Belfast Telegraph Championship 1
Ards 1-1 HW Welders

There was nothing to separate Ards and Harland and Wolff Welders at Dixon Park as both sides struggled to create chances throughout the ninety minutes.

Ards opened the scoring through James Cully, who had come into the side in place of the injured Darren Nixon, for his first start under new boss Niall Currie. His brother David was recalled also, returning from suspension to displace Gareth Corey from the right side of midfield.

The earliest chance in the game went to Ards and James Cully as he burst through the Welders' lines to get into shooting range of goal and fire a shot wide of goal. He would have better luck on 12 minutes, when Ards took the lead. A corner in from the right found Ross Arthurs near the front post and his header back into play found Cully at the edge of the box from where he thumped in a first time effort past Michael Dougherty.

The Welders, under new manager Paul Miskelly, fought back sufficiently to level the game on 29 minutes. A free kick conceded by David Cully on the visitors' left was swung into the Ards area by Stuart King. Gary Spence went in bravely to head the ball out but only as far as Ryan Harvey who returned a shot swiftly that went whizzing past Graeme McKibbin in the Ards goal.

It was the Welders who pressed more as the match continued and they did force a couple of corners towards the end of the first forty-five but the half ended without any further trouble caused to either goalkeeper.

On the other side of the break it was the visitors who fired the opening salvo, with King drilling the ball past the Ards goal from 25 yards. On 65 minutes a high ball up the field from James Cully caused problems in the Welders defence as Scott McMillen tried to head back to his goalkeeper. The attempted back-pass was short and let in the lurking Arthurs, who sent a neatly lobbed ball the wrong side of Dougherty's crossbar.

It was fair to say that Ards were not much more than getting by at this stage, clearing the danger when they needed but struggling to create, with very little sticking with the front two. Fortunes were about to change through with the dismissal of the Welders' goal-scorer Harvey. There were 77 minutes gone when Mark Picking went to go past Harvey deep in the Ards half, only for the striker to needlessly strike out with the leg. It may have come as a shock to Harvey, but referee David Basketfield had little hesitation in producing a straight red card.

The best hope of another goal the game scarcely deserved fell to Ards five minutes from the end. A free kick won on the left and delivered by Picking found the head of Arthurs in the area only for his effort to crash back off the crossbar. Half-time substitute Gareth Corey was the quickest to react, connecting with a header that looked bound for the far corner, only for Dougherty to spring across his goal and pluck the ball off the line.

One more piece of action to report was the Welders' second dismissal of the afternoon. It came three minutes into injury time when defender Jamie Marks unwisely went in two footed on Ards' Jimmy McIlhagga and he became another recipient of the referee's red card.

Sponsor's Man of the Match Gary Spence

Ards Team 1 Graeme McKibbin (GK), 8 Sammy Devine, 14 James Cully, 4 Gary Spence (capt.), 16 Ciaran Boyd, 19 Mark Picking, 11 Aaron McKee, 17 Jimmy McIlhagga, 12 David Cully, 9 Nathan McConnell, 10 Ross Arthurs

Substitutes 6 Ryan Berry (for McKee 69), 15 Gareth Corey (for D.Cully h/t), 21 Adam Arthurs (for Picking 89)

Referee David Basketfield

5th November 2011

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