Match report by Geoff Ingham

Donaghadee welcomed neighbours Ards to Donaldson Park on Saturday for an eagerly anticipated local derby in the Kukri Championship 2. Dee had made several changes of personnel from last week’s win against Academy with Davy Skipp, Jamie Wilson, Ewan McCracken, Chris Hamilton and Karl Yellop taking their places in the pack and Matthew Stockton moving to the centre to replace the injured Adam Alexander. Ards kicked off in the excellent playing conditions and immediately tested the Dee defence as they forced their way into their 22. When Ards were penalised just short of the Dee line, Stockton took a quick tap but was tackled dangerously by an Ards forward who was shown a yellow card. The Dee could not make the numerical advantage count and, indeed, Ards had the chance to take the lead after 10 minutes but the penalty kick was pushed wide of the posts. For the next 20 minutes Dee enjoyed most of the territory and possession and created several scoring opportunities. Mark Cooper’s kicking from hand kept Ards pinned inside their 22 but to their credit the defence held firm against the driving runs of McCracken, Hopes, Dobson etc. On the half hour mark the Dee were awarded a penalty in front of the posts and Cooper calmly slotted it over to give the Dee a slender but deserved lead. During the next few phases of play the Dee found themselves in good scoring positions but Ards were let off the hook due to handling errors on several occasions. Just as half -time approached Ards ventured into the Dee half and won a penalty to give them a long shot at goal which just fell short. However, a couple of minutes later the Dee were penalised for offside and this time the Ards kicker made no mistake to make the halftime score 3-3.

The start of the second half saw a lot of play in the midfield with neither team able to dominate the game. Ards had a couple of good chances but indiscipline let them down, including another yellow card for one of the forwards for foul play and a few chips ahead from the Dee saw Ards having to do some frantic defending of their own. After 15 minutes Dee were awarded a penalty just outside the 22 and Cooper landed the kick to give the Dee a 6-3 lead. A few minutes later and after good build up play the Dee thought they had scored the first try of the game when Paul Johnston darted into the corner only to be judged to have had a foot in touch. Ards had an opportunity to square the match again only to see another penalty kick fly wide of the upright. The last quarter of the match was a tense affair, with Ards seeing more of the ball and spending more time in the Dee half. On several occasions Dee were penalised and Ards decided to kick to the corner rather than go for the kick. Dee’s defence stood firm and they managed a couple of crucial turnovers, including stealing an Ards lineout close to the Dee line. With a couple of minutes to go the Dee flanker received a yellow card for a no arms tackle but Dee managed to hold on for a crucial win. This was an attritional battle for league points that the Dee just about deserved to win, with several players being added to the ever-growing injury list before next week’s league game away to Lisburn