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Portadown F.C.
| Full name | Portadown Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Port's | ||
| Founded | 1887 (1887) | ||
| Ground | Shamrock Park | ||
| Capacity | 3,660 (Seated 2,770) | ||
| Chairman | Ronnie Stinson | ||
| Manager | Matthew Tipton | ||
| League | NIFL Championship | ||
| 2017–18 | 4th | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
| |||
Portadown Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club who plays in the NIFL Championship.
The club was formed in 1887 as a junior team initially seeking to participate in the Mid-Ulster Cup, with them eventually joining the Irish League with the support of other local clubs in 1924.
They are based in Portadown in County Armagh and play their home matches at Shamrock Park. The club's colours are red and white; their home kit consists of red shirts, red shorts and red socks with white trim on all, whilst their away kit is white shorts with red trim with red shorts and white socks.
The club's main rivals are Glenavon, with their matches being known as the "Mid Ulster Derby". The club is also bitter rivals with Glentoran.
Ronnie McFall served the club for 29 years as manager from 1986 to 2016.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Junior Years (1886–1924)
1.2 Early Irish League Years (1924–1932)
1.3 Tommy Sloan Trophy Winning Era (1932–1938)
1.4 Postwar Era (1945–1954)
1.5 Gibby McKenzie Era (1958–1977)
1.6 Bertie Neil Era (1977–1979)
1.7 Terry Kingon Era (1983–1986)
1.8 Transition Period (1996–2000)
1.9 Demotion (2008)
1.10 Premiership Return (2009-10)
1.11 2015–16 Season
1.12 2016-17 Season
1.13 The Ronnie McFall era (1986–2016)
2 European record
2.1 By competition
3 Honours
3.1 Active Competitions
3.2 Senior honours
3.3 Intermediate honours
3.4 Junior honours
3.5 Defunct Competitions
4 Managers
5 Current squad
6 Club Officials
7 Supporters
8 Hall Of Fame
9 Average Attendance
10 References
11 External links
History
Junior Years (1886–1924)
In 1887, the Mid Ulster Football Association was established, and in Portadown, a young group of men set about creating a football club to participate in the Mid-Ulster Cup. Early meetings of the committee were held in a dimly lit room for the Young Men's Institute in Edwards Street in Portadown, where club secretary William Mullen would read the minutes by candlelight. Early matches were played at Tavanagh and Ripley's Field, Armagh Road and Old Shamrock Park, located approximately where Clounagh Junior High School is now sited. Among the early names to turn out for The Ports were Val Wilson, who would later become High Sheriff for County Armagh; and Harry Bell, whose father owned brickworks on the Armagh Road.
The club won the Irish Junior Cup after defeating Larne at Grosvenor Park on 18 March 1899. That same season, The Ports won their first ever cup double by winning the Mid-Ulster Cup for the first time. Portadown retained the trophy the following season and the next five seasons before the outbreak of World War I.
The junior game was very strong in the town at the time and The Ports had to compete for talent with teams such as Edenderry Arrows, Greenview from Edgarstown, Portadown Celtic and Parkmount. Portadown is the only one of those clubs that remains today. In 1916, the new Irish Intermediate League was formed and Portadown were selected as one of the inaugural clubs for the new competition. However, they were forced to withdraw due to the large number of players who had gone off to fight in World War I.
With the return of the local men from the war, the clamour for senior football was growing. One man in particular was leading the bid for the club's senior status: William A. Mullen, the man responsible for coining the phrase "The Hub of the North" which is used in songs by Portadown fans today—back in the late Victorian days when Portadown's extensive rail network led to all parts of Ireland.
The many junior clubs in that area put aside their rivalries with The Ports to back the club's bid to join the Irish League. This was in a time of expansionism in Irish Football with the league keen to take the game beyond the boundary of Belfast. The only club who were in the league at the time were current rivals Glenavon. In 1923, the Irish League was expanded from six to ten clubs with the introduction of Newry Town, Ards and Barn. Then finally, after several years of preparation, Mr. Mullen together with Tom Dawson and his committee met the league chiefs in June 1924 and were able to present a strong case for joining the league. Their good work in winning friends and influencing people paid dividends and at long last Portadown became a full member club of the Irish League together with the readmittance of Belfast Celtic. The nucleus of the first teams to represent the club came from the local junior clubs who had supported the bid — names such as Nisbet, Dinnan, Carraher, Boyd, Cochrane and Hunter.
