Ards 2nds 8 v 17 Grosvenor
On a bitterly cold and wet Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Park, Ards 2nds took on Grosvenor 2nds in a Crawford Cup contest.

Ards had already defeated Grosvenor earlier in the season in a league encounter, so it would be an interesting exchange, second time round.

The visitors, sporting a much changed team, kicked off into the almost gale force winds blowing from Scrabo to Strangford. Ards were quick to move up to meet the challenge but conceded 3 quick penalties in succession, before the referee warned Ards Captain, Davy Chivers, the next one would be a 'yellow.'

Grosvenor had fought hard into the Ards half and looked set to take an early lead, with Ards now walking on egg shells for fear of being carded, Grosvenor took advantage of some soft defence and got the scoreboard ticking over with an unconverted try in the far right hand corner. Ards 0 v 5 Grosvenor

From the restart, Ards forced their way back up to the opposition 22, and stayed encamped there for much of the half before one of the visitors was deemed to have strayed offside, Ards outhalf Taylor Nutt, landed the 3 points with a well struck penalty, and both teams still had it all to play for. Ards 3 v Grosvenor 5

Ards tried everything to break down the visitors defence, with huge carries from Jonny Harris, Max Harrison, Daniel McNally and Ryan Thompson.

Surging runs from Trevor Devlin and Oren Kisby in the midfield, also failed to penetrate the visitors line so Ards had to settle for that single solitary penalty, at the half way mark.

Half time: Ards 3 v Grosvenor 5

Ball retention was proving difficult in the prevailing conditions, but more so for the homeside as opposed to the visitors, and that had led to a very frustrating first half.

In the second half, Ards dominated in possession and territory for at least 30 minutes, but it was the visitors who capitalised on the numerous spilled balls and ran in 2 tries, one of which was converted. Ards 3 v Grosvenor 17

Undeterred, Ards continued to attack; Trevor Devlin, made good yardage on many occasions, eagerly supported by the ever present Kisby and 'both' were fittingly rewarded for their efforts when Kisby crossed the line late on in the game for an unconverted try.

The game finished 8 - 17 to the visitors, but nobody, not even the visitors, could work out how the scoreline finished up as it did in Grosvenor's favour. This was definitely one that got away for Ards, but a lot of positives to be taken from this game.

Thanks to Grosvenor for travelling, the match official and the surprisingly large number of supporters who had braved the elements to cheer on the team.

Ards 2nds: B Orr, D Chivers (c), J Montgomery, J Harris, J Miskimmin, M Harrison, M Bell, D McNally, G Anderson, T Nutt, G Wilson, O Kisby, T Devlin, M McLean, M Taylor, C Stewart, R Thompson, R Kiernan