3RD XV Won 25 nil away to Enniskillen 3rds

Portadown thirds maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought 23:0 away
win to Enniskillen seconds. The back line made the difference and every time the half backs
of Barry Gribben and Stan Hamilton got the ball, they looked like they could conjure trouble.
Up front there was a war of attrition and both teams struggled at line out, however when the
forwards started to create some primary phases led by David Cornett Joe Gilles and Jason
Black holes started to appear in the opposition defence. Further into the game the direct
running styles of Andrew Laverty and Mark Macadam tortured their opposition centres and
Laverty grabbed himself a brace of tries. With Trevor Girvan, Ryan Murray and Chris Taylor
all solid in defence Gribben benefited when pressure created a number of penalties of which
he converted three to add to his conversion. The backs were not finished yet and Hamilton
went over for a fine solo try after a great break, orchestrated from a solid Portadown scrum
with the two veteran props of Simon May and Geoff Caldwell firmly anchored in the front row.
Unfortunately Jason Black left the field after an ankle injury and his team mates wish him a
speedy recovery. Captain Keith Boyce was delighted with the win and he also picked out the
chunky second row Peter Keightley as worthy of mention with a solid performance
competing for all the scraps at the break down and a consistent hunger for the ball. Likewise
Emmet Murray even though he was playing out of position in the second row had his usual
high tackle count. The skipper would also like to see more players make training and
everyone is encouraged to be down for either a Tuesday or Thursday for 7pm at the club.
Scorers: A Laverty 3 tries, S Hamilton, try

2nd xv v Cooke 2nds win 32 -10

Portadown 2nds had their first home match of the season against Cooke 2nds.
The first half was a pretty even affair. Portadown's lineout was dominant and used it to set
up a driving maul. As Cooke were trying to stop it, Johnny Hampton took advantage and
broke down the blindside, beating a number of Cooke defenders on his way to the line for
Portadown's first score, which Ollie Montels converted. Ollie added a further penelty leaving
it 10 - 0 at half time. After the break Portadown started to rack up the pressure and after a
great strike move by the backs Calvin Chambers sprinted in for Portadown's second try. After
another great driving maul Thomas Johnson was able to break clear and sprint to the line for
another try. Captain John Graham soon crashed over for Poradown's fourth and bonus point
try. A break down in communication at the kick off let Cooke in for a try but Portadown soon
bounced back when big Bob Gacek hit a great line to score under the posts. Ollie then
wrapped the game up with the conversion leaving the score 32 - 10 for the home side.
Danny Alexander was awarded man of the match for his great performance at the line out
and work rate around the park. Thanks to Jonny Burns for playing out of position on the
wing. Special thanks to Sid for organising the team and to Mark Neilly for helping out on
match day.

Scorers: R Ciack Try. C Chambers try , J Hampton try, T Johnson try , J Graham try,
O Montels 1 pen and 2 conversions
TRAINING for Youth under 14 and 16s Monday and Thursday night 7-8.30pm
Under 18 Thursday night 7-8.30pm
Training adults Tuesday and Thursday nights 7-8.30pm
Mini rugby and Panthers Saturday 9-11am