Portadown defensive woes ahead of Coleraine encounter

Two yellow cards against Dungannon Swifts for Dougie Wilson has added to the Ports defensive problems

With one game remaining before the split, a top six finish is still achievable for Portadown, but they travel to Coleraine this weekend with a defensive headache for manger Niall Currie to ponder. Baris Altintop sits out the second of his two-game suspension for picking up ten yellow cards and his replacement on Saturday, Dougie Wilson, received two yellows and will miss the journey to the North coast. With Lewis MacKinnon still not fit to return to action that leaves the Ports missing all three centre backs.

Speaking on Saturday evening Currie gave his thoughts on the situation, “The Dougie situation is very frustrating, with two yellow cards you can’t even appeal it, so we are going to have to be creative, we will have to come up with something, obviously we have no centre backs with Lewis, Lewis will not make it either, so basically we will be without our three centre backs, which is a huge problem. We will sit down and try and devise something up. It will be difficult, we understand that.”

On the last visit to Coleraine a couple of weeks ago Portadown made it all too easy for the home side, and Niall knows that will have to change, “The one thing that we do know is that maybe if we can get on the front foot a lot more than the last time we were at Coleraine, and go on the front foot maybe we can push them back and that will be the plan. We are going to have to go for it anyway, we will go out on our shield, these players have went out on their shield most of this season, three quarters of this season, so let’s go out on our shield against Coleraine, let’s beat Coleraine.

On top of the defensive issues, the team selection will make for interesting reading when it is announced on Saturday. Winger Ryan Mayse missed the Dungannon Swifts match at Shamrock Park, and it will be touch and go if he is fit to return. Eamon Fyfe also sat out the game but news on his injury is more promising. Eoghan McCawl returned to the bench, and it will be a case of all hands to the pumps on Saturday,