Ballinamallard manager Whitey Anderson admits that there was a lot of soul searching done since Friday night’s thrashing at the hands of fellow strugglers Warrenpoint Town, but he was delighted with the response of his side as they came from behind to earn a deserved share of the spoils against Linfield at Ferney Park on Tuesday night.

An error from goalkeeper Feargal Murphy gifted Linfield the lead but a well worked Colm McLaughlin goal levelled up matters with 20 minutes to go and Anderson was in no doubt that a point was the least his team deserved.

“They were absolutely tremendous tonight,” he said. “We had a shot in the first minute from Davy Kee and we didn’t have a shot against Warrenpoint, and that set the tone for us. We deserved a point at least and that’s so pleasing, the performance was outstanding.” Having gone behind six minutes before the break, the Mallards dug in and the character of the side delighted the manager as they fought back to secure a draw.

“We gave away a soft goal which has been a bit of a problem at times, the keepers make some great saves but then make these simple mistakes, but what pleased me tonight was that the players lifted their heads, they responded and got themselves going again. We have went behind before and sometimes we’ve capitulated but we didn’t capitulate tonight, we showed fantastic character, played some great football and if we had won the game I don’t think Linfield could have complained,” he commented.

The heavy defeat to Warrenpoint left Ballinamallard in a low place and Anderson states that he done nothing but think about the game since then.

“I’ll be honest with you, it has been a tough slog since Friday night, and I’ve done nothing but think about the game and I’ve put a lot of things in place. I never spoke to the players until Monday, I didn’t even speak to them in person apart from one or two of them, but they responded themselves. They obviously got in touch with each other and they went out tonight and showed they wanted to play for each other and for this club and if we can show that for the rest of the season that’s fine by me,” he added.

And he feels that the performance against the Blues was owed to the supporters.

“I’m pleased for the supporters because we owed them a result and a performance. We had a big crowd who went to Warrenpoint on Friday and they were seriously let down, lets make no bones about it. I said to the boys before the game though that history is history and we just have to move forward and focus on the Linfield game and that’s what they did.” Life in the top flight was never going to be easy but Anderson stresses that Ballinamallard are not ready yet to end their stay in the Premiership. “We always knew it was going to be tough. I’ve always been pragmatic, I haven’t gone shouting from the roof-tops about it but we are enjoying it while we are here. To stay in the Premiership is going to be tough but that is what we are trying to do. We want to stay here for a few years and build on it but you look at Linfield’s signings, they had Grant McCann playing tonight and all these other clubs are making signings and we don’t have that luxury,” he said.

Anderson admits that their location makes signing players more difficult although he reveals he was close to signing former Sligo Rovers and Derry City midfielder Danny Ventre while he refuses to rule out bringing in reinforcements before the window closes.

“I tried to sign Danny Ventre who had been with Derry City and Sligo but unfortunately he signed for Telford. We had a deal done for him but he ended up getting a club in England and he would have been a big signing for us. It is very hard to get players at this end of the country but we’ll see what happens and we won’t rule out bringing anybody in yet.” This Saturday the Mallards host third placed Portadown and Whitey is seeking a similar performance to the one he got on Tueasday night. “It is going to be tough against Portadown as they are still pushing at the top of the table but it is about us going out and applying ourselves. We need to get our organisation right and play with the same attitude, drive and determination.”