Honours were even after this hard fought mid-Ulster Derby at Mourneview Park tonight.  The Ports opened the scoring  in the 25th minute through captain Keith O’Hara who timed his run through the Glenavon defence perfectly to slot the ball past Coleman.  The lead was short-lived however as Glenavon equalised when ex-Ports player Conor Hagan flicked on a Kyle Neill free into the goalmouth.  The ball bounced harmlessly towards the far post, but was deflected goalwards by Richard Lecky and finally bundled into the net off keeper Miskelly as he stretched to keep the ball out.   

The second half saw the Ports struggling to get to grips in the strong swirling wind and they continued to look nervous at the back.  It was no surprise when Glenavon went 2-1 up after a period of sustained pressure from the home side lead to a goal from Ciaran Doherty in the 73rd minute.  The Ports looked shell shocked, but battled their way back when Joe McNeills shot was deflected past Coleman in the 82nd minute to restore parity.  In the end a draw was probably a fair reflection on the balance of play.

 

Portadown Team:

Miskelly

O’Hara-Gartland-Breen-Redman

Mackle-McCafferty-McNeill

Murray-Braniff-Lecky

Subs: McArdle, McLellan, Casement, Burns (R), Tomelty