PORTADOWN continued their fine start to the Legacy Wealth Management Premier League season with a 5-0 win over Armagh at Edenvilla in the first of the weekend games on Friday night.
Having defeated Lurgan in their opening game, Portadown started this derby with a long lofted ball which was picked up by Lara Wilson who won a penalty corner and Leah Galbraith gave the home side a great start with a driven shot to make it 1-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter brought a clutch of goals as Portadown moved up a gear.
Another penalty corner right at the start saw Rebekah make some space and strike the ball towards goal where big sister Rachel was at the post to find the net with ease.
Portadown were playing some great stuff but when Armagh did break through on one occasion, Evie Thompson who was doing a great job in the back line, positioned herself well to make an effective tackle.
The third goal came when a lovely weighted reverse pass down the middle from Emily Adamson found the lightning-quick Evie Girvan; she sped past the defender and hit a great strike that the keeper couldn’t keep out.
A superb fourth arrived when Lara Wilson disrupted an Armagh play and sent a strong pass to Alyssa Somerville who controlled it well, moved it quickly to Emily Adamson and she finished in an assured manner.
With a 4-0 half time lead, the third quarter was quieter, with the Ports not able to create much at all.
They made better use of their possession than against Lurgan but Armagh deserve credit for nullifying the threat.
The final quarter was better. A Portadown penalty corner was well saved by the Armagh stopper and then a bit of a scramble at the other end resulted in the defence just managing to prevent Ports conceding their first goal of the season.
Evie Girvan got her second and the Ports’ fifth goal when she capitalised on loose play in the circle and stuck the ball home.
Captains shake on it
