Depleted Ports deliver derby delight

On a very dry and bumpy pitch there was very little in the way of quality football on display in the first half of Saturday’ encounter at Shamrock Park. The visitors forced a series of corners early on but didn’t put the home defence under any real pressure.

Portadown controlled most of the play and had to excellent goal scoring opportunities inside the first 15 minutes.

The first of those chances came in the 13th minute when a superb cross from Ukek picked out Eamon Fyfe and his header produced a superb save from Gartside, with Teelan unable to get a clean contact as the ball dropped at the back post.

Forty seconds later Teelan and Ukek found themselves two versus one and a square ball from Teelan to Ukek looked the obvious choice but he cut it back to Fyfe and he ballooned the ball high over the bar.

The Ports continued to press, and McCartan skied another fine effort over the top. The home side took the lead in the twentieth minute, when a one-two between Teelan and Wylie opened up the visitor’s defence.

Wylie’s low drive across the face of goal was blocked by McCloskey and the inrushing Teelan slammed it home of the crossbar and into the roof of the net. The rest of the opening half didn’t see either goalkeeper with much to do. Ten minutes before the breakMcElroy stooped to head in the six-yard box but the ball looped over the bar.

Loughgall looked more direct after the break and were throwing players forward. Ten minutes into the second period the home side found the goal under pressure, Magee carving open the defence before forcing McCarey in into an excellent save. McCarey excelled again thirty seconds later to keep out Kelly’s back post header.

Portadown created a great opening fifteen minutes from time, when Teelan fed the ball to Fyfe and his cutback to the unmarked Ukek went just behind him when he would have had the goal at his mercy.

There was relief for Portadown when they doubled the lead eight minutes from time.

McCullough’s cross was headed back at the far post by Isamala and Ukek forced it home through a crowd of players. Loughgall struck back immediately when Waide rifled a shot from the edge of the box which rocketed of the left-hand post and in of the right hand with McCarey stranded.

The points were wrapped up in the last of the ninety minutes when Wylie struck a half volley home from twenty-five yards after the visitors failed to clear the danger.

Wylie’s joy turned to despair with seconds left on the clock when he received a second yellow for delaying the game at a throw-in reducing the home side to ten men, but more importantly making him unavailable for the penultimate game against Cliftonville next weekend.

Ports assistant manager Clifford Adams was pleased with the way the team had reacted after last week’s defeat at Carrick: “Both teams deserve tremendous credit today, because the pitch is hard, it’s like a cobbled street at times there and it’s not conducive to playing good football but both teams tried their best. We are happy with the boys; we got great reaction after last week which was disappointing for everyone at the club. We just have to build on that now and hopefully we get a couple of bodies back for next week.”

Loughgall have only achieved one previous topflight victory against The Ports at Shamrock Park, back in January 2007, and the latest defeat condemned them to relegation.

Newly appointed manager Darren Murphy is confident the club can bounce back again next season: “You dust yourself down and now it’s about reassessing, seeing where you are, where we want to be, and what we need to do. Outside of I’d say four players in the squad everybody’s in contract. It’s protected the football club…. The last thing we need on top of a relegation is for all our best players to leave for free.”

Portadown: McCarey, Chapman, McCullough, Traynor, Ismamala, Ukek, McCartan, Minzamba (McCawl), Fyfe, McElroy(Wylie), Teelan. Unused subs: Williamson, Redman, McKay, Downey, Monteiro.

Loughgall: Gartside, Kelly, Andrade, Francis, Norton(McMenemy), McCloskey(D Kelly), Mahon(Guterres), Magee, Towe, Waide, McLaughlin(Brogan). Unused subs: Turker, O’Brien, Woolsey