Portadown Manager Niall Currie Praises Team After Premiership Victory

Portadown manager Niall Currie expressed significant commendation for his players following their 2-0 Irish Premiership triumph against nine-man Cliftonville. This victory at Shamrock Park propelled the team to third place in the league standings. Ryan Mayse secured a crucial early lead for the Ports with a goal in the fourth minute, and Ahu Obhakhan extended their advantage during first-half injury-time. These goals came after Cliftonville players Conor Pepper and Jonny Addis had both received red cards. Currie remarked on the team’s performance, stating, “The first half was brilliant. Whenever you come up against the kind of quality that Cliftonville have, you have to stay in the game for the initial 15, 20 minutes. We started really well. We had a lot about us. Our endeavour was good, our hunger was good and our control of the game was pretty decent.” Portadown was already dominating the match when Pepper received his second yellow card in four minutes, leading to his dismissal at the hour mark. Currie further commented, “We were at a high level in the first half. We had a good balance about us. We had great options in wide areas. We carried a threat throughout the whole game.” Despite his satisfaction with his players’ performance, Currie cautioned them against becoming “carried away.” He elaborated, “We’re over the moon at the situation we’re in at the moment but we also understand that football changes very quickly and I know that as a manager. We’ve got to keep focusing and working hard.”