FULL POST-MATCH REACTION: The view of Carrick Rangers boss Stuart King following Irish Cup exit to Portadown

Carrick Rangers manager Stuart King was left disappointed to see his side crash out of the Irish Cup on penalty-kicks for the second year in succession.

Here’s what he had to say after the defeat to Portadown as the visitors triumphed 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.

THOUGHTS ON THE DEFEAT:

"It's penalties again for us...we never seem to get on the right side of it.

"My team talk was all about matching their effort and commitment and I thought our quality would shine through, but I thought our quality wasn't there today.

"When it went to extra time I thought there was only one team who looked like winning it to be honest, we missed a couple of really good opportunities.

"When it goes to penalties it's just a lottery.

"Fair play to Portadown, but it's not going to define our season.

"We missed an opportunity, we knew it was going to be a tough game and I felt we matched them all over the pitch.

NEVER KICKED ON FROM GOING AHEAD:

"We spoke about having a good start and we did.

"We stopped doing what we were doing. We were putting the ball in behind and we knew we would joy if we put the ball down the sides.

"I expected goals from Danny (Purkis) and Curtis (Allen) today, but we'll dust ourselves down and get ready for Glenavon.

"We will see how many points we can get now until the middle of February.

"We have ten games until then and nine of them are against teams in the bottom six, so that's where we are.

"We have Linfield at home which is a big one before the split but we've got nine out of ten against the bottom six.

"I am disappointed as it's a big opportunity missed but what I will say is that we have massive games coming up and we have to be competitive."