Niall Currie Expresses Relief After Portadown’s Draw

Portadown, currently on an unbeaten run of three league games, saw their manager Niall Currie express “relief” after securing a 1-1 draw against Carrick Rangers at Shamrock Park. Carrick had taken an early first-half lead through an own goal by Shay McCartan, but the same player later scored a deflected strike in the final moments of the game, earning a point for the Ports. Despite what he described as a below-par performance from his team, Currie indicated satisfaction with the single point and his side’s persistence until the very end. “I think we huffed and puffed, had plenty of the ball and if we played to midnight, we wouldn’t have scored but thankfully we had a moment of magic and a bit of luck,” he told BBC Sport NI. He added, “In moments like that you take the point and I’m relieved to get that so I don’t think we can be disappointed today.” Currie also commended Carrick for their tactical approach, which he noted had largely stifled the home side throughout the match. “Credit goes to Carrick, they were resilient and really hard to break down and limited us to very few chances,” he continued. He concluded by stating, “We need to be better playing against teams with low blocks, but I’m proud of the boys you need to dig in and go to the end and we did.”