Ardstraw unlucky in defeat to Newtowne

ARDSTRAW player-boss Steven Campbell was ‘disappointed’ to see his side fall to a 2-0 home defeat to Newtowne in the Northern Ireland Intermediate League on Saturday.

He felt had they got a break at the right time, victory was there for the taking. Unfortunately, though, Ardstraw are going through a difficult spell at present but Campbell believes the corner is close to being turned, especially if Saturday’s performance is anything to go by.

In blustery conditions and facing the wind in the first half, Ardstraw enjoyed the better of the possession and the chances without really creating anything clear-cut.

And having reached the break level, Campbell and his charges felt they had a good chance of kicking on in the second half.
Unfortunately, a fairly generous handball decision gave Newtowne a free kick, from which Conor Logue scored, and after Eamon McGrath narrowly failed to divert the ball past the visiting goalkeeper, the Limavady based outfit grabbed a fortuitous second through a distinctly off-side looking Richard King which all but knocked the stuffing out of Ardstraw.

“We were a bit disappointed. I thought we had an opportunity to pick up points,” he said.

“We thought if we were to hold our own in the first half it might open up in the second but it just wasn’t to be. We pushed hard, we tried to go ahead.

“But to be fair to the boys, they are working hard and I’ve told them that if they keep putting shifts in the results will come.

“We’re not too far away, we just need a break and we will get the rub of the green but we need to keep working hard and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Ardstraw entertain Strabane Athletic in the league this coming Saturday at 2pm when a win would be the perfect tonic for Campbell and his players, but they know that won’t be easy to come by.

“There are no easy games, but I thought on Saturday, in the first half, this is it, but unfortunately everyone in the changing room afterwards was disheartened.

“But I feel all it’s going to take is to get one result and that will lift everything again.”