Striker Ryan Curran says that Ballinamallard can not be overly downbeat after defeats in their opening two league games against Glentoran and Glenavon.

The Mallards battled hard against Glentoran but went down to a let controversial goal as Curtis Allen handled the ball to the net but it was a disappointing display on Tuesday night as they were second best all over the pitch to a sharp and clinical Glenavon outfit.

“Saturday was tough with the defeat coming after the handball it was tough again tonight,” said Curran after Tuesday night’s game.

“We went 1-0 up with the penalty but we conceded straight away. At half time though we were 1-1 and it was not the worst case scenario but for the first 15 minutes of the second half we just stopped and it was all over before we knew it. They scored three goals in five minutes and after that it was really damage limitation,” he said.

The Mallards though have a chance to get their season up and running against Cliftonville at Ferney Park on Saturday and despite the two losses, Curran states that they will go into the game with confidence.

“Gavin and the coaching staff were just talking in the changing room there and they were saying the games are coming thick and fast at the minute and that is a good thing for us. We have four days now to get ready to play Cliftonville who are a top side but we are at home and we had a fair few decent results at home last season so we will go into that confident. It is only two games in so you can’t be too downhearted after two games,” he added.

Dykes has brought in a number of new faces during the summer to strengthen his squad and Curran is in no doubt that there is no shortage of quality available to the manager but they now need to show that on the pitch.

“I think everyone knows that. I think Gavin has signed well and we have got plenty of talent and a lot of quality although it doesn’t look good at the minute with no points on the board. Now we have to try and show that quality out on the pitch and Saturday is a massive game for us,” said Curran.

Curran himself has shown his quality with the striker following on from a strong finish to last season by bagging three goals in the opening two games of this campaign. He netted from the spot against Glentoran and was successful with another penalty on Tuesday night before also producing a tidy finish for the Mallards second goal.

“I joined last January but I’ve had a few injuries and that and I was in and out with substitute appearances. I played a few games though at the end of the year and got a feel for it and I’ve worked hard though in pre-season. I’ve started well with three goals in the two games and that’s the silver-lining I suppose for me but what we want is to try and get some points on the board,” he commented.