Portadown are back in Danske Bank Premiership action tomorrow (Sat 18 Feb) with the third Mid-Ulster derby of the season when we face Glenavon at Shamrock Park, kick off 5:30pm
The Ports come into the game off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Cliftonville on Tuesday evening while Glenavon were denied a victory over Crusaders at Mourneview Park with ex Ports midfielder Philip Lowry grabbing an injury time equaliser for the Crues with the game ending 2-2.
The last time the two sides met was back on Boxing Day 2022 with Glenavon securing the Mid-Ulster bragging rights thanks to a 2-1 victory at Mourneview Park with a brace from Matthew Fitzpatrick, Barney McKeown was on target for Niall Currie’s men. Back in September the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Shamrock Park with Oisin Conaty giving Portadown the lead before Mark Haughey equalised for Glenavon.
A feisty fixture, the Mid-Ulster derby has seen 14 red cards in the last 23 games (9 for Portadown & 5 for Glenavon) while current Glenavon midfielder Robert Garrett has seen red for both clubs in Mid Ulster derbies. A game of late goals there have been 21 goals scored in the 80th minute and onwards in the last 23 games between both clubs. Portadown come into the game without a derby win in their last 8 games against Glenavon and will have to keep an eye on Glenavon striker Matthew Fitzpatrick who has 4 goals in his last 7 Mid-Ulster derbies.
A reminder that it is free entry for all school children in year 10 and below for this game. They however must be accompanied by a paying adult and the promotion is up to 3 youngsters with one adult.
Portadown manager Niall Currie had the following preview for supporters
First and foremost we hope there’s a large crowd at the game, with the 5:30pm kick off our aim is to attract those Portadown supporters from around the area who play in the Mid-Ulster League and help to create a great atmosphere.
On the game tomorrow against Glenavon, unfortunately Paddy McNally will be unavailable due to the hamstring injury he picked up against Ballymena United so we’ll have to tweak things.
I do feel our last few performances, particularly at Ballymena United, were excellent. I also believe our performance at Solitude against Cliftonville on Tuesday evening was very decent but disappointingly our achilles heel reared it’s head again in regards to not marking or picking up men in the box.
While on one hand we know what to expect tomorrow night from Glenavon, on the other hand we don’t! While we know how good Glenavon can be and they have plenty of quality players I think it’s fair to say they’ve been inconsistent this season but their record still shows their capable of beating the best teams in the country.
As I repeatedly say each preview, our main focus will be on ourselves, maintaining our levels and being the very best that we can be as that’s all we can control. No one goes out to play badly but as long as the effort and commitment levels that have been on display in recent weeks continue then I feel we have a good chance to have a real go at this.
We obviously have had a horrendous run of games recently coming up against Linfield, Cliftonville, Larne and Glentoran but going back to last weekend against Ballymena United, we were really disappointed not to come away with the 3 points which the performance thoroughly deserved while Tuesday night at Solitude was a whole hearted performance at a venue we’ve struggled at for the best part of a decade now.
Tomorrow we’ll apply ourselves properly and go into the game with belief, in the Boxing Day fixture while the first half was poor I felt we were the better team in the second half but Glenavon have a cutting edge and we’ll have to take any chances that come our way tomorrow night.
The officials are – Referee – Tim Marshall / Assistant 1 – Ryan Kelsey / Assistant 2 – Andrew Nethery / 4th official – Christopher Morrison
- Match Sponsor – The Seagoe Hotel
- Match Ball Sponsor – Ian Woodward, Chairman of Belper Town FC
- PSS Man of the Match Sponsor – John Warren & Friends
- Mascots – Joel Hamilton, Ada Wiggins, Jackson Beattie & Blake Beattie
- Community Guests – Portadown YMCA
- Bucket Collection – Aspire NI
Last Five Head to Head (All competitions)
- Monday 26 December 2022 – Glenavon 2 (Fitzpatrick x2) Portadown 1 (McKeown)
- Friday 30 September 2022 – Portadown 1 (Conaty) Glenavon 1 (Haughey)
- Saturday 23 April 2022 – Glenavon 1 (Wallace) Portadown 0
- Saturday 12 February 2022 – Glenavon 3 (Singleton, Haughey, McCloskey) Portadown 0
- Monday 27 December 2021 – Portadown 0 Glenavon 1 (Campbell)
Last Five Head to Head at Shamrock Park (All competitions)
- Friday 30 September 2022 – Portadown 1 (Conaty) Glenavon 1 (Haughey)
- Monday 27 December 2021 – Portadown 0 Glenavon 1 (Campbell)
- Friday 27 August 2021 – Portadown 1 (Finnegan) Glenavon 1 (O’Connor)
- Tuesday 9 March 2021 – Portadown 1 (Lavery) Glenavon 2 (Hall, McCaffery)
- Saturday 6 March 2021 – Portadown 4 (Warde (p), Bonis, Guy, Lavery) Glenavon 1 (Ward)
We Are Ports TV LIVE will have live coverage of the game against Glenavon, the live stream is available at a cost of £10 and can be purchased and viewed via https://portstv.com/
Online tickets for the game are available via https://tickets.portadownfc.co.uk/fixtures. While online tickets for matches still remain, a cash gate is also available (except in the event where a game has sold out online in advance of the game). We would add however that purchasing your ticket online is the quickest and most convenient way to secure your seat for games and would still actively encourage supporters to avail of the facility.
A reminder about the Ports Hub facility at games at Shamrock Park which give you match info, player stats and exclusive interviews. To access the Ports Hub simply scan the QR code placed on every other seat’s backrest at Shamrock Park (as well as in the clubrooms) and you will give brought to a host of great content, think of it as your digital matchday programme!
With more families and community / youth groups visiting Shamrock Park on match days, the club has decided to re-launch our FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AREA. BLOCK B in the home stand has been designated as this area, a traditionally slightly quieter block and further away from opposition supporters. We recognise that football matches are noisy and passionate experiences for players and fans alike but we would also like children, families and community visitors of mixed abilities and needs to feel comfortable when they visit a match, for some, their very first football match.
Guidelines for supporters sitting in Block B will be clearly displayed at the front of that area and we encourage all patrons in the block to follow them:
- PLEASE BE AWARE OF THOSE AROUND YOU.
- PLEASE USE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE.
- BE POSITIVE TOWARDS PEOPLE ON THE PITCH.