Early Irish League Years (1924–1932)
In August 1924, Portadown played their first senior game; the opponents that day were Glentoran. The first game played at Shamrock Park was against the champions Queens Island in a game that finished 0–0.
In that first season, Portadown finished fourth, two points behind Belfast Celtic with Queens Island taking second place, behind champions Glentoran. Along the way, The Ports played some memorable matches, including a 4–3 victory over Linfield at Shamrock Park and a 1–0 win against Belfast Celtic in the City Cup.
The 1925–26 season saw a continuation of their consolidation in the league with away victories at both Belfast Celtic and Linfield.
After only nine seasons in senior football Portadown lifted their first senior trophy, defeating Glentoran 1-0 at Solitude in the Gold Cup Final. Thousands of Factory workers took a half-day off work and travelled to Belfast by train. Around 5,000 Ports fans were packed into Solitude to witness an amazing triumph. With only three minutes left and the scores level at 0–0, William Johnston scored the winning goal amid scenes of wild celebration for The Ports' supporters.
As the team returned to town that night, they were met by thousands of people at the railway station and toured the town in an open top bus before stopping at St. Mark's Church for speeches. Chairman William Mullen led the speeches before igniting a terrific bonfire.
Tommy Sloan Trophy Winning Era (1932–1938)
Tommy Sloan was appointed manager in 1932 and his and Portadown's first major trophy success came in the 1933–34 season when they won the Gold Cup under Sloan's charge and won the same trophy again in the 1937–38 season before his resignation due to the coming war in 1938. He was replaced by Hugh Bullough, but would return to the club for a brief spell during World War II.
Postwar Era (1945–1954)
Post-war, Portadown were in the shadow of Mid Ulster rivals Glenavon, who were undergoing their period of glory years in the 1950s that is yet to be repeated by The Lurgan Blues.
Gibby McKenzie Era (1958–1977)
In 1958, the club appointed Scottish manager Gibby McKenzie. The press described him as "the fast-talking Scot with the fanatical zeal for the game who eats sleeps and breathes football" after Glenavon legend Harry Walker's short spell in charge. McKenzie very nearly clinched that first elusive league title in the 1960–61 season with Albert Mitchell missing a penalty that would have secured the league championship against Glentoran and in the 1961–62 season, where they finished second to Linfield in these seasons and finished third in the Irish League the following season. McKenzie left The Ports for good in 1977 after his second spell in charge of the club.
Bertie Neil Era (1977–1979)
In 1977, the club appointed former Bangor Bertie Neil, famed for the development of Northern Ireland legend and now Sky Sports commentator Gerry Armstrong. Neil's spell, although short, was considered successful, with another Gold Cup and an Irish Cup Final appearance in a 3–2 defeat to Cliftonville. In 1979, the club announced that Neil had left the club "by mutual consent".
Terry Kingon Era (1983–1986)
After Jon Flanagan's short spell in charge, the club appointed former player and Glentoran legend Terry Kingon. It was somewhat of a surprise appointment for, although he had been a great player and firm favourite of the fans, he lacked managerial experience. He brought the old determination and commitment to the post, but failed to match his great playing ability with similar success as manager. In fairness, it was not an easy period, as the "Troubles" were at their height and football experienced great difficulties with falling attendances and gate receipts. His team did manage to reach the Ulster Cup final in 1985, defeating Linfield 3–1 in the semi-final at The Oval. But the serious injury in that match to star Scottish striker Billy Paton (who had scored 28 goals the previous season for The Ports) was a devastating blow.
