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Steven Crawford

Paul McElroy outlines key milestone after hat-trick heroics

Paul McElroy picked the perfect time to bag his first-ever goals at Shamrock Park as he helped Portadown pick up three very valuable points agains Dungannon Swifts.

Up until Friday night the striker, who joined the Ports in January, had never found the net at the venue.

Put he put that record straight against his former club with his first senior hat-trick to help Portadown cut the gap on the Swifts at the foot of the table.

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"It's my first-ever hat-trick at senior level," McElroy told We Are Ports TV.

"I've scored two in games maybe nine or ten times but I never got a hat-trick.

"I was delighted to get it but I maybe could have had four or five!

"It's also my first goals at Shamrock Park, I've scored against Portadown in the past but never here."

Portadown lie eight points off Dungannon now with a game in hand.

With two wins on the bounce now McElroy feels Niall Currrie's new squad is finally gelling at the right time as they bid to beat the drop.

"When I came in I think we played five out of the top six, which was hard especially as we hadn't played together before," he said.

"We got to work on the training pitch and we have learnt each other's game and it's coming together at the right time.

"We just have to keep believing in what we're doing and try and get as many points as possible to see where that takes us.

"The situation we're in, we just have to take every game as it comes.

"You never look past the next game, that's the focus.

"If we keep working hard and fight for every point hopefully it will give us a fighting chance."

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