Derby day blues for the Ports

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The mid-Ulster rivalry between Portadown and Glenavon dates back to 1890, but Saturday’s league encounter at Mourneview Park will not go down on the classic list. Ports boss Niall Currie summed it up when he said: “I don’t think anybody would say either team deserved to win the game. Both keepers were virtually non-existent the whole game.”

The match, played in blustery conditions, opened at a frantic pace, with end to end exchanges which ultimately failed to test either keeper to any great extent. Peter Campbell caused some early concern for Portadown with an effort across the box which was cleared and a tame effort easily taken by McCarey. At the other end Ryan Mayes was the main threat to the home side with a dipping volley which went just over, and a low drive as he cut in from the left which had Deane scrambling to turn it around the post.

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Portadown looked set to introduce Paul McElroy on 35 minutes, but those plans were hastily changed when the visitors took the lead. Good work by McCarten set up Mayes and he drilled the ball towards the near post where Obhakhan was on hand to turn the ball home ahead of O'Sullivan. Goal scorer Obhakhan had been walking a disciplinary tightrope after picking up an early yellow card. Currie was frustrated by the fact that match officials told him one more challenge and he is off, "They give you no choice yet every time a hand went on them they were buying free kicks left, right and centre." The intervention of the referee and fourth official forced Currie to pull Obhakhan out of the thick of things and play him down the right.

The Ports went in ahead at the break but the referee continued dishing out yellow cards in the second half for the most innocuous of contacts. On 58 minutes the sides were level when O'Sullivan unchallenged broke away on the left and sent a ball into the box which the Portadown defence failed to deal with. The ball broke to Malone on the edge of the box and he fired home into the bottom corner. With the fourth official indicating five additional minutes at the end of the game Glenavon pounced to break Portadown hearts. Yet again it was an unmarked run this time from Carroll, and when his shot was parried by McCarey, McDaid was on hand to fire home from close range.

Goal scorer and provider celebrate the openerGoal scorer and provider celebrate the opener
Goal scorer and provider celebrate the opener

It was a cruel blow for Portadown which left Currie to rue his side's shortcomings: "We've got to learn, that's a game where we've got to get something, it's a nothing game. We didn't manage the game, their game management was better than ours today. The two goals we concede are absolutely preventable."

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