WHAT THE MANAGER SAID: 'There's a lot of smiles around the place' - Niall Currie delight at surprise package Portadown

Here’s the verdict of Portadown manager Niall Currie:

OVERALL PERFORMANCE...

"It wasn't a great game, the conditions were awful...a swirling wind for both teams.

"Hard to watch I would say and not one for the purists but it came down to a dogfight.

"It was very small margins and Declan (Caddell, Crusaders manager) will probably feel aggrieved they didn't get something from the game and, to be fair, rightly so...ultimately we were able to dig in.

"We were a wee bit off it in the first half but managed it well the second half.

"I thought it was just a 50-50 game, it could've gone either way and we're just grateful we got the three points out of it."

SECOND IN THE LEAGUE...

"We're just the backing crew behind the players...our boys have invested themselves in everything we're doing.

"They trust us, we trust them and the bottom line is it's one game at a time because I've seen it change very, very quickly.

"But you make hay while the sun shines...at the minute there's a lot of smiles around the place.

"We're all satisfied but you've got to be real as well and we're not envisaging sitting in this position come the end of the season.

"We want to do the very best we can, we have that target in the changing rooms nobody knows about that we feel will keep the club in this league next year.

"Then after that...we'll see.

"But one step at a time, I've said it before...that's a new squad.

"We had to bring in 15, 16 players.

"These boys are punching well above their weight but feet on the ground and that's how we'll move forward.

"We've got great momentum at the minute...the atmosphere is wonderful around the place with our supporters, with our players, with our staff and Boardroom.

"Everything's together, everyone pulling in the same direction at the minute and long may it continue.

"We understand football and everything can change in a couple of games so I've told the players not to worry about league tables.

"Let's just concentrate on winning every game we go out to play.

"And that's exactly what the mantra will be....one game at a time.

"Let's make sure we are at our levels, we try to be at our best."

DEFENSIVE DISPLAY...

"Clean sheets make all the difference...that's our eighth I think this season.

"The last 5-10 minutes was a bit of an onslaught as well, long balls into your box.

"We picked up second ball outside the box, Ben Wylie picked up a lot...a lot of stuff he's not really renowned for.

"We got our heads on things, we threw our bodies on the line, our goalkeeper (Aaron McCarey) was superb again.

"I thought Lee Chapman today was sensational.

"Lewis (MacKinnon) is a great kid, Baris (Altintop) is a young lad as well, then two guys outside them...Stevie Mac (Steven McCullough) and Lee, plus our goalkeeper.

"Credit where it's due...Gary (Thompson) and Ben (Wylie) won a lot of second balls (from midfield)."

JORDAN FORSYTHE THROW-INS...

"It was a bombardment today...it was strange actually when you see Jordan walking across the pitch and throwing balls half the length of the pitch into the box at every opportunity.

"I thought we marshalled it well, they had a couple of dangerous moments from it but we put our bodies on the line.

"It's not too often you face that...it's different, the goalkeeper kicks the ball 60 yards, your player accidentally hits it out and all of a sudden you're getting like a corner-kick against you.

"I haven't seen it in a long time, I knew Jordan had a long throw-in but, boy, he could throw it in from all angles today."