Town find the going Ard at Dixon Park

Banbridge Town 1

AN encouraging performance wasn’t enough for Banbridge Town as 10-man Ards saw the locals off at Dixon Park.

A Stephen Doyle double gave the hosts the win, lifting them up to fifth place while Town sit four from the bottom.

The first opening went Ards' way on seven minutes when Darren Lockhart released Doyle into the left hand corner and he whipped a decent cross back from the bye-line that Sammy Devine was within a whisker of turning into the net.

Ards didn't have to wait much longer for the opening goal however as Doyle found the net just 11 minutes into the game. The move began with Ards clearing a Banbridge free kick out of their own half to James Wright, who quickly knocked the ball forward to Doyle. The striker showed his usual burst of pace to take him past a few opponents and into the top right corner, from where he cut inside a defender and dispatched a lovely, low shot across keeper Gareth Buchanan and into the far corner of the goal.

Ards' next opening fell for Doyle too as a long free kick up field from goalkeeper Aaron Kerr saw the ball headed on by Lockhart and Doyle was just denied the chance on goal by a timely defender's challenge.

Banbridge manage to level the game with 25 minutes gone, against the run of play, through Timmy Grant but with Ards more than a bit involved in their own downfall.

Firstly Aaron McKee conceded possession deep in his own half and Ards were forced to defend frantically before Wilson put the ball behind for a corner. From that attack keeper Kerr made mess of his collection, dropping the ball inside the six yard box and Grant said thank-you very much as he smashed home.

Ards had been well on top up to that point, keeping good possession, while Doyle looked a constant threat. The next chance came via his strike partner Lockhart on 42 minutes however as he received the ball from a McIlhagga flick-on to drag a low shot wide of an upright.

The half was rounded off with a decent break for Banbridge as Mark Teggart raced on to a through ball, beating the Ards offside trap and hurtling in on Kerr's goal. The Ards keeper showed his sharpness, however, as he sprung off his line to meet Teggart just as he entered the penalty box and put in a good blocking save.

The second half began with Ards still on top and looking confident and they should have easily doubled their lead with the first chance of the new half.

On 48 minutes Ards advanced the ball up the field from their own half as far as Devine whose neat flick-on let McIlhagga run clear of the static Banbridge lines. From there he had only the goalkeeper to beat but his low shot hit the only spot he needed to avoid and a grateful Buchanan made the save.

It mattered not as it turned out when Ards reclaimed their lead just a minute after. A short ball through from the midfield released Doyle again and his pace did the business once more, taking him clear of any opponents to where he was able finish off one-on-one against the goalkeeper.

Ards sought to add to their score on the hour mark when Doyle and Wright combined to set up what looked a chance for McIlhagga. However he cleverly dummied the ball, allowing it to run on for Wright, but he struck his shot over the crossbar. Ards then had Devine and Gary Spence noted by the referee in quick succession before Mark Stewart connected with a long Banbridge free kick only to place a header into Kerr's arms.

The visitors stepped up their pressure in the last quarter of an hour and the play was notably now running in the opposite direction. Their cause was aided on 85 minutes when Devine stepped rashly into a challenge with his foot raised and referee Smyth reached for his pocket again to flash a second yellow and send the Ards man packing.

For their effort, the nearest Banbridge came to rescuing anything from the game wasn't until injury time. Kerr had to look sharp to deny the chance too as substitute Matthew McConnell cut across the field to send a fairly well hit shot in on the Ards goal.