taylor's Avenue' season and had done enough for Frankie Parks to earn a recall for the following season. However he never returned to the club and had reportedly returned to England. He has found his way to Limavady now though and this goal was his third of the season from midfield. Expect him to do the now-expected, and haunt Ards on his return next Saturday.

Newtownards: Recently back in the country is former Ards full back David Murphy, who had been enjoying the sunnier life in Australia for the past six months. Not holidaying as you might think but rather turning out for local team Stirling Lions under the management of former Glentoran defender Tommy Leeman. With the season now over, Ards-born David has returned home and is on the lookout for a new club. He had two and a half seasons with Ards making some 70-odd appearances, before being shipped off to Carrick Rangers by Shane Reddish. Now he's put himself on the market, ideally, he says for a Premier club but would look at other offers too.

Saturday 5th November...

Belfast: Plenty of former Ards talent on display at Wilgar Park, home of Dundela, in this Intermediate Cup tie with Killyleagh. Going back some years, most will remember defender Gary Walker from from the Paul Malone/Roy Coyle era and he now captains the Dundela side and in fact has played twice against Ards in the last year. First was in last season's County Antrim Shield and more recently in the pre-season friendly in July. Another opponent that night was ex-Linfield and Comber Rec striker Craig McCracken, who still remains with the Duns. He is joined there now too by former team-mate Darren Nixon, who had been with Carrick Rangers since he left Ards in January 2004. That makes a trio of former Ards men and a possible fourth in this line-up too, if indeed one Brian Hylands is the same who turned out for Ards in 1999. He made four appearances, including two starts at full back for Tommy Cassidy. This was to be Dundela's only appearance in the Intermediate Cup this term though, as Killyleagh ran out easy 3-0 winners.