Portadown held Coleraine to a 0–0 draw during the 90 minutes but collapsed in extra-time, losing 5–0. Paton, who had started the game with pain-killing injections, broke down early on. Deprived of his scoring qualities for the rest of the season, Portadown struggled financially and this resulted in the sale of the training ground to meet creditors' demands. Kingon did his best with limited resources and one of the fascinating features of his season in charge at Shamrock Park was the large number of drawn games involving Portadown. In fact, before he resigned in December 1986, Portadown had drawn 9 of the first 14 Irish League games, losing the other five.
Always approachable and available at all times to football reporters for interviews and team news, Kingon was always frank and honest in his post-match analysis. He left Portadown in a dignified manner ("by mutual consent", as the statement from the Board put it) and, as was typical of Kingon, in subsequent interviews he refused to blame anyone, instead accepting that he had found managerial responsibilities a lot more difficult and a lot less enjoyable than playing.
The club in the 1989–90 season finally broke the famed "Gypsy Curse" at Shamrock Park when, after coming so close so many times in the past, the club finally won the Irish League, and in the final match there was a pitch invasion by Ports fans, who were acting in disbelief at what had just happened that they had finally done it after coming so painfully close so many times. The following season was without a doubt the best one in the club's history when in the 1990–91 season, the club dominated the Irish League, nearly defeating every team in the division. They retained the title that season and they beat bitter rivals Glenavon in the Irish cup final 2–1 to secure the club's first ever league and cup double. The season after was a disappointing one as players from the first two titles who were in the prime of their careers at the time, had started to age and attendances were starting to fall.
In the 1993–94 season the club had partially recovered from this slump and were involved in a three-way battle for the title between themselves and Linfield and Glenavon. With a rejuvenated squad arguably not as good as the last one, The Ports took on Glenavon and the winners would secure the league title, however a draw at Mourneview Park would hand the title to Linfield. Glenavon raced into a two-goal lead against Portadown at Mourneview Park, and with Linfield drawing with Glentoran, The Lurgan Blues would have won their first league title in 34 years. However, Portadown scored two quick fire goals to level it at 2–2 and with Linfield beating The Glens – the Belfast side were now champions. Everything at Mourneview had now turned in Portadown's favour, who were creating chance after chance with the Ports missing the chance to win the title themselves when Robert Casey missed an easy chance, with Linfield eventually being crowned champions. For the 1995–96 season, a new crest was introduced and The Ports won their third league title that season, with Gary Haylock and Sandy Fraser the instigators in the title winning team.
Transition Period (1996–2000)
After their title win, the club lost many of their aging star players to retirement and to other clubs, and McFall is fondly remembered signing Notts County striker Vinny Arkins and "Big Vin" famously talks about how McFall refused to let him walk away from talks until he signed the contract offered to him. A generation of players such as Philip Major and Kyle Neill coming through and a few signings helped McFall build another team to win yet another league title in 2002 and losing 2–1 to Linfield in the Irish Cup Final to prevent another league and cup double.
Thereafter, club success was quite poor, with cost-cutting measures coming in and many aging players retiring or moving to larger clubs. The club's last major trophy came in 2005 when the club took on Larne in the Irish Cup Final, with the Inver Park side scoring early on before The Ports scored five goals to secure the Irish Cup.
Demotion (2008)
On 30 April 2008, Portadown, who had been a senior football club in Northern Ireland since 1924, were demoted to the Championship as a result of the club's final application form for the new IFA Premiership (due to replace the Irish Premier League for 2008–09) having been received 29 minutes late and thus not considered. The club unsuccessfully appealed its exclusion.[1] Due to the drop from Northern Ireland's top domestic football league, the IFA Premiership, Portadown took on intermediate status, due to the IFA Championship, which was Northern Ireland's second tier of football, being an intermediate league at the time. McFall described the time as "the toughest point of his managerial career" but kept several star players and in their first season in the Championship. The club won promotion straight back into senior football, defeating their closest rivals Donegal Celtic 2–0 in the last (and decisive) match of the season. Also, after beating Newry City 1–0 at Mournview Park on 28 February 2009, Portadown became the first intermediate club to win the Irish League Cup with Scotsman Gary McCutcheon scoring the winning goal.
