CURRAN GOAL GIVES REDS THE EDGE
A Ryan Curran strike just after the half-hour mark proved enough for Cliftonville to defeat Portadown in the season opener at Solitude.
Curran touched home the only goal of the game on 34 minutes after getting on the end of Rory Donnelly's turned provider to slide the ball across the box.
It was a moment of redemption for the 30-year-old after he had failed to make the most of a penalty award a quarter-of-an-hour earlier, seeing his spot-kick well saved by Ports keeper Aaron McCarey.
The Reds, who had struck the woodwork through Ronan Doherty just before going in front, might have doubled their lead around the hour only for Joe Gormley to be denied by another excellent McCarey stop.
Not long after that Gormley was thwarted again, this time by the crossbar, after he had nodded a Doherty cross past the keeper.
McCarey was called into action again to get down low to turn away another Curran attempt but, as time ticked away, Portadown began to create more and might have levelled when David Odumosu failed to hold onto a Ryan Mayse corner with Cathair Friel then unable to make the most of the opportunity.
And Niall Currie's side had another chance to salvage a point when Steven McCullough won possession on the edge of the area and forced Odumosu into a superb fingertip save to keep the ball out.
Cliftonville: Odumosu, Pepper, Stewart, Newberry, Kearney, Curran, Donnelly, Leppard, Conlan, Gordon, Doherty subs Breen, Jordan, Piesold, Gormley, McGuinness, Berry, Sheridan
Portadown: McCarey, Wilson, MacKinnon, Wilson, Chapman, Mayse, McCullough, Fyfe, Mullan, McCartan, Thompson subs Henderson, Traynor, Riley, Duncan, Friel, McDonagh, Ray
Substitution 
Substitution 
