Ballinamallard Utd manager Whitey Anderson is looking for his side build on Saturday’s victory over Ballymena Utd by producing that level of performance on a consistent basis. A fine display by the Ferney Park outfit saw them deservedly claim a the points against a Ballymena side that travelled to Fermanagh as league leaders, and Anderson says that the job now for his players is to try and maintain the same standard with Institute the visitors to Ferney Park this Saturday.

Saturday’s win was the first for the Mallards in the league and they face another tough test this Saturday against an Institute side that have made a bright start to their Premiership campaign.

“Every game is going to be very tough, we’ve seen that with this league, and Institute will pose a different threat but we have got to carry that same level of commitment into every game,” he said.

“Institute have had big results and performances and are a good footballing side. Paul Kee will have them playing football from the start and Ferney Park will suit them but it is all about ourselves. It is about having the right attitude and we have to make sure we carry forward some consistency. There is no point in playing well one week and then dropping off the next,” he commented.

Anderson admits that securing that first win was a big relief and feels that it will give the players added confidence as they look to push on further up the table.

“Any manager or player would breathe a sigh of relief to get that first win. It was very important to get it but also to get the performance and a clean-sheet as well, you couldn’t really ask for much more and it gives the players a lot of confidence going forward.

“I know it is early in the season but if we had lost on Saturday we would have found ourselves bottom of the table so it is a case of looking up the table and if we could get a win on Saturday it would move us up to the middle of the table and you could start looking forward to the next stage of the season,” stated Whitey.

The Mallards boss changed his side’s formation against Ballymena, opting to play a diamond in the middle with Liam Martin partnering Anthony Elding in attack and the system proved a winner on the day.

“We have been looking at it for a few weeks and we played the last 20 minutes against Glenavon with it and we thought it worked well. We have worked at it in training and the players brought it on to the field of play and executed it exactly the way we wanted it done. I’m not saying it will work every day but it certainly worked last Saturday,” he commented.

One of the Mallards big issues last year was a lack of goals but they have looked more threatening this season and Anderson was pleased to see his two strikers get on the scoresheet.

“The front two of Anthony Elding and Liam Martin worked really hard from the start. They got the three goals and Anthony assisted Liam’s second one as well so they played a big part in the win. Those were Liam’s first goals of the season. He has been playing out wide because we have had no natural width and Jay (McCartney) has been injured but up front is where he likes to play, it is his most natural position and you can see the threat he caused on Saturday,” he said.

And the front two were backed up by the presence of Johnny Lafferty in behind them with the former Dergview and Finn Harps man another to give a strong performance.

“We played Johnny in behind the front two but what we asked him to do also was to drop into midfield when he could and he is as a very intelligent footballer as well as a very good footballer. He has a lot of attributes and was unlucky not to score on Saturday,” he said.

At the other end of the pitch, Leon Carters and Mark Stafford looked to be back to their best in the centre of the defence while Cathal Beacom slotted in comfortably in an unfamiliar left back role.

“Leon and Mark have been playing together on and off for eight years and they are a formidable partnership. I thought they were very disciplined on Saturday and that was important. They both complement each other very well.

“With Jake Dykes out Cathal was the obvious one to go in there. When he is in there he is facing the play and can see what is happening in front of him but he also defended very well, he was terrific on Saturday, as was Liam McMenamin on the other side,” he added.