Eddie Patterson was delighted with the comeback at Portadown

The Reds were trailing 2-0 at the break before strikes from John O'Loughlin and Ronan Scannell secured a point.

"We questioned the boys' commitment at half-time and got a massive response in the second half," said Patterson.

"These are the games you want to be involved in, particularly when you're involved at the top end of the table."

Patterson was quick to praise full-back Ronan Scannell after his superb goal brought the visitors level.

"Ronan's a quality player, he makes these surging runs from the left-back position and takes people on, gets into the box and puts crosses in," he added.

"His goal was absolute quality - he just cut inside and put it inside the far post."

The north Belfast side face another top-of-the-table clash on Saturday, with second-placed Linfield the visitors to Solitude.

The Reds caused an upset on the opening day of the league season when they defeated the champions 3-0 at Windsor Park.

"The games against us at Solitude in the past have been very close and I don't envisage any different come Saturday," said Patterson.