Why Portadown transfer business at the back may be bad for Irish League defences

The January deals for goalkeepers Jacob Carney and Gareth Buchanan will strengthen a position Tipton views as “the foundation” of any peak Ports performance.

And, ahead of Portadown visiting Carrick Rangers on Saturday following the Irish League’s two-week coronavirus-connected circuit breaker, Tipton highlights a goal scored on the previous trip to Taylor’s Avenue as the perfect example of the number one spot’s overall influence.

“We lost the game but took the lead with a goal I still consider the best we’ve scored this season,” said Tipton ahead of Saturday’s test at Carrick and Crusaders coming to Shamrock Park next Tuesday. “It started with the right distribution by the goalkeeper that sparked a great team move and finish.

“That is why the goalkeeper position is so important, if the foundation is right then everything else works better - defenders can move higher up the pitch and the attacking players get the ball in better positions to hurt the opposition, with the overall play a lot sharper.

“The distribution is vital and that can be having a goalkeeper comfortable with the ball at his feet playing it out from the back or having the speed of thought to identify opportunities playing it upfield.

“We know what Gareth can bring given his Irish League experience but Jacob has come as a 19-year-old on loan from Manchester United and settled really well, looking very sharp.

“Both goalkeepers are working hard and have adjusted to our training and gameplan.”

As the Danske Bank Premiership returns from the latest lockdown, Tipton accepts the demands of weekend and midweek fixtures moving forward must play a central factor in how he prepares training and team selection.

“In a season when players have not had the usual fitness preparation and we could face multiple players absent relating to the coronavirus, that has to come into play in our thinking,” said the Ports boss. “Although we will still have some flexibility within games to adjust to the opposition, our approach now is going to be about having one clear and established system.

“The players have been used to that in the past and I’ve been guilty possibly of adjustments for our first season back up in the Premiership.

“However, it’s always about trying to get the best out of our players and it’s going to be important to have players working off one clear plan.

“That gives us the option to swap players in or out as required at short notice if issues come up with injuries or coronavirus.

“I imagine with the demands of the fixture list around everything else it’s going to be a case of making line-up changes from game to game more than before, simply to protect the players and team overall.

“It’s another aspect to this season that calls for us to adapt and accept.”

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