WHAT THE MANAGER SAID: David Healy delight at Linfield 'big goals' in hard-fought home win
Chris McKee’s quickfire double sent Linfield on the path to three points over spirited Portadown.
The young forward grabbed both goals after the interval as a substitute from 46-48 minutes at Windsor Park, with Paul McElroy cutting the gap.
The Sports Direct Premiership league leaders finished in front with a 2-1 win to now sit eight points clear ahead of second-placed Cliftonville visiting defending champions Larne on Sunday.
Here’s the verdict of Linfield manager David Healy (as told to BBC Sport NI):
OVERALL PERFORMANCE...
"It was a tough game, you have to give Niall Currie (Portadown manager) and his team credit.
"They made us work for it.
"First half we weren’t quite at the standard and we got our joy second half and we got big goals early in the second half.”
RESPONSE TO DERBY DEFEAT...
"There’s a lot of noise made about any result or performance.
"And when you lose a Glentoran game it’s important to respond in a positive manner.
"And we’ve done that."