Mid-Ulster clubs battle for top six finish

The first half was something of a non-event in terms of a spectacle to watch.The opening fifteen minutes were peppered with a series of free-kicks for niggly fouls. Portadown had the first clear cut chance on thirteen minutes when Teelan beat the offside trap and cutting in from the right fired just wide from twenty yards out. Play was surging from end to end as booth teams sought out an opening without really threatening either goal.That set the pattern for the rest of the half with neither keeper being unduly troubled until the first minute of added time. A Portadown attack was broken up and when the ball broke to JohnMcGovern he made a strong run from his own half evading several challenges before he was finally stopped by McCarey rushing out to the edge of the box to superbly block his goal bound effort. It was a frustrating half for the home side with yellow cards being dished out by Referee Tim Marshall for ‘nothing’ tackles. The opening minutes of the second period produced more in the way of goalmouth action than the entire first half. Three minutes after the restart a mistake by Dean Curry let Obhakhan have a sight of goal, but his shot was straight at the keeper. Three minutes later a surging run from McCartan set up a Ports counterattack but Ukek tamely headed straight to the keeper.Dillon then set up McGovern and following a mix-up between McCarey and his defence, the keeper was relieved to see the ball trickle past the upright. Portadown made an early substitution with Minzamba replacing Thompson as a precaution with decisions still going in favour of the visitors. Just before the hour mark a hopeful punt was picked up by Wylie but his shot went narrowly wide of the far post.The opening goal came in the sixty-second minute when Kealan Dillon cut in from the right and his shot across goal was only parried by McCarey and Mitchell fired home into the roof of the net. McCartan came close to producing the equaliser but his shot from twenty-five yards just evaded the upright with Dunne beaten. With a quarter of the game remaining Portadown made a tactical change, going to a 3-5-2 formation, but those plans went out the window two minutes later when they were reduced to ten men. Dougie Wilson picked up a second yellow for a foul on Maguire as he broke forward down the right flank.In a positive move Niall Currie made the decision to stay with two men up top and the ten men pressed forward in search of the equaliser.The tying goal came ten minutes from time when a McCullough free kick from thirty yards took a wicked deflection off the Dungannon wall, leaving Dunne stranded. Despite being a man short it was Portadown that were pushing for the winner in the closing stages, but the visitors hung on for a point that secured their top six finish.Shaking up the top half of the table this season has been a breath of fresh air in the Premier league, with the Mid-Ulster duo breaking the ‘big six’ dominance. The Ports boss was rightly proud of his players, “We are in the mix to finish in the top six as a newly promoted club. If you had said at the start of the season we would be fighting it out for a top six spot, and by the way congratulations to Dungannon, well done a great achievement, but if you had said at the start of the season Portadown and Dungannon would be fighting it out for a top six spot I’d have laughed at you. Portadown: McCarey, Chapman, McCullough, D Wilson, Isamala, Teelan(Traynor), McCartan , Thompson(Minzamba), Wylie, Obhakhan(McElroy), Ukek. Unused subs: Wright, Redman, McCawl, McKayDungannon Swifts: Dunne, Scott, Curry, Marron, Glenny, Alves(Maguire),Dillon (King), Bigirimana, Knowles(Bermingham) McGovern(Hutchinson), Mitchell, Unused subs: Henderson, Boyd, Galvin