Portadown are back in Danske Bank Premiership action tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 4 March) when we take on Carrick Rangers at Shamrock Park, kick off 3pm.

Carrick Rangers are coming off the back of a 3-2 defeat to Larne at the Loughview Leisure Arena last time out while Portadown were 3-1 winners over Dungannon Swifts at Shamrock Park.

The last time the two sides met was back on the 19 November with Carrick Rangers running out 2-0 winners at the Loughview Leisure Arena thanks to goals from Lloyd Anderson and Cameron Stewart – since that game Carrick Rangers have only picked up 9 points from a total of 36 on offer, two less than Portadown over the same period of time.

Portadown have a pretty decent record against Carrick Rangers at Shamrock Park with only 2 defeats in their last 15 meetings – the last time the two sides met at Shamrock Park was the final game of last season’s Premiership campaign with a second string Portadown XI with eyes firmly fixed on the upcoming playoff against Annagh United going down 5-0 to Stuart King’s side.

Carrick Rangers have added former Portadown players Jamal Dupree and Nedas Maciulaitis during the January transfer window and have secured another former Port, in the shape of Ben Tilney, for a further 3 years with the wing back signing a new contract extension today.

The officials are – Referee – Keith Kennedy / Assistant 1 – Rachel Greer / Assistant 2 – Andrew Nethery / 4th official – Ben McMaster

Portadown manager Niall Currie had the below preview for supporters

We’re over the moon with our last few performances and results, we know what’s needed on Saturday and we know what’s coming as well.  Carrick Rangers are a very difficult team to beat for sure, they’re on a good run and having a good season so we know it’s going to be a difficult day but we do believe if we defend correctly and deal with their set pieces, which they’re very very good at, get the ball down then we know we can hurt them and that’s got to be the plan – if we can be really strong in the air and aggressive in both boxes and get the ball down I think we’ll be able to create chances against them.

We’re in a situation now where we’ve gave ourselves hope and that’s all we can ask, we know exactly how important tomorrow is and we’ll just focus on being the very best we can be and the lads can put in another sterling performance

We’ll evaluate the fitness of Luke Wilson following the hamstring injury he picked up in Friday nights victory over Dungannon Swifts and will hopefully know a lot more tonight (Thursday). Paddy (McNally) still hasn’t trained properly since picking up an injury against Ballymena United a few weeks back, we’re hoping he’ll join in with training tonight (Thursday) however I feel Saturday will come around too soon for him while Alberto (Balde) is also still struggling with a knock so in all honesty I don’t see Paddy nor Alberto available for Saturday but fingers crossed that Luke (Wilson) will be involved in some capacity.  A huge plus is that we welcome Josh Archer back after suspension.

 

MATCH SPONSORS – TEDDYS ELECTRICAL  | INSTANT PRINT

MATCH BALL SPONSOR – GREGG DAVIDSON

PSS MAN OF THE MATCH SPONSOR – STUART ANDREWS

MASCOTS – KYLE BLAIR | JOSH RICHARDSON | JENSON MAY | SAM JACKSON

BUCKET COLLECTION – CRAIGAVON CARDIAC CARE ASSOCIATION

 

 

Form (LAST FIVE PREMIERSHIP GAMES – MOST RECENT GAME LAST)

  • Portadown –  L, D, L, W, W (12th in DBP)
  • Carrick Rangers – D, W, W, L, L (8th in DBP)

 

Last Five Head to Head (All competitions)

  • Saturday 19 November 2022 – Carrick Rangers 2 (Anderson, Stewart) Portadown 0
  • Tuesday 8 November 2022 – Carrick Rangers 2 (Stewart, McGuckin) Portadown 0
  • Saturday 30 April 2022 – Portadown 0 Carrick Rangers 5 (Carson x2, Cushley, Gibson, Glendinning)
  • Tuesday 8 March 2022 – Carrick Rangers 2 (Gordon, Glendinning) Portadown 2 (Ruddy, Salley)
  • Saturday 13 November 2021 – Portadown 2 (Ruddy, Conaty)  Carrick Rangers 2 (Anderson, Finnegan OG)

Last Five Head to Head at Shamrock Park (All competitons)

  • Saturday 30 April 2022 – Portadown 0 Carrick Rangers 5 (Carson x2, Cushley, Gibson, Glendinning)
  • Saturday 13 November 2021 – Portadown 2 (Ruddy, Conaty)  Carrick Rangers 2 (Anderson, Finnegan OG)
  • Saturday 15 May 2021 – Portadown 2 (Bonis, Salley (p)) Carrick Rangers 1 (McMullan)
  • Saturday 10 April 2021 – Portadown 2 (Tilney, Bonis) Carrick Rangers 0
  • Saturday 9 March 2019 – Portadown 2 (Bradley, Salley) Carrick Rangers 2 (Loughran x2)

 

We Are Ports TV LIVE will have live coverage of the game against Carrick Rangers, 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. Portadown FC also operate a ‘Kid for a Quid’ scheme which sees any child U16 admitted to the game for £1 when accompanied by a paying adult – up to 3 U16s with any one paying adult.

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.