Portadown vice-chairman Paul Jackson is confident steps taken by the club will prevent a repeat of Tuesday’s floodlight failure at Shamrock Park.

The midweek Sports Direct Premiership meeting between the Ports and Cliftonville was abandoned by referee Christopher Morrison after 41 minutes of play.

It marked the second issue with floodlights for Portadown this season following a delay during the Boxing Day derby last year against Glenavon.

Jackson has confirmed contact with the Northern Ireland Football League and is expecting a rescheduled date, with work now carried out on the generator to protect from future problems.

placeholder image — Portadown vice-chairman Paul Jackson (left) and manager Niall Currie in conversation on Tuesday night following floodlight failure for the Premiership game with Cliftonville at Shamrock Park. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

"It was a case of two separate problems affecting the generator for the games with Glenavon and Cliftonville,” said Jackson, with a club statement on Tuesday night highlighting "we apologise for any inconvenience caused”. “We had our annual service the week before the Glenavon game but then had an oil filter problem, which we managed to fix on the day.

"Against Cliftonville it was an issue with the pump which left the generator air-locked so shut off.

"We had multiple people trying to fix it on the night but it needed a part replaced, which has now been sorted.

"We do not anticipate it being a problem now moving forward and everything is on course for Saturday evening’s home game against Dungannon Swifts but we will also have someone from the contractors at the fixture.

"We’ve been keeping NIFL informed along the whole process and it will just fold into the diary for a rescheduled date.”

Cliftonville held a 1-0 lead on Tuesday before the final decision.

A Northern Ireland Football League statement read: "The Sports Direct Premiership fixture between Portadown FC and Cliftonville FC was abandoned due to floodlight failure.

“The NI Football League remain in communication with Portadown to ensure the issue is resolved and can confirm, in line with league regulations, the fixture will be replayed in full.

"A new date will be confirmed and communicated in due course.”