Coleraine shared the spoils against the faltering champions for the second time this season in a pulsating encounter at the Showgrounds.

Coleraine started brightly on a heavy pitch with Goosey Young and Eamon Doherty probing from midfield and David McCallan working hard up front. The best chances of this period fell to McCallan who saw his low shot well saved, and Greg O'Dowd, who cut inside but miscued when a shooting opportunity open up in front of him. After a short spell of Portadown possession, Coleraine got their reward for their first half dominance when a Greg O'Dowd corner was flicked on by the otherwise disappointing Sammy Shiels and David McCallan headed home from close range.

After the Coleraine goal, the game became a more even encounter, with the visitors playing some attractive football, and the Coleraine defence - -marshalled superbly by Paul Gaston - performing well to hold out. Then disaster struck as Brendan Aspinall got his feet caught in the ground while attempting to clear an innocuous low cross and sliced his effort against the hand of Paul Gaston from point-blank range. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot although Gaston could not possibly have got out of the way in time. Coleraine protests were in vain, and Haylock promptly dispatched the penalty.

Portadown came into the ascendancy after this, and Wes Lamont had to be quick on a couple of occasions to clear his lines when the Coleraine defence was breached. Haylock also had the ball in the net once more, only to see it ruled out by a very close ofside decision. Kenny Shiels responded by sending on Eddie Cunnington for a debut, and this lifted the home performance. Cunnington himself had a couple of surging runs, but the closest effort came when Eamon Doherty hit the post with a low drive from 20 yards.

1. Wes Lamont

Quickly off his line on a couple of occasions. Couldn't be faulted for the goal. (7)

2. Oliver McAuley

A couple of loose passes, otherwise OK. (7)

3. Robbie Brunton

An assured performance, providing good attacking options. (8)

4. Brendan Aspinall

Improved on the last couple of weeks, although he was at fault for the penalty. (7)

5. Paul Gaston

Man of the Match. Another majestic performance from the current Web Page Player of the Month. (8)

6. Eamon Doherty

Quiet, but effective when in posession. (7)

7. Sam Shiels

Anonymous, no presence. McCallan may as well have been playing on his own. (5)

8. Greg O'Dowd

A fairly quiet performance from Greg. (6)

9. David McCallan

Worked hard and deserved his goal. (7)

10. Stephen Young

Another useful display from Goosey (7)

11. Johnny McIvor

Nowhere near as effective as against Glenavon in the previous match. (6)

sub Eddie Cunnington (for McIvor)

Was quiet on the wing, but when he moved inside for the last 10 minutes he made a couple of very threatening runs. A promising debut. (7)

sub Conor McKeever (for O'Dowd)

Very quiet against his former club. (6)