Ballymoney find going tough against Ards
Thursday, 30 October 2008
AN understrength Ballymoney 1st XI team went down 2-1 to Ards at the weekend.
The game started at a fast and furious pace with possession switching between both sides.
Ards settled into the game quicker than the Ballymoney team, who were without Ruth Sutherland, Bridget McKeever and Sally Stewart-Moore. Ards took the lead in the 14th minute following a dubious penalty corner routine. The game continued to flow from end to end with several misdemeanours going unpunished by the umpires.
On 23 minutes, Lynsey McVicker broke free following a pass but her shot was saved by the keeper. This spurred Ballymoney on to finish the first half with urgency.
Nikki Parke found an equaliser five minutes from half time with a crisp shot from the top of the circle to level the scores.
Following a few positional changes for the start of the second half, Ballymoney tried to exert more pressure on the Ards defence, however Ards held strong.
As the game progressed it seemed inevitable that it wasn't going to be Ballymoney day.
The remainder of the second half was disjointed due to the physical nature of the game as play was continually broken down. This seemed to suit Ards and they forced three penalty corners in quick succession, from which they scored the winning goal on 60 minutes.
Squad: SJ Greer, L Barr, C Macaulay, A McAleese, S Martin, J Allison, A Huey, M Frazer (player of the match), N Parke, L McVicker, A Kearney, R McCahon, L Watters.
The team send their best wishes to Lynsey McVicker and Colin McLenaghan on their forthcoming wedding this Friday (October 31).
