David Healy less than impressed with the performance as Linfield 'find a way' to see off Portadown
Manager David Healy was left scratching his head by another below-par Linfield performance against Portadown at Windsor Park on Tuesday night.
The 3-1 scoreline fails to paper over the cracks – it wasn’t the type of display associated with a team that was defending its Sports Direct Premiership title.
Although the Blues have hauled themselves to within five points of high-flying Larne in the League table, it’s highly unlikely the Gibson Cup will be resident in south Belfast for another 12 months.
They did get off to a dream start with Portadown defender Baris Altintop hoofing a Ean East cross into his own net after only two minutes.
But the battling Ports came roaring back, with Eamon Fyfe finishing off a cross from Josh Ukek on 21 minutes.
The game turned on its head midway through the second half. Ports midfielder Shay McCartan was shown a red card for a horrible challenge on Blues defender Darragh Leahy.
Referee Ross Dunlop awarded a penalty that was expertly despatched by Kyle McClean. Then in the closing minutes, Sam Taylor’s cross picked up Adam Frizzell and he rammed the ball into the bottom corner.
“We had no great quality at times, especially in the first half,” said Healy. “Although we had the start we craved, we didn’t build on that.
“Instead, we conceded a soft, soft goal, we were caught on the break. I made three substitutions at half time and, to be honest, the three (players) that came off may fell unfortunate and rightly so.
“Potentially, we could have made a lot more. The first half got away from us, there was no edge, no tempo to it, no real quality.
“But we got some sort of reaction in the second half. The most important thing at this point of the season is to win games, even though we are still chasing the teams above us.
“We’ve played better this season and not won. Credit to Niall (Currie) and his players, they stuck to the game plan and made it difficult for us, but we found a way.”
Portadown manager Niall Currie believes his boys deserved better.
“We were right in the game until the penalty incident,” he said. “That was the game changer.
“We had a chance before that to take the lead, it was a big moment. You can’t afford to miss chances like that at places like Windsor Park.
“We were a real threat all night with (Josh) Ukek running down the sides and in behind.
“We looked a well drilled, well organised team, we really limited Linfield to very few chances. We put in a top performance, but once again it came down to small margins.
“The one moment changed everything. It’s hard enough playing here with 11 players, but when you go down to 10 it makes it almost impossible.
“I don’t think the score is a true reflection of the game.
“The next step for us is to learn to get something out of games like this. It’s happened to us a lot this season . . . I can think back of games against Glentoran, Coleraine, Ballymena United when we’ve dropped points when we were well in the game.
“We must now learn to pick something up from games like that. I’m a great believer in if you keep you level of performance, you will get what you deserve.
“But I was proud of the boys, I thought we looked a decent side.”
The result keeps the Ports in eighth position in the League table, five points behind Carrick Rangers.