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Familiarity
about cup tie
Saturday's Irish Cup tie will bring Ards boss Niall Currie up against the side that gave him his start in management - Annagh United.
The fourth round match at Dixon Park will be Ards' first ever meeting with Annagh, but the Portadown side will be as familiar as they come for boss Niall and his backroom team. Currie's first foray into management came at Annagh in 2006, when they were then a Second Division side. Nowadays, Annagh compete in Championship 2 and an interesting aside is that they are currently managed by a former Ards player. Boss David Johnstone made one appearance in an Ards shirt back in the 1996/97 season, prior to breaking his leg, but after recovering over the summer, never featured again at first team level. Johnstone was briefly in charge at Loughgall before taking the reins at Annagh last season. Notable names in the Annagh line-up include former Loughgall players Dean Smyth and Darragh Peden, and Scott McCordick with the side presently sitting tied on points with three other teams for third place in Championship 2. For this week's game, they will have Kenneth Camlin suspended. This weekend the major change in the Ards line-up will be the omission of top scorer Nathan McConnell. The striker is set to be missing until at least late January after suffering a broken cheek bone in last Saturday's league draw against Larne. It will the first game that McConnell has missed this season and will leave Niall Currie with a big decision to make. Since the departure of Stephen Doyle in August, Ards have been running with just two recognised strikers and so if Currie opts to run with a front two, then Ross Arthurs will have a new strike partner for first time this season. Options available to the boss include Mark Picking and Gareth Corey, who have both played there before, as has Aaron McKee, who replaced McConnell during last week's game. The fourth round of the cup includes the ten intermediate clubs who have qualified this far, along with the 30 members of both Championship divisions. A place in the fifth round is at stake, when sides from the Premiership enter. The match will be played to a finish with extra-time and penalties if required. A bus for Ards supporters will leave the Sports Club at 1.50pm with the game kicking-off at 3pm. Ards fans should note that season tickets are not valid for the game. Normal admission prices of £7 and £4 apply. 9th December 2011
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This weekend's fixtures (1.30pm unless stated) Ards
v Annagh United (3.00pm) |
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