a 2–1 win over Limavady United at Shamrock Park before dropping their first points in a 1–1 draw away to PSNI. The following fixture was the first defeat for the Ports in the Championship, losing 2–1 at home to Institute, the game served as a very sobering realisation for all Ports fans present that day of the Championships difficulty with the away side comfortably taking the three points against a much more fancied Ports side. The response that followed was a resounding 4–1 win away to Newry City. However the response was short lived and saw four consecutive league defeats to Dergview, Knockbreda, H&W Welders and Ballyclare Comrades with mounting pressure on Ports boss Niall Currie who had built a team who very quickly had not lived up to expectations. A 3–0 win over Loughgall served to paper over the cracks for a Saturday, before a 1–4 home defeat to Newry drew heavy criticism from the home support who made their feelings well known throughout the game and at full time. At this point the club, who had expected winning the league and promotion as a certainty was languishing closer to the bottom of the league than the top with the thoughts of potentially another relegation entering the minds of many. The winter period however saw a slightly better improvement with the Ports picking up 15 points from the next eight games which included remarkably a 1–1 draw and a 6–0 win over Lurgan Celtic and a 7–0 win over Dergview having lost to the Castlederg side earlier in the season. Furthermore, the Boxing Day fixture saw a 4–1 win away to Loughgall which featured a hat trick from Gary Warwick with a sublime third goal sealing a great day for the Belfast man. The January period saw the Ports sitting in 6th place with the split looming and picking up 5 points from 3 games to secure a top six with a late equaliser against Larne (Sitting in 7th) scored by Chris Lavery sealing it. Furthermore, however The Ports lost out in the Irish Cup in extra time to league rivals to Ballyclare Comrades from a late. What followed was a run of fixtures that was of huge importance which started with a 2–1 win over Loughgall with many thinking that the team had hit form at just the right time, and provided consistent results in the "next nine