Ards 1sts had a long journey to Monaghan RFC on Saturday, where their opposition had lost only once this season, to the league leaders. With only 2 more league matches to come before the Junior Shield final and their schedule congested, Head Coach Palmer Eccles made some further changes to allow rest time for some players. This gave starts to Keir Edgar at lock, Matthew Warnock at centre & Alex Hendrickse at full back. It also saw the return of Matthew Walker on the bench, after 14 months out following a knee reconstruction. 

Ards kicked off into a light wind and earned a scrum from a knock on. Playing with early width, centre Robbie Johnston made a strong run deep into the Monaghan 22 earning a penalty. Using a tap & go through the forwards, hooker Trevor Devlin picked from the base and dove over for Ards opening try which went unconverted. Ards 5 v Monaghan 0

Following the restart, Monaghan spent the next 10 minutes in the Ards half, trying to establish an attacking platform. Good defence from Ards, with Devlin & Hendrickse prominent kept them at bay, until Johnston disrupted a backline move and hacked clear, earning a penalty in the home half. Although Monaghan cleared their lines, Ards ran a good move from a scrum, with Hendrickse bringing them deep into the Monaghan 22 for a line out. Carries from Robbie Grant, Danny Patton & prop Matthew Kane saw flanker Matthew Bell pick a great line to score under the posts for Ards’ second try on 25 minutes. Angus Christie's conversion was good and the lead was now 12-0.

Monaghan had a good period of play from the restart and were soon deep in the Ards 22. A series of penalties and pick moves from their heavy pack saw them score an unconverted try in the corner to close the score to 5-12.
Ards then saw the wrong side of the referee's whistle for a while, with a series of sloppy play and technical penalties. One too many drew a yellow card and Monaghan were not slow to capitalise. More close carries from their pack saw their impressive No8 crash over for a try. The conversion was good and the scores were now level at 12-12

With a few minutes of the half left, the Ards pack went to work quickly, with all 8 featuring in a long series of phases to bring them into the 22. Johnston flashed the ball to wing Ben Thompson, who finished smartly in the corner. Christie’s touchline conversion was good and Ards retook the lead at 12-19 on the stroke of half time.

Ards were loose at the start of the second half and within four minutes, had conceded a scrum to Monaghan on their 22. Their No8 picked from the base as the scrum was turning and drove through to score an unconverted try to move the score to 17-19.

Ards then rang the changes and brought on all four substitutes at the same time, hoping to inject some momentum into their game. This tactic worked as they produced a dominant game for the remaining 30 minutes.

In the next move, pressure brought a scrum and a set move saw Warnock take an inside line to hand off his opposite number and run in under the posts for a great score. Duly converted by Christie, the lead improved to 17-26.

The rest of the third quarter saw Ards take control of the breakdown and play with width and tempo as Walker and wing Harry Blaney won turnovers. As a result they enjoyed longer periods of pressure and came close to a score, with the home defence just keeping them out. With ten minutes remaining, a tap penalty from Christie saw him chip over the defence and run into the 22. Johnston was tracking and took the pass to run in for a fine try under the posts. Christie's conversion was good and the lead was now 17-33.

Ards were on the attack shortly after the restart with the backline eager for the ball and using width to their advantage. A series of moves ended with scrum half Shay Duckett held up over the line. More open play from Ards brought them close to another score, but it wasn't to be, as they registered a fine away win. Next week sees County Cavan RFC visit Hamilton Park for the penultimate league match of the season, as Ards strive for a good finish to their season.