Ferguson faces ‘big decisions’ for Ports clash

With Ballymena’s interest in the first knockout competition of the season ending with the midweek League Cup defeat by Coleraine, Ferguson has to kickstart the Sky Blues’ faltering league form.

“I have big decisions to make for Saturday - thankfully we have a few more options,” said Ferguson.

“It’s good to have Matthew Tipton and David Cushley back from suspension - they will add to our attacking threat..

“We’ve also had Johnny Taylor and Stephen McBride on the bench in the last couple of games who offer experience.

“Gary Thompson was sick last week and was still feeling it at the start of this week. He trained on Monday night and should be OK for Saturday.

“Unfortunately Gavin Taggart has to go for a scan on his knee so we’re not sure what the damage is there.”

“Portadown on their day have as good a starting XI as anybody in the league and can turn any team over.

“You just don’t know what team you’re going to get from Portadown and we have to be wary of that.

“They lost a few games in a row so something had obviously gone wrong but they beat Carrick last week and they will have be buoyed by that.

“They will also be fresher than us as they had no League Cup game so it will be a tough game for us but we need to play a lot better than we did against Coleraine,” added Ferguson.