Ballinamallard manager Harry McConkey was a disappointed figure at 4.45pm on Tuesday when it was announced that their game against Carrick Rangers was called off.
Heavy rain left Ferney Park unplayable and a chance for the Mallards to trim the gap on Carrick at the bottom of the table had slipped by for now.
“It was gut wrenching that it didn’t go ahead because we were living, sleeping and breathing Carrick for the last three or four days and you have your preparation at the hotel ready and players getting a half day off work. It was one of things that you know you would have preferred the game to go ahead, you had a bit of momentum, our preparation from Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday was good and you are all set to go then the party doesn’t happen,” said McConkey.
And he knows that a win in that game would have also dealt a psychological blow to the side sitting five points ahead of them in the table.
“There is no doubt about the psychological advantage we would have had in immediately clawing points back and if we had managed to defeat Carrick it also wouldn’t have helped their confidence,” he added.
McConkey though didn’t dwell for long on the game and what could have been, he simply doesn’t have that luxury. 
With only five games to go it is all about the next game for the Mallards and for McConkey that meant quickly switching his attentions to this Saturday’s clash against Warrenpoint Town at Ferney Park.
“We just have to keep things as positive as we can, we can’t do anything about the weather, we just have to keep focusing on the next game. It’s about taking it one game at a time and the next one now is Warrenpoint,” he said.
With the players already on their way for the game, McConkey took the chance to get preparations for the Warrenpoint game quickly underway.
“I had the chance at 4.45pm to change my thoughts from all about Carrick to now turning the page to Warrenpoint and I didn’t hesitate on that. We met at the hotel as we had agreed at 5pm and I got a few bits and pieces on Warrenpoint, we spoke about the session we were going to do at the ground that evening and we quickly switched to concentrating on them and getting ready for Saturday’s game. 
“When we got back to the ground the boys knew exactly what we were going to be doing in the session and we just got into it.
“It was a very useful get-together and the positive about it was that we got to work with the full squad and it was worthwhile,” said McConkey.
Warrenpoint may be a different game but the goal for McConkey and his players remains the same.
“We now go up against a team that you have to address differently than Carrick but the objective is still the same. We need to get points from this game and we will be doing everything in our power to do that.
“Warrenpoint will require a different approach to our game. We still know though that whoever we play, we will need an energy and we need a real solid performance from our players. We can’t think about all the different scenarios that might happen down the line, it is so important that we just concentrate on this game and not worry about things we are not in control of,” he commented.
Saturday’s opponents like to get the ball down and play and while McConkey feels that they will give his side chances, at the other end of the pitch he knows they are a big threat.
“We are going to have to be very disciplined and we are going to have to deny them space. I think the one thing about them is that they will give you chances, it’s the achilles heel of that expansive style of football. You leave space and opportunities, so we have to be ready and pounce when those mistakes occur. We’ll have to look for those triggers when we know to go and steal that ball and maximise our possession high up the