LOUGH 41 CHAMPIONSHIP
NEWINGTON 2 V 2 ARDS
DEPENDING ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW, A WELCOME LATE POINT FROM THE CLUTCHES OF DEFEAT OR 2 POINTS DROPPED AFTER A HOST OF CHANCES WENT BEGGING FOR THE AWAY SIDE IN THE FIRST HALF.
ARDS STARTED THE GAME WELL AND CREATED NUMEROUS OPENINGS BUT APART FROM A SPECTACULAR LONG RANGE EFFORT FROM EAMONN SCANNELL GIVING ARDS AN 11TH MINUTE LEAD THEY COULD NOT FIND THE 2ND GOAL UNTIL THE 89TH MINUTE WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE AN EQUALISER AFTER NEWINGTON HAD WORKED THEIR WAY BACK INTO THE GAME AND LOOKED TO BE HEADING FOR 3 POINTS.
ADAM SALLEY HAD A COUPLE OF EARLY EFFORTS WITH JALLOW SUPPLYING PLENTY FROM THE RIGHT WING BEFORE SCANNELLS SUPERB LEFT FOOT SHOT SAILED OVER THE KEEPERS HEAD TO GIVE ARDS THE EARLY ADVANTAGE, 4 MINUTES LATER A LOVELY BALL FROM CAFOLLA SENT SCANNELL AWAY HE CROSSED TO SALLEY WHO LOOKED TO HAVE DOUBLED THE LEAD BUT FOR THE FLAG TO BE RAISED FOR HANDBALL.
ARDS WERE IN CONTROL AT THIS STAGE WHEN JALLOW FOUND TAGGART AND HIS CROSS AGAIN WAS MET BY SALLEY BUT HIS HEADER WENT JUST WIDE. NEWINGTON HOWEVER HAD SPELLS OF THEIR OWN AND THEIR FRONT MAN SOMEHOW MISSED A GLORIOUS CHANCE FROM 6 YARDS OUT.
ARDS DID NOT LEARN FROM THAT WARNING AND NEWINGTON EQUALISED SOON AFTER, A DEFENSIVE LAP THAT HAS COST ARDS DEARLY ALL SEASON EASILY LETTING IN THE HOME SIDE WHEN REALLY ARDS HAD NUMEROUS CHANCES TO CLEAR THEIR LINES.
THE DYNAMICS HAD NOW CHANGED WITH THE MEN IN GREEN DICTATING THE PLAY AND RACKING UP SEVERAL DANGEROUS SITUATIONS WITH MOORE COMING TO THE RESCUE ON A FEW OCCASIONS . COMING UP TO HALF TIME ARDS DID FIND A FEW OPENINGS THEMSELVES RATTLING THE CROSSBAR WITH ONE OF THEM BUT THE HALF ENDED 1-1
THE 2ND HALF TOOK A WHILE TO GET GOING BEING VERY SCRAPPY IN THE EARLY STAGES WITH ARDS STRUGGLING TO MATCH THEIR 1ST HALF EFFORTS AND APART FROM A STRONG PENALTY CLAIM IT WASN’T UNTIL THE 70 MINUTE MARK AND SEVERAL SUBSTITUIONS FROM BOTH SIDES THAT THINGS STARTED TO HEAT UP WITH NEWINGTON FINDING THEMSELVES IN FRONT WHEN A LONG THROW WASN’T DEALT WITH IN THE BOX AND ARDS FOUND THEMSELVES CHASING A GAME THAT THEY REALLY SHOULD HAVE HAD WRAPPED UP IN THE FIRST 20 MINUTES.
ON THIS OCCASION THEY CERTAINLY PUT UP A FIGHT LATE ON PUTTING THEIR OPPONENTS UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE WITH SUB HUNTER GETTING INVOLVED AND CREATING SOME GOOD MOMENTS
ARTHURS WHO HAD ALSO COME OFF THE BENCH WAS TRYING HIS BEST TO LEVEL THINGS UP BUT HIS EFFORTS COULDN’T FIND THE NET. EVENTUALLY CAPTAIN TJ MURRAY FOUND THE GOAL THEY NEEDED ON 89 MINUTES BUNDLING THE BALL IN AFTER A FREEKICK FROM SCANNELL, BUT IF NEWINGTON THOUGHT ARDS WOULD BE HAPPY WITH THE POINT THEY WERE WRONG AS ARDS STREAMED FORWARD WITH ARTHURS AGONISINLY SMASHING THE BALL OF THE BAR BEFORE TJ MURRAY NEARLY WON IT BUT HIS HEADER WAS DEFLECTED ON TO THE POST . FOR ALL THEIR EFFORTS A DRAW HAD TO BE SETTLED FOR .
PLEASING TO RESCUE A POINT BUT ALSO FRUSTRATING AFTER SO MANY CHANCES WENT BEGGING. NEXT UP FOR ARDS IS A HOME FIXTURE AGAINST KNOCKBREDA ON SATURDAY 18TH MARCH AT 3 PM.