Dee just edged out in local derby

The Dee travelled to Hamilton Park on Saturday afternoon hoping to do the double on their local rivals after winning the opposing league fixture 6-3 at the very start of the season. Although once again hampered by injury and unavailability with Jack Cooke & Chris Hamilton missing from the pack the side were encouraged by the return of Jack Chesney in the second-row.

Ards started strongly and put the Dee under pressure from the off. To compound the visiting side’s difficulties three minutes into the game Sam Ingham was injured in the process of making a tackle and had to leave the field with Bryn Macartney coming off the bench to deputise and Robbie Grant moving from the flank to the middle of the back row at No. 8. Four minutes later the Ards pressure paid dividends when they forced their way over after a succession of quick ruck ball and direct carrying to take a 7-0 lead. Ards were buoyed by their early success and confidently moved the ball across their backline at every opportunity. Stern Dee defence kept their opponents at bay however and gradually Donaghadee came back into the game with Ray Dobson, Paul Hamilton, Chesney & Grant all making their presence felt in the forward exchanges. On the half hour mark a number of penalties forced Ards deep into their own 22 and Grant burst through to score, Mark Cooper adding the extras to tie the game up at 7-7. The Dee now had their tails up and two minutes before the break a fluid backline movement allowed Karl Yellop to steam roller a couple of despairing Ards tackles to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but as the half-time whistle blew the Dee now had a 12-7 lead.

After the break Ards regrouped and on 48 minutes the scores were tied once again as Ards scored a well worked try in the corner. For the next 15 minutes the gam ebbed and flowed with neither side able to exert their authority. Donaghadee were the first to break the deadlock when Dee skipper Ally Lockhart sniped around the side of a ruck and drew in the Ards defence before releasing a perfect pass to centre Adam Alexander who went in under the posts. Cooper added the conversion and the Dee now had a 19-12 lead with 15 minutes to play. Instead of being cowed by this set-back Ards were suddenly reinvigorated and direct running from their lively back row started to cause problems for the visitors. With ten minutes to play Ards broke a number of tackles to score in the corner, tying the game up again at 19 all after the difficult conversion was made from the sideline. Three minutes later Donaghadee were penalised on their own ten metre line and the Ards out-half calmly stroked the ball between the posts to push his side into a 22-19 lead. With five minutes to go, led by the redoubtable Lockhart, the Dee pressed their opponents in attempt to take away the win. Unfortunately though the visitor’s efforts were stymied by a combination of strong Ards defence and a number of penalties awarded to the defending side by the referee. Try as they might Donaghadee could gain no further traction and the match ended without any addition to the scoreline leaving the Ards men to celebrate victory in what been an extremely tight derby encounter.

Donaghadee will regret a few missed opportunities together with a number of missed tackles but, much like the earlier encounter at Donaldson Park the game was too tight to call and, on this occasion the visitors just fell short in their attempts to take the spoils.

The result means that Donaghadee finished fourth in the league table and will now travel to Limavady next Saturday for the Championship Two promotion play-off semi-final. In the other semi-final Coleraine will host Ballymoney.