Ballinamallard striker Ryan Curran has admitted that the team have been disappointed not to take any points from the last two matches. The trips to title chasing Crusaders and unbeaten Coleraine both promised much but on each occasion they conceded second half goals and came away with no points to show for their efforts.
“It is frustrating to say the least,” said Ryan. “I think our performances have got better but this is a result based industry and we need to get more points on the board. Against Coleraine we were decent enough in the first 45 minutes. We might have rode our luck at times but I think we were well in the game. It was the same against Crusaders where we did well for 45 minutes and we conceded sloppy enough goals in both games and it was an uphill struggle straight away.”
Matty Smyth scored his second goal in three games to give the Mallards hope of a surprise point at Coleraine, but they could not find the equaliser. The best chance to earn a share of the points fell to Ryan in injury time, but his shot from the edge of the area flew over the crossbar. 
“I had one chance late on which was a decent enough chance,” he admitted. “It was just inside the box and on my left foot but I think I should have done better to be honest. I’m always harsh on myself but my chances have been limited and I’m disappointed I didn’t work the keeper or make something of it. 
“It was a game that Coleraine saw as one they must win, so when Matty scored they panicked and we were able to put a bit of pressure on them, but we need to be a bit more clinical and have a bit more of a cutting edge.”
Ryan is the club’s top scorer this season with five goals, but all his goals came in the opening six games and he has drawn a blank in the subsequent six matches. He admits the barren spell has been infuriating.
 “It’s tough to take. I started really well but it has dried up. You maybe get one or two chances a game and it obviously hasn’t gone my way. Regardless of whether it is me scoring or not, if someone scores I don’t care, but from a personal point of view I do want to be scoring goals. I set myself targets to achieve before Christmas and before the season is over. I would say maybe before the season I would have taken five by now, but having started so well I probably should be on seven or eight. I go into every game firmly believing I’m going to score, and when we start creating chances hopefully I will be able to take them.”
After starting the season on the right wing Ryan has moved into a central striking role in recent matches, and it is a position he prefers. 
“I would rather be through the middle,” he revealed. “In the first couple of games we didn’t really know what the formation was going to be and Gavin spoke to me and said to play out right. I was scoring goals out there and then when I went up front I stopped scoring, which is strange one. The formation we have playing recently allows me to play up front and that suits me better and I can get involved in the game more but it’s kind of ironic that I was scoring more goals playing right wing. I think we have stumbled on that formation but I think it has worked well and performances have been good but we need to turn the performances into results, either scrambling a draw or winning if we can.”
The next opportunity to pick up points comes at Ferney Park on Saturday when league champions Linfield visit Fermanagh. 
Ryan picked up a knock to his knee against Coleraine and will face a late fitness to see if he is available for selection, but whether he plays or not he is confident the team have what it takes to come away with a positive result. 
“I know our run of results have gone against us and we are massive underdogs but on our day I do honestly believe, and I think the team believe, that if we put it together we can beat these teams,” he said. “I think a lot of our home games have been decent performances. We played Linfield in the cup and for the first 45 minutes we were very good but we ran out of steam. Linfield were beaten by Ards this week and they have kind of been up and down as well. It’s about getting that consistency over 90 minutes. We have been good in spells in every single game recently but we have a lapse in concentration and then it is an uphill struggle. We will go into the game confident.”