It is not often a club faces a “must win” game just two weeks into the season, but Ballinamallard’s match against potential relegation candidates Carrick Rangers was of vital importance according to two goal hero Adam Lecky.
“It was very important and we knew we had to get a result,” he said.
“It was early in the season but it was a massive game for us because of who we were playing with Carrick being one of the teams in around us. It’s good to get off the mark and get that monkey off your back.
“It gives us something positive to take in to training this week, and we can now focus on getting a result against Cliftonville on Saturday.”
Lecky has been a regular starter in midfield since his arrival from Dergview last summer, but Saturday was the first occasion he scored twice in the one game for the Mallards, with his first coming from a poor clearance from the Carrick goalkeeper.
“The keeper made a bit of a wayward clearance and it came to me,” he recalled.
“Thankfully my touch held up and I just thought I would strike it early. It caught him a bit off guard and it just sneaked in at the front post. It was a great start for us and we were playing well at that point. They then started to win a lot of free kicks and corners and put us under a bit of pressure and we weren’t dealing with it the best to be fair.
“They got their goal, and then at the start of the second half we were at sixes and sevens for about twenty minutes and it was a matter of hanging on. As the game went on we started to come back into it and we finished very strong in the last fifteen.
“We had them pinned in their own half and Maysey popped up with one with five minutes to go and that gave us a real lift, and then I scored with a header in the ninetieth minute.
“Their keeper wasn’t the biggest so I decided to go in and stand on him and try to get a few yards space and that is the way it worked. It was good to see it going in.”
With seconds remaining Ballinamallard were awarded a penalty, and Adam admits he would have been happy to have tried to net his first club hat-trick from the spot, only for Shane McGinty to take the spot kick.
Adam explained: “We hadn’t really discussed who was hitting penalties but when we got it Shane McGinty came over and grabbed the ball. I said to him I was happy to hit it but he said he was happy to take it and I wasn’t going to fight with him!”
Stand in goal keeper Gareth McKeown saved McGinty’s effort and prevented Ballinamallard snatching a sensational comeback victory, and Adams admits there were mixed emotions after a topsy turvy game.
“We were gutted straight after the final whistle but I suppose once the dust settled in the changing room you look back on it, you have to take your away points in this league.
“When we got the penalty you are thinking it is three points in the bag and that would have been massive for us but it just wasn’t meant to be. A point there was a good result and it gets us off the mark and gets the spirits up in training.”
For the first time since he joined the club Adam started the match in a centre forward role, but despite capping it with two goals he still would prefer his more familiar midfield role.
“I am a central midfielder and that is where I am happiest playing but if I can do a job for the team that is great,” he said.
“I’ve played up front maybe for the last ten minutes in an emergency when you are searching for a goal but Gavin said to me on Thursday night that he was thinking of playing me up there.
“Because I got a couple of goals on Saturday that is probably me up there for the next week or two!”
Adam was one of the team’s bright sparks in an often frustrating season, with his performances in the centre of midfield vital in the Mallards survival.
“It took a few months for me to settle and I thought I was playing within myself, but once I got a run in the team I felt like I hit a bit of form and started to play like I could,” he said.
“It took maybe ten games or more to get there. It was okay on a personal level but as a team it was a bit of a struggle and we were always getting dragged back into the relegation battle, but for my first season I was pleased enough with how it went,” revealed the imposing midfielder or striker
His performances not only caught the eye of his teammates who voted him their player of the year, but other clubs also took notice.
During the summer he was approached by another Premier League club who were keen to tempt him away from Ferney Park, but after speaking to the new manager Adam decided to remain with Ballinamallard.
“I spoke to Gavin and he convinced me. He seemed like a nice guy and as a coach he has the right philosophy so it wasn’t a tough decision to stay.”
Having recorded their first morale boosting point of the season the Mallards will now face Cliftonville on Saturday, and Adam is hopeful that they can secure their first ever win over them on home soil.
“On their day they can be the best side in the league and they always get the ball down and play it.
“We will try to exploit some of their weaknesses and that will be up to Gavin this week to try to get a plan and a few tactics implemented and try to get that win over them at Ferney,” concluded Adam as he now looks forward to the rest of the season with a first point in the bag as well as some goals.