Hockey: South secure key promotion scalp away to title rivals

The Ports had beaten South in the Linden Cup to secure top spot in the group but South were on the right end of a 2-1 victory over their fellow promotion hopefuls in the league on Saturday.

Having started the season with a win the week before, the Lisburn side went into the game full of confidence.

Add to that the rivalry that has built up between South and Portadown in recent years, and this was expected to be a tense encounter. And it didn’t disappoint.

South started the game at a ferocious rate with the pace of Chris Henry and Matthew Getty proving extremely effective in creating a few openings.

The combative, high-pressing, approach employed by the South midfield paid dividends after 10 minutes when Lee Marshall out-muscled his opposing number to steal the ball and counter-attack.

Chris Henry then took over; beating two men on the by-line before caressing a sumptuous pass across the face of the goal for fox-in-the-box forward Paul Maguire to tap in from close range and give South a much deserved early lead.

As the half wore on, Portadown started to come into the game more and gradually began to see more of the ball. Openings, however, were few and far between for the hosts with the South defence, led capably by Hunter and Redpath, standing firm in open play.

The Ports did muster three or four short corners in the closing stages of the half, but these were capably dealt with by the South defensive team.

However, 15 minutes after the break, the Ports levelled.

A seemingly innocuous long ball was crashed into the South circle and forward Stephen Johnston managed to apply the faintest of touches to deflect it in.

This re-energised the hosts who had edged their way back into the game against the run of play. But less than five minutes after the equaliser, South were back in front.

A quickly taken free from Adam Marshall, followed by some tantalising stick skills, enabled the youngster to carry the ball into the circle from wide left, before laying it on a plate for Matthew Getty to slot home from close range.

It was very much a case of backs against the wall for South in the final 15 minutes of proceedings as Portadown frantically threw everything they had forward in an attempt to salvage something from the game.

Once again, however, short corners came to nothing and despite the intense pressure on the South defensive unit, Hutchinson was rarely troubled in goal.

Despite South being temporarily reduced to ten men after Stuart Hunter’s clumsy challenge, the Lisburn side stood firm to claim all three points in one of the most hotly anticipated games of the Senior One campaign.