Cliftonville beat Portadown 3-1 in the fifth round of the Premiership on Saturday evening. The home side took the lead in the eighteenth minute through B. Healy and never looked back, despite Portadown's late flurry that brought two quick goals. By then the result was already decided, but the final ten minutes added drama to an otherwise straightforward afternoon.
And here's the thing about the twentieth minute — the first half really settled there. Portadown had a yellow card for D. Martins and a second booking that wasn't named, but they couldn't convert pressure into chances. Cliftonville dominated possession at 59 per cent and registered thirteen shots on target against four. To be fair, Portadown's attacks were respectable at eighty-seven, but without cutting edge.
The visitors finally found their voices after the break. E. Fyfe scored twice in consecutive minutes, the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth, pulling Portadown back into the contest. But Cliftonville had already built a cushion. B. Quinn had equalised Portadown's opening goal in the thirty-fifth minute, and Healy restored the home side's lead in the fifty-sixth. The substitution of E. Fyfe in the seventy-eighth minute suggested the manager was managing a lead rather than chasing one.
Statistically, Cliftonville told the story. They registered one hundred and four attacks compared to Portadown's eighty-seven, and their shot accuracy was decisive. Portadown had seven corners to five but could not turn territorial advantage into goals. Three yellow cards for the visitors against one for the hosts said something about discipline, though no red cards were shown.
Cliftonville now sit fourth in the table with nine points from five games, three wins and two losses. Portadown remain rooted at twelfth with zero points from five defeats. The home side will make life awkward for those chasing them, while the visitors have not won since the season began and faces a difficult run ahead.
