Downed Ports!

United went into today’s Premier league game trailing opponents Portadown by 18 points, but most United fans knew their team wasn’t that much inferior to the visitors. Their optimism proved to be correct when their heroes took all 3 points against the second placed team in the league. The United starting line-up was as predicted in Sky Blue Sport, but Randal Reid was missing from the subs bench, with Aiden Watson joining Paul Brown and Stephen Lowry. Young fullback Gareth McConaghie had a couple of hairy moments in the early stages and United had a let-off when McCutcheon just failed to reach a cross-field ball, with the home defence at sixes and sevens. Little was seen of United as an attacking force, as when they did manage to break free, Mickey Collins and company invariably hacked them down. Referee Mark Courtenay had a word with the Ports hard man as early as the 8^th minute, but finally lost patience and cautioned him for a late tackle on Gareth Scates. United’s free kicks failed to put the visitors under any pressure as their ploy seemed to be to play them wide and they generally came to nothing. United’s one chance in the first half came from an unlikely source, when Stuarty King dribbled across the centre of the pitch before firing in a vicious right-foot shot which was touched onto the post by visiting keeper Miskelly. Despite Portadown’s pressure, aided and abetted by an inept display by an assistant referee (Linesman), United survived to halftime with the score at 0-0.

The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first with Portadown looking the likelier side to score, although in all fairness to the home defence, Murphy wasn’t really troubled in the home goal. Portadown were reduced to shooting from long range and the nearest they came was when a Wesley Boyle effort just cleared the crossbar. United carved out one good opening after sixty odd minutes when Mark Picking burst through, only to have his goalbound shot diverted for a corner. This was to be Picking’s last part in the game as he was immediately substituted with big Paul Brown taking his place. I thought this substitution was a bit hard on Pickey as he looked lively and had given the Ports defenders a few anxious moments. Gavin Melaugh was having another good game and he emphasised this perfectly when after a neat dribble he found Kevin Kelbie with a gem of a ball on the right wing. Kelbie turned neatly and swung over a left cross and there was Lee Patrick to head beyond the arms of keeper Miskelly and into the visitor’s net for his 5^th goal of the season. That goal came after 70 minutes and the United fans were on their feet and applauded their heroes for a good two minutes. Portadown stepped up a gear but United with Albert Watson and Callaghan in uncompromising mood, held firm. Ports manager Ronnie McFaul rang the changes taking off Collins and Boyle and bringing on Smart and Clarke, (sounds like two comedians, don’t it). Clarke was only on the field two minutes when he was cautioned by referee Courtenay, not the start he was looking for. United manager Tommy Wright then took off Stuarty King, with Stephen Lowry taking his place. With two minutes left on the clock United got the insurance goal they were looking for, when after Kelbie had gone down injured, Paul Brown won a corner on the right. Gavin Melaugh took it right-footed and big Paul Brown met it fairly and squarely to send a sweet header into the back of the net. To say the big striker was happy was to make a gross understatement and he ‘milked’ the applause of the United fans. Kevin Kelbie went off immediately after this goal, but whether that was a precautionary substitution or not I cannot say, with Aiden Watson taking his place. United played out the remainder of the game which almost had a fitting finale, when ‘man of the match’, Gavin Melaugh’s audacious chip from the edge of the box clipped the Ports crossbar. Despite the referee finding 4 minutes of stoppage time from nowhere and actually playing five, United held out for a deserved victory and a rare clean sheet.

P. Murphy 7 Patrick 8 MoM: Melaugh

Callaghan 7 Picking 6

McClean 6 Kelbie 7

Scates 7 King 6 Referee: M. Courtenay 6

Alb. Watson 7 1^st Sub: Brown 7

McConaghie 7 2^nd Sub: Lowry 6

Melaugh 8 3^rd Sub: Aid. Watson 6