Former NI U21 ace Kerr is handed chance to rebuild career at Ports

PORTADOWN have handed Nathan Kerr a return to Irish League football, 15 months after he suffered a serious knee injury.

The former Northern Ireland Under-21 international joins the newly-promoted Ports on a two year deal after returning to fitness following cruciate ligament surgery that caused him to miss the entirety of last season.

He has earned a contract with the Shamrock Park club as boss Matthew Tipton builds his squad ahead of their return to the top flight.

“Nathan coming in gives us both cover and competition,” says Tipton. “Greg Hall got injured last November and missed the rest of the season and Nathan gives us the cover that we didn’t have then.

“He can also play at left-back, that’s where he played in Stevenage’s first team. He fits our profile, he’s only 22 and comes with experience and quality too.”

Kerr, who is a former Northern Ireland Schoolboy international captain, made his debut for League Two Stevenage at the start of the 2016-17 campaign aged 18, but made less than a handful of appearances before returning home to join Glentoran but he suffered a cruciate injury last year.

MIDFIELDER Stephen Lowry believes Coleraine will have a “realistic chance” of reaching the first qualifying round of the Europa League when they host La Fiorita in a preliminary tie at the Showgrounds later this month.

The Bannsiders, who finished runners-up to Linfield in last season’s Danske Bank Premiership campaign, will have a fair idea of what to expect as Lowry was part of the Blues’ side that defeated the Sammarinese outfit back in 2017.

Oran Kearney’s men are still smarting from their Irish Cup semi-final defeat by rivals Ballymena United a fortnight ago, so next Thursday’s continental outing is the perfect opportunity for them to blow that disappointment away.