OPINION: Derby win could prove Portadown turning point

Four consecutive Bluefin Sport Championship defeats placed pressure on a Portadown side considered by most, if not all, pre-season observers as title favourites.

Most damning to those within Shamrock Park was the consistent killer combination of failure to create scoring opportunities alongside defensive frailties.

On a day of Storm Brian, dark clouds of a metaphorical kind appeared over Shamrock Park last weekend as the Ports prepared to face Loughgall - derby opposition in front of an evening kick-off and fanbase growing increasingly frustrated.

The potential for another afternoon to forget developed into a result - and performance - which showed the collective skill and spirit too often lacking this season.

Kyle Neill’s corner-kick delivery that drifted home to break the deadlock handed Portadown the element of good fortune often required to break out of a rut.

That the Ports managed to build that break into a convincing victory, courtesy of additional goals by Luke Wilson and Kevin Amuneke, offered the greater cause for home optimism.

Now - with Newry City AFC tonight’s visitors - the goal for Niall Currie and his Ports squad is to turn that welcome win into something of long-lasting substance.