Lurgan Blues will miss traditional scrap with Ports, admits Lindsay
KRIS Lindsay admits Boxing Day won’t be the same this year without the Glenavon v Portadown derby.
With the Ports languishing in the Championship, the Mid-Ulster clash is absent from today’s fixture list as Warrenpoint Town instead visit Mourneview Park.
Lindsay, a coach at Glenavon, said: “Obviously we’ll miss the Portadown game — it was always a big occasion with a big crowd.
“But they are in the situation they’re in and we have to focus on Warrenpoint.
“They probably haven’t got the results their performances deserve lately.
“They got a great draw at Linfield last week, I believe they were unlucky at Coleraine on Friday, and they’ve had some good battling performances recently.
“We’ll need to be on top of our game.”
The Lurgan Blues moved third after a 3-0 win at Dungannon Swifts on Saturday.
Mark Sykes reinforced his growing reputation with a classy opener and Lindsay believes he is one of the best young talents he has seen.
“He is right up there this season for player of the season,” he said.
“I’ve obviously been about for a few seasons and he is as good as I’ve seen.
“He’s a good lad and he works hard at his game. He just needs to keep that up for the rest of the season — I’d love it to be with us.”
After Sykes’ opener, two more goals from Sammy Clingan ensured a convincing win, although James Singleton’s red card will rule him out today.
Lindsay added: “We were comfortable for most of the match — we created chances and were solid at the back.
“We were deservedly in front at half-time and were slightly better in the second half.
“It was a great finish from Sykes for the first.
“He has added goals to his game this season and it settled us down and we were comfortable for the rest of the game.”