Portadown are back in Bluefin Sport Championship action this Friday night (8 November 19) when we face Newry City AFC at the Showgrounds (7:45pm).
Portadown will be without the suspended Conall McGrandles who picked up a fifth yellow card of the season in Saturdays victory over Knockbreda however Marty Bradley should return after serving a one match ban.
On the injury front Chris Lavery is back in full training after two months out with a medial ligament tear with his next progression being getting game time with the reserves unfortunately however the reserves next fixture isn’t until the 16th November. Adam McCallum remains sidelined with a ankle ligament tear but is progressing well with his rehabilitation programme while Ryan Carmichael has ankle ligament damage but thankfully not as bad as first feared so should be available with a few weeks. A second x-ray confirmed a fractured tibia for young Poggy Robinson which is a real blow for him as he was just nearing full fitness following a disrupted pre season.
Newry City AFC have put a run of form together in the Bluefin Sport Championship after an inconsistent start with only two defeats in their last ten league games and can boast six wins during that run however four of those six victories have come against teams in the bottom six. The Ports defence will also have to keep an eye on Newry’s ace marksman Mark McCabe who has 10 goals this season including 7 goals in his last 9 games in all competitions while newly crowned Championship Player of the Month for October and former Ports winger Adam Foley has six in his last seven appearances in all competitions.
On a positive note for the Ports Newry City AFC have struggled at the Showgrounds this season so far with only 2 victories in their 7 home games however those two victories have been emphatic with 5-1 wins over boths Ards and Ballyclare Comrades, also 13 of the 18 goals scored at home by Newry have come in three games. In total Newry have only taken 7 points at the Showgrounds from a possible 21 while on the road Portadown have taken 14 from a possible 21.
Last time out in the Bluefin Sport Championship Newry City AFC won 1-0 away to Ballyclare Comrades while Portadown defeated Knockbreda 3-0.
The last meeting between the two sides came just over a month ago at Shamrock Park which ended in a 0-0 draw and seen Newry City AFC halt Portadown’s seven match league winning streak.
Referee – Mark Dillon / Assistant Referees – Adam Jeffrey & Adrain Sobieski
2019/20 Bluefin Sport Championship season so far
Portadown – Played 15, Won 10, Drew 3, Lost 2. Goals for 33 / Goals against 10 – Bluefin Sport Championship position – 1st
Newry City AFC – Played 15, Won 7, Drew 3, Lost 5. Goals for 33 / Goals against 20 – Bluefin Sport Championship position – 5th
Newry AFC Home League Form 2019/20 / Played 7, Won 2, Drew 1, Lost 4. Goals for 18 / against 15
Portadown Away League Form 2019/20 / Played 7, Won 4, Drew 2, Lost 1. Goals for 16 / against 8
Last Five Head to Head
Friday 4 October 2019 – Portadown 0 Newry City AFC 0
Tuesday 30 October 2018 – Newry City AFC 1(King) Portadown 1 (McCallum) – Ports won 4-1 on pens * League Cup
Friday 20 April 2018 – Newry City AFC 0 Portadown 0
Friday 23 March 2018 – Portadown 2 (Boyle og, Douglas) Newry City AFC 1 (Mackin)
Friday 27 October 2017 – Portadown 1 (Lavery) Newry City AFC 4 (D Carville, J Walker, M McCabe, o.g.)
#WeArePortsTV Highlights of our last Bluefin Sport Championship game against Newry City AFC back in April 2018