Fundamental failures at heart of Glenavon’s derby blues for Gary Hamilton

The 4-2 defeat to Portadown proved a nightmare night for Hamilton and the Lurgan Blues that left the home boss searching for answers.

“You don’t want to lose derby games but tonight there was never going to be any other outcome given how we defended,” said Hamilton. “In the first half, Portadown played two balls into the channel with their only real chances of the first half and, thanks to schoolboy defending by us, scored two goals.

“From an early age you are taught how one ball cannot beat you like that and then, once it’s put into the box, Portadown get on the end of it.

“By conceding two goals so early in the game then boys get into possession there’s suddenly that different kind of pressure to try and get back into the game.

“Defensively we were poor but then came out in the second half and played with a lot more energy.

“At that stage we were well on top and back in the game causing Portadown problems.

“We had a chance to make it 2-2 then, all of a sudden, we fail to deal with another ball and their player shows more hunger to get on to the cross at the back post for 3-1 down.

“We, again, get back into it for 3-2 and I can excuse the fourth goal as we were pushing - but we cannot accept defending like that for three of the Portadown goals.

“We probably had about 60 or 70 per cent possession today overall but you have to do something with it and you also cannot defend the way we did tonight.

“I would be happier coming away with less possession but getting four chances, scoring four goals and leaving with the win.

“Fair play to Portadown, they’ve had a gameplan and come away with a result.”

Hamilton’s attack on his side’s defensive frailties also extended to the inability to deliver from attacking danger zones.

“I thought our quality from wide areas was really poor, with our set-pieces shocking for this level of football,” he said. “I will look at the analysis later but, from memory, I would say we had 10 or 12 set-pieces that failed to beat the front man.

“In modern football set-pieces are massive and you need quality - you could see that with our goal by James Singleton.

“You’ve all the time in the world to get set up and deliver.

“We were poor in dangerous areas with our delivery and then with defending like that as well you are not giving the team much of a chance.

“We’ve players out but this season is going to be the same for everyone and we had 11 players and substitutes selected capable of winning the game.

“I would never disrespect our squad to say we were not good enough due to players missing - they were good enough but certainly not tonight.”

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world.

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you