Premiership Return (2009-10)
Portadown qualified to play UEFA Europa League football in the 2010–11 season on account of being runners-up in the 2009–10 Irish Cup to Linfield. They famously defeated professional side and Latvian champions Skonto 2–1 on aggregate to advance to the second qualifying round. It was their first win in European competition since 1974. The second qualifying round first leg match was played at Shamrock Park on 15 July 2010, with Richard Lecky scoring the opening goal against Azerbaijani champions FK Qarabağ, but two second-half goals from Afran Ismayilov saw the away side take a 2–1 lead back home for the second leg on 22 July.[2] The second leg in Baku ended 1–1 with The Ports taking the lead through a free-kick from Kevin Braniff. Despite an effort against the Azerbaijani champions, it was not enough for The Ports to progress to the next round and they were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate.[3]
The 2011–12 season saw The Ports recover and mount a title challenge that was largely spearheaded by Welsh striker Matthew Tipton, with themselves and Linfield the runaway leaders in the race. However, The Ports' challenge began to fade following an injury to Tipton, and Linfield finished comfortably as champions.
The 2012–13 season saw Matthew Tipton sign for champions Linfield and Portadown sent a strong message to rivals when it was announced they had beaten strong competition from The Blues for Shamrock Rovers striker Gary Twigg, who scored on his debut, although The Ports could only muster a seventh-place finish.
The 2013–14 season was a largely frustrating one of what might have been, with Gary Twigg playing a valuable part and scoring regularly, along with in-form young striker Darren Murray and some of Kevin Braniff's moments of sheer class displayed at times and the skill of Peter McMahon. The club showed form at times capable of winning the league by beating rivals Glenavon comfortably and notably beating Ballinamallard United 11–0. However, poor results against teams lower in the table meant they finished only fourth, and a falling-out between striker Kevin Braniff and Ronnie McFall resulted in the former leaving the club and moving to Australian side Port Melbourne.
In the 2014–15 season, The Ports signed Linfield playmaker Robert Garrett, Blues captain Michael Gault and reliable Blues striker Mark McAilaster. This had meant a lot was expected of the club to challenge for the title and they started the season with an impressive 3–0 win over Warren Feeney's Linfield and several wins over Glenavon and eventual champions Crusaders They also showed the capability of being champions when in a match against basement side Institute; with the match leveled at 1–1 in the dying minutes, Michael Gault scored a late, long distance effort to secure the three points amid the sense of relief for all those at the match. However, a shock 2–1 defeat away to Warrenpoint Town saw The Ports blow a chance to go seven points clear in the NIFL Premiership, and losing 3–2 to the Linfield, with Ross Redman missing a penalty in the final minute of the match. This saw The Ports fall away in the league, but in the Irish Cup quarter-final, they took on Linfield once again at Shamrock Park, with Chris Casement putting the home side 1–0 up with a penalty very early on, and a superb performance from Scot Gary Twigg pitching in with a simple finish after a mistake from Linfield defender Glenn Belezika and a magnificent first-time finish had meant Portadown were 3–0 up after about 30 minutes. They went on to win the match 3–2 with a huge home crowd staying well after the final whistle to show their appreciation.
This had meant they would take on Ballymena United in Irish Cup semi-final at The Oval. Once again, within 25 minutes they had blown Ballymena away and were 3–0 up again with goals from Mark McAllister, Peter McMahon and Michael Gault, and sealed their place in the final by winning 3–1 that was met with wild celebrations from the large Portadown support and the players and management. With the Kop Stand at Windsor Park collapsing, the final was forced to be moved to The Oval, where they would take on Glentoran. In the league, Portadown played Glenavon at Mourneview Park with the winner being guaranteed third place and a lucrative UEFA Europa League qualifying round spot. Glenavon raced into a two-goal lead before James Singleton was sent off for clashing with Ken Oman. Portadown had levelled it 2–2 through Peter McMahon and Gary Twigg goals, before Eoin Bradley was hauled down by Ross Redman and a last-minute penalty was dispatched by Andy McGory. Portadown were strong favourites going into the final, but the final failed to live up to expectations, with virtually nothing happening in the first half. In the second half, Glens defender William Garrett played a poor back pass which Michael Gault ran onto before being taken down by Garrett and Elliot Morris then picked up the back pass and with three officials Ross Dunlop, Raymond Crangle and Richard Storey in clear view of the incident nothing was remarkably given with Crangle latter admitting that he had felt that it was a clear foul and red card and had said that a faulty headset was to blame for the foul not being given although this statement is disputed if it is completely truthful. Linesman Storey had said during the incident "Nothing, Nothing" on his headset and referee Ross Dunlop had said he felt it was a natural coming together. Incredibly, immediately after the incident, Glentoran went up the other way and David Scullion scored to give The Glens the lead, while straight after that, a handball by Calum Birney was missed again by the three officials. Glentoran went on to win the cup final 1–0.
