Cliftonville’s Lyttle attributes Portadown defeat to team’s own performance

Cliftonville suffered a 2-0 loss to Portadown at Shamrock Park, a match in which Jonny Addis became the second player from the Reds to be sent off during the first half. Following the defeat, Cliftonville assistant manager Gerard Lyttle commented that the nine-man Reds “beat ourselves” due to their poor and undisciplined display in the first half of the Irish Premiership fixture against Portadown. Ryan Mayse opened the scoring for Portadown in the fourth minute, establishing what was described as a deserved lead. Ahu Obhakhan extended their advantage during first-half injury time, shortly after Cliftonville players Conor Pepper and Jonny Addis had both received red cards. The Cliftonville assistant boss, who was managing the team in the absence of the banned Jim Magilton, stated: “I just said to the lads, credit to Portadown for winning but I don’t think Portadown have beaten us, I think we’ve beaten ourselves especially in the first-half performance.” Lyttle characterized Cliftonville’s defensive effort for Mayse’s opening goal as “poor.” He further noted that the situation deteriorated into “chaos” following the red cards issued to Pepper and Addis, decisions which the Reds’ assistant manager did not dispute. He added: “We were trying to get in at half-time, lick our wounds, 1-0 down with 10 men.” He continued, “Things can be different and we can look at changing a few things but when you lose two men in the first half, it’s a mountain to climb.”