Niall Currie praises Portadown's 'wholehearted performance' after recording first Premiership victory with Carrick Rangers success
Niall Currie praised his Portadown side for producing a “wholehearted performance” which helped them earn their first Premiership win of the season as Eamon Fyfe scored in a 1-0 victory over Carrick Rangers.
After gaining promotion back to the top-flight following their Championship title success last term, Currie’s men started the campaign with narrow losses to Cliftonville and Glentoran before responding by picking up points against neighbours Loughgall and Linfield.
They’ve now got a maiden tick in the win column with Fyfe’s second-half strike ultimately proving the difference at Taylor’s Avenue with Carrick condemned to a fourth consecutive league defeat.
"We all recognise how difficult of a place this is to come - any team that comes here and gets anything has done well,” Currie told the club’s media channel. “We knew exactly what we were getting and I asked all the players to be vigilant, mentally strong and physically strong.
"They are a strong team and have quality in their ranks...we were good. It wasn't a game for the purist with the grass a wee bit long for getting the ball out of your feet and playing the way we like to play, but ultimately it came down to first and second ball phases today.
"We threw bodies on the line and I can't praise the players highly enough. I thought we deserved it and for all the threats Carrick have, I thought we nullified them very well. I'm delighted to get off the mark."
Portadown hadn’t picked up a Premiership victory at the County Antrim venue since April 2016 and will now look to build on the win when they welcome Dungannon Swifts to Shamrock Park on Friday evening.
Home form could be key to any potential success this season and Currie has called for his players to continue putting in hard work as they look to put on a show for the club’s supporters.
"I said to the players from the start of the season if they see you're not fully committed or giving your all, the supporters will let you know and that's the way the club is,” he added. “I've told the players as long as the fans see them rinsing their shirts out at the end of the game, win, lose or draw they'll back them, and all our supporters saw today it was a whole-hearted performance."