In the post-match interview with the BBC, Ronnie McFall was clearly furious with the decision made by the officials: "It was a blatant trip on Gault on the edge of the box and should have been a free kick and a red card for yer boy and a blatant handball not picked by the referee, they don't want to know because they think they never get anything wrong and in a game of this importance officials have to be up to the mark and unfortunately they weren't up to it today" winning the game would have been worth a minimum €200,000 to the club from European Qualification and the incident is remembered as one of the refereeing errors in Irish League history.
2015–16 Season
The club suffered greatly financially from the result in the final meaning that they could sign no one in the summer of 2015, however, they started the season by beating the champions Crusaders 2–1 and defeated Warrenpoint Town by the same scoreline three days later. However, the club began to rapidly decline losing to several teams 3–0 and the fans had started to become unhappy with results and started to ask for the board to consider McFall's position as manager which was ignored completely annoying fans who began to constantly boo the manager and staff and following a 3–1 defeat to Crusaders at Shamrock Park, when striker Darren Murray scored, there was a brief cheer from the home support and when striker Murray, who had treated the club poorly ran over to the bench and hugged the manager which meant the home support turned from cheering to booing and during the game a group of fans were protesting with a banner asking for the removal of the manager which was removed by the chairman who engaged in arguments with supporters asking them to leave and received tirades of abuse from supporters at the game. With afterward assistant manager Kieran Harding accusing Portadown fans protesting as "Not real supporters" and famously calling them "Imposters". The abuse both the chairman and the manager got week after week brought the mood at the club down massively with automatic relegation on the cards. In January the club signed former Linfield midfielder Philip Lowry in the hope that fortunes would improve with Lowry creating a reasonable impact scoring an amazing outside of box shot to beat Coleraine in the Irish Cup and he scored again in a 2–1 win over Linfield. Things were slowly improving until Portadown were hammered 4–1 by bitter rivals Glenavon at Mourneview Park with fans making their feelings known to the manager before the start of the game, when the Glenavon PR announcer congratulated and thanked Ronnie McFall at his last game as Portadown manager vs Glenavon, with the home support applauding and showing their appreciation towards McFall's contributions to the game, there was a sour reaction from the away end with many booing and shouting abuse. The fans further showed their discontent at the manager at full time. The club took on NIFL Championship 1 side Lurgan Celtic in the Irish Cup Quarter Final with the Lurgan side scoring twice in quick succession to go into a 2–0 lead at halftime. Portadown piled on the pressure in the second half and leveled the score to 2–2 with goals from Marcio Soares and Sean Mackle before conceding a penalty in the closing minutes with Lurgan Celtic defender Raymond Fitzpatrick scoring the penalty to send the Lurgan side through to their first ever Irish Cup Semi Final against Linfield. The result that afternoon marked Ronnie McFall's last as Portadown boss who resigned following the defeat.
The following day, it was announced former defender Pat McGibbon, who had come in earlier that season as he club's physiotherapist, would take over as interim manager until the end of the season, with club legend Vinny Arkins coming on board as his assistant coach. Despite only winning once in ten games as caretaker manager, McGibbon was appointed as manager on a two-year contract and helped the club successfully avoid relegation finishing 9th in the league.
2016-17 Season
Before the start of 2016-17 season, the club was fined £10,000 which was halved on appeal to £5,000 and received a one-year ban on signing professional contracts until June 2017 for not declaring extra payments made to striker Gary Twigg for performing coaching work over the summer.[4] The club also received a 12-point deduction in the league for 2016-17 season for an administrative error made in relation to the contract of exiled midfielder Peter McMahon, who later left the club in July 2016.
Despite starting the season with a major disadvantage, McGibbons side produced victories over Carrick Rangers and Ballinamallard United and were narrowly beaten by many of the teams higher up in the table. However, after a series of poor results in October 2016, Pat McGibbon resigned as manager with him saying "However, I have found that my roles and responsibilities have been taken up more as a general manager than from a first team management perspective."Vinny and the rest of the backroom team have been terrific in helping with training whilst I have prioritised and dealt with other issues."
Both Arkins and long serving coach Trevor Williamson remained at the club with Arkins taking over as caretaker manager. Ports legend Arkins took charge for the match against Coleraine at Shamrock Park, where they lost 1–0. The match was heavily marred by songs directed at board members throughout the game and protests from supporters at full time who were extremely unhappy at the way the club was being run and also at McGibbon's resignation earlier in the week.
Arkins won his first official match in charge as interim manager in a 2–1 win against Ballinamallard United with goals from Stephen Hughes and a penalty from Niall Henderson. It was followed up with a 3–1 win over Ards with goals from Robert Garrett, Stephen Hughes and Brendan Shannon scoring his first goal for the club from the penalty spot. However, it was later found that the club had fielded midfielder Robert Garrett, who was supposed to be serving a one-game ban with Ards officials informing the club that they believed that Garrett was suspended.Ards were subsequently awarded a 3-0 win with the Ports being fined £500. Arkins left the club following a 0-5 defeat to Linfield at an extremely foggy Shamrock Park.
On 5 December 2016, Portadown-born Niall Currie was appointed as manager after successfully agreeing his release from Ards with him and his loyal assistant Jay Willis joining the club. Upon his first match against Cliftonville at Solitude, they were defeated 1–0 with a goal from Levi Ives the decider. Prior to the match, it was announced that longtime goalkeeper David Miskelly would be retiring immediately due to a shoulder injury sustained the previous season after serving 12 years and making over 400 appearances with the club.
Curries first win as Portadown manager came in a 2–0 win over Dungannon Swifts at Shamrock Park.
The Ports approached the annual Boxing Day derby with rivals Glenavon not being in great form with the Ports racing into a surprise two-goal lead with goals from Mark Carson and Aaron Haire. However, the Lurgan Blues had seemingly grabbed a point with them pulling a goal back within the last ten minutes and Sykes scoring a long distance free kick in the dying seconds of the game amid wild scenes of celebration from the Glenavon supporters. Portadown's luck had finally changed, however, with it later being found that Glenavon had fielded defender David Elebert, who was due to serve a suspension through yellow cards picked up in reserve league fixtures with the Lurgan side, receiving a fine, and the Ports being awarded a 3-0 win and a valuable 3 three points.
The club earned a credible 1–1 draw with title chasing Linfield at Windsor Park, with winger Adam Foley lobbing Linfield goalkeeper Roy Carroll from inside the box in the 82nd minute however the Blue's rescued a late point in stoppage time through Josh Carson. The result at Windsor Park was followed up with another credible 1-1 draw with champions Crusaders in two games where they both would have been deserving winners The club went into a game against relegation rivals Carrick Rangers with the knowledge that a defeat would all but condemn them to relegation to which they lost the game 3-2.The Ports' relegation was officially confirmed following a 3–2 defeat to Ards on Easter Tuesday fixture.
The Ronnie McFall era (1986–2016)
From 11 December 1986 to 5 March 2016 the club's manager was Ronnie McFall. He signed another in five-year contract in 2009 and signed a two-year deal in August 2014. McFall brought great success to the club, winning their elusive first ever league title in 1989 and league title wins in 1991, 1996 and in 2002; he also won three Irish Cups. He was born and raised in Portadown and played left-back for the club during the 1960s and 1970s. He has also played for Dundee United of Scotland, and afterwards Ards and Glentoran, the latter where he began his managerial career. McFall was the longest serving manager in European football, surpassing Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 and being surpassed by Arsène Wenger in 2016. McFall is one of the most successful managers in Irish league football. Following a run of poor results, McFall announced he would step down from his position as manager following a shocking 3–2 defeat to Lurgan Celtic in the Irish Cup quarter-final.
European record
[5]
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1962–63 | Cup Winners Cup | R1 |  OFK Beograd | 3–2 | 1–5 | 4–7 |  |
1974–75 | UEFA Cup | R1 |  Valur | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |  |
| R2 | Partizan | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–6 | | ||
1990–91 | European Cup | R1 |  Porto | 1–8 | 0–5 | 1–13 | |
1991–92 | European Cup | R1 | Red Star Belgrade | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–8 | |
1992–93 | UEFA Cup | R1 |  Standard Liège | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–5 | |
1994–95 | UEFA Cup | PR |  Slovan Bratislava | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–5 | |
1996–97 | UEFA Cup | PR |  Vojvodina | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | |
1999–00 | UEFA Cup | QR |  CSKA Sofia | 0–3 | 0–5 | 0–8 | |
2002–03 | UEFA Champions League | QR1 |  Belshina Bobruisk | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | |
2003–04 | UEFA Cup | QR |  Malmö FF | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–6 | |
2004–05 | UEFA Cup | QR1 |  Žalgiris | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–4 | |
2005–06 | UEFA Cup | QR1 |  Viking | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | |
2006–07 | UEFA Cup | QR1 | FBK Kaunas | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | |
2010–11 | UEFA Europa League | QR1 |  Skonto | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| QR2 |  Qarabağ | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | | ||
2012–13 | UEFA Europa League | QR1 |  Shkëndija | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| QR2 |  Slaven Belupo | 2–4 | 0–6 | 2–10 | |
By competition
Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup / UEFA Champions League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 24 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 28 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 16 | 62 |
Total | 36 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 23 | 93 |
Last updated on 22 July 2018
Honours
[6]
Active Competitions
Senior honours
Irish League
Winners (4):1989–90, 1990–91, 1995–96, 2001–02
Irish Cup
Winners (3):1990–91, 1998–99, 2004–05
Irish League Cup:
Winners (2):1995–96, 2008–09
Charity Shield
Winners (1): 1999
Mid-Ulster Cup
Winners (22):1898–99, 1899–00, 1902–03, 1903–04,1905–06, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1960–61†, 1962–63†, 1964–65†, 1969–70†, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03
Intermediate honours
IFA Championship: 1
- 2008–09
George Wilson Cup: 1
- 1996–97†
Bob Radcliffe Cup: 2
- 1982–83†, 1983–84
† Won by Portadown Reserves
Junior honours
Irish Junior Cup: 1
- 1898–99
Harry Cavan Youth Cup:3
- 1979–80
- 1991–92
- 2013–14
Mid-Ulster Youth Cup:1
- 2015–16
Defunct Competitions
Gold Cup
Winners (6):1933–34, 1937–38, 1952–53, 1971–72, 1978–79, 1992–93
Ulster Cup
Winners (3):1990–91, 1995–96, 2004–05
Floodlit Cup
Winners (3):1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95
Budweiser Cup
Winners (3):1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94
Royal Mail Community Action Cup
Winners (2):2003–04, 2004–05
Texaco (All-Ireland) Cup
Winners (1):1973–74
Tyler Cup
Winners (1):1977–78
Ivan Marshall Cup
Winners (1):2004–05
City Cup
Winners (1):1938–39
Managers
| Dates | Names | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1947–1948 |  Tom Sloan | |
| 1948–1949 | Tommy Lipton | |
| 1949–1952 |  Hugh Bulloch | |
| 1952–1953 | Willie Ross | |
| 1953 |  Dai Hopkins | |
| 1954–1955 | Billy Cook | |
| 1955–1957 | Harry Walker | |
| 1957–1958 | Gibby Mackenzie | The famous Scot started with just a brief spell in charge, resigning after just twelve months due to the war. |
| 1962–1963 | Gibby Mackenzie | In his second spell in charge post war Gibby grew a reputation as a much loved figure at Shamrock Park. |
| 1963–1966 | Wilbur Cush | The legendary international had a total of a three-year spell at Shamrock Park in the early sixties. |
| 1966–1969 | Jim Conway | Conway's first spell was just a year long one before taking charge again in a two-year spell. |
| 1969–1977 | Gibby Mackenzie | Mackenzie came back for his third spell in charge becoming one of the clubs most loyal managers the highlight was coming so close to winning the clubs first ever league title in 1976. |
| 1977–1980 | Bertie Neil | Neil was appointed as Mackenzies replacement with the highlight of his reign being a Gold Cup win and an Irish Cup final appearance. |
| 1980–1984 | Jackie Hutton | Scot Hutton was at the helm for four years winning several honours in the process. |
| 1984–1986 | John Flanagan | Flanagan took charge for a brief spell in the mid eighties. |
| 1986 | Terry Kingon | Kingon had a brief unsuccessful time in charge at the helm being sacked after one year. |
| 1986–2016 | Ronnie McFall | McFall was a some what surprise appointment having originally not being considered at all but was appointed in December 1986.McFall cleared out the squad and the club won their first ever league title in 1990. The following season the club retained the league title and beat rivals Glenavon to win the league and Cup double also winning two other titles in 1996 and 2002 and resigned in 2016. McFall is regarded as the club's greatest ever manager. |
| 2016 | Pat McGibbon | Ex Manchester United defender Pat McGibbon was appointed as the successor to Ronnie McFall and resigned in October 2016. |
| 2016 |  Vinny Arkins (Interim) | Club legend Arkins was appointed as Interim boss for 60 days in 2016 and was a firm fan favourite. |
| 2016–2018 | Niall Currie | Portadown native Currie was appointed on 5 December 2016 as McGibbon's replacement.Currie was relieved of his duties in February 2018 with the Ports sitting 5th in the Championship. |
| 2018– | Matthew Tipton | Former Port's striker Tipton was appointed as manager in February 2018. |
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club Officials
[7]
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Supporters
The Ports have always had quite large and loyal fanbase in Irish League terms with them being widely considered the best supported club after Linfield, Glentoran, Crusaders, Cliftonville, Glenavon, Ballymena Utd and Coleraine. Their fanbase consists of many supporters clubs with the main ones consisting of the Portadown Supporters Society (PSS) Eden Reds and Shamrock Reds. In 2017 the supporters founded the "We Are Ports" (WAP) initiative with the goal to have more supporter influence at board level.In the summer of 2017 the PSS acquired the club shop taking over the running of it.It was refurbished and renamed the "Ports Store"
Hall Of Fame
Year Inducted | Player | Playing position | Years at the club | Role at the club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2018 | Mickey Keenan | Goalkeeper | 1981-1998,1999-2003 | Player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Philip Major | Defender | 1988-2001 | Player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Alfie Stewart | Defender | 1988-1998 | Player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Brian Strain | Defender | 1987-2001 | Player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Mark O'Connor | Striker | 1988-2001 | Player
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| Season | No of Home Games | Total Season Attendance | Average Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
2009–10 | 17 | 15,241 | 897 |
2010–11 | 18 | 13,373 | 743 |
2011–12 | 17 | 14,854 | 874 |
2012–13 | 18 | 13,628 | 758 |
2013–14 | 19 | 14,040 | 739 |
2014–15 | 19 | 18,099 | 953 |
2015–16 | 19 | 12,633 | 665 |
2016–17 | 18 | 15,186 | 844 |
References
^ "Portadown out of Premier League". BBC News. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-22..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ Portadown fined £10,000 for undisclosed payment made to player
^ [3]
^ [4]
^ [5]
^ [6]
External links
- Portadown FC website
- Portadown Statistics and Results at the Irish Football Club Project
- BBC Sport – Irish Football
- NI Football Daily Website
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