Limavady United’s promising run of form hit a setback at Shamrock Park, beaten 3-1 by a Portadown side picking up their first league win of the season in front of 551 fans — with the Roesiders finishing the match with nine men.
Portadown struck first on 18 minutes, Matthew Carson’s dangerous delivery headed into the path of James Teelan, who fired a low finish beyond Marty Gallagher. Limavady responded immediately: Ronan Wilson slipped a pass in behind for Jamie McGonigle, who raced clear and drove the ball past Aaron McCarey and into the far corner to level things up within two minutes.
Both sides went close before the break, with McCarey denying Philip Lowry and Ben Kennedy and Teelan also threatening at the other end. Limavady started the second half brightly, McGonigle and Lowry both going close, but Portadown regained the lead on 70 minutes when Baris Altintop found space on the left and fired past Gallagher, who was off his line. Five minutes later Kennedy added a third, turning home a Jack Scott free-kick at the far post.
Limavady’s afternoon then took a turn for the worse in the closing stages. Tiarnan Boorman was shown a straight red card for denying Kennedy a goalscoring opportunity, and substitute Leon Boyd followed him down the tunnel soon after for a challenge on Carson — leaving the Roesiders to see out the remainder of the match with nine men. Referee Shane McGonigle took charge of the match.
It’s a disappointing end to what had been an encouraging spell of form, but the Roesiders will look to bounce back quickly — see the Match Centre for the latest fixtures, results and league table.