Newry City's recent good run of form was ended in convincing fashion by Portadown at The Showgrounds.
Newry City 1 - 5 Portadown
Richard Lecky's hat-trick was the highlight of a clinical performance by the Shamrock Park men as they brushed aside the hosts.
Chances were few and far between in the opening quarter hour with Portadown's Gary McCutcheon finding Kevin Braniff in the 13th minute but the midfielder low shot was easily held by Newry keeper Neil Gallagher.
Four minutes later, City's Alan Davidson, a scorer in the 4-0 hammering of Dungannon Swifts in midweek, just miscontrolled Ross Black's long ball in behind the Ports defence and just as he was about to shoot from 10 yards, Ross Redman got back to clear the danger.
Those openings were as clear-cut as it got in the first half hour but the visitors then broke the deadlock on 32 with the best piece of football in the match up until that point.
Some neat play saw the ball moved out to Alan Teggart on the left wing and his pinpoint low centre found Lecky moving in six yards out to turn the ball in at the near post.
Portadown dealt Newry a killer blow in at the end of injury time in the first half when Andy Hunter clipped in a free-kick from the right hand side and Lecky was able to get in front of a number of home defenders to direct a well-placed header into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
The match was always going to hinge on who got the next goal and it duly came Portadown's way on 56 minutes as Braniff capitalised on a defensive error.
He charged down Ross Black's clearance 30 yards out and surged forward into the right hand side of the area before drilling the ball low under Gallagher from 15 yards.
Stephen Garrett forced Portadown keeper David Miskelly into his first action of the match with an 18-yard shot following Davidson's lay-off on 62 minutes but Lecky got his third and the Ports' fourth two minutes later after another defensive slip by Newry.
Emmet Friars fell 30 yards out and that allowed Lecky to race forward and although Gallagher forced him wide, the big striker finished with aplomb from a tight angle.
Newry got a consolation goal on 73 minutes when a well-worked free kick saw Davidson chip the ball into the area where captain Davy Munster headed across the six yard box for his central defender partner Friars was able to volley home from close range.
But that was as good as it got for the home side as Ronnie McFall's men went straight up the pitch a couple of minutes later and got their fifth when Lecky found McCutcheon in acres of space and he slid it past Gallagher with Friars unable to get a clearing touch on the goal line.
NEWRY CITY: Gallagher, Feeney, McDonnell (Graham 65), Friars, Munster, R Black (Boyd 56), Davidson, Keegan, Hazley (Devlin 65), Garrett, Henderson.
Subs not used: Morley-Hillen
PORTADOWN: Miskelly, Redman, Clarke (Clarke 77), Convery, Kelly, Braniff, Mouncey, McCutcheon, A Teggart (Morrison 70), Lecky (Baker 86), Hunter.
Subs not used: Armstrong, Topley
REFEREE: Alan Black (Antrim)
© UTV News