PORTADOWN V GLENAVON, A LOOK AHEAD 4t3127

On Tuesday 1st April 2025 Glenavon faces Portadown at Shamrock Park in its first post-split Sports Direct Premiership fixture. 6l1o1u

Although Glenavon has beaten the Ports three times this season – twice in the league and once in the Mid-Ulster Cup – Paddy McLaughlin expects the trip to West Craigavon to be extremely challenging.

“Portadown has an excellent home record,” he said. “Very few clubs have gone there and got three points. That is an indication of how much progress they have made since promotion. Niall [Currie] has a very strong squad. It is big in numbers and full of quality. We will need to nullify the threat which they bring and, when we get opportunities, be clinical. It is a tough assignment. We will need to be at our best if we are to get a result.”

McLaughlin has been involved in Glenavon’s last two Mid-Ulster derbies. In late November his team lost 1-0 at Shamrock Park and on Boxing Day achieved an impressive 2-0 victory at Mourneview Park. “They were both tight games,” the Blues’ boss recalled. “The two teams cancelled each other out for long parts of the game at Christmas but we produced two moments of quality which earned us the win. The match before that was similar. We conceded a sloppy goal early on and had some opportunities to equalise but didn’t take them. We scored in the final minutes, but the goal was, wrongly, disallowed for offside.”

The former Cliftonville boss was impressed with the atmosphere at both games. “Our fans really got behind the team,” he said. “The noise which they generated on Boxing Day was loud. It lifted our players. It was the same at Shamrock Park in November. Glenavon’sers have been brilliant since Colin, Marty and I arrived. They have turned out in numbers and made themselves heard. Hopefully, that will be the case again on Tuesday. It makes a real difference.”

The last home match against Larne ended a very difficult run of fixtures in which Glenavon played the top six almost sequentially including two jousts with the champions. “There is no doubt that it was a tough run of games,” said Paddy., “We didn’t pick up as many points as we had hoped to, but we competed well in every match, played good football and, when we lost, it was only by a hair’s breadth. We come out of that period as strong, confidence wise, as we were going into it. The players acquitted themselves well. They have shown that they can go to really difficult places like Inver Park and the Oval and come away with points.”

Does McLaughlin feel that seventh place, and the Europa Conference League playoff tournament, is a realistic target? “We start seven points behind Portadown and Cliftonville,” he said. “That makes it very difficult. We might need to win every match, including the game at Shamrock Park. Even that might not be enough. But we have beaten all five opponents in the last three months so there is every reason to be optimistic. We will do our best to pick up as many points as possible. That is as much as I can promise.”

The players trained twice last week, had a session on Saturday morning and got together again on Monday night. Paddy, Colin Coates and analyst Damian McAuley also attended Glenavon’s recent Under-20s’ Development League fixture against Glentoran at Ashfield Boys’ High School in Belfast. Rhys Marshall played for the full 90 minutes and emerged unscathed. “Rhys did well,” added McLaughlin. “He seems to have recovered more or less completely from the foot injury which has hampered him for a long time. Some established players don’t like it when managers ask them to play in the under-20s, but Rhys approached it in the manner you would expect. He is a great professionaland an example to our younger players. Now he is knocking on the door, hoping to get back into the starting eleven. It is a big boost at this stage of the season.”

Mark Haughey played in an Under-20s’ fixture at Taylor’s Avenue last Wednesday night. He is also progressing well. “Mark played the full 90 minutes against Carrick Rangers,” added Paddy. “He came through without any adverse effects. He trained again on Saturday. He looks to be back where we want him to be after that hamstring injury. He is another quality player who is back in contention for a place in the team.” Unfortunately, there is no sign of Niall Quinn making a return. “Obviously he came off late in the match at the Oval,” said the Bues’ boss. “Since then, he has had intensive treatment. It is not clear when he will be fully fit again. Whilst we want him back in the asap, we don’t want to do anything which might mean that he is unavailable during the build up to next season. It is a situation which we are monitoring closely.”

Chris Atherton, Paul McGovern and Ben Wilson return to the squad after missing the Larne fixture due to international commitments. “We are delighted to have the three lads back,” added Paddy. “Chris and Paul are game changers, and Ben has contributed well anytime he has been on the field.”

Otherwise, apart from long term absentees Isaac Baird and Calum Birney, there are no suspensions or other significant injuries. “The ten day break has helped some of the lads to shake off knocks and niggles,” said Paddy. “Everyone is ready to have a real go over the next four weeks starting at Shamrock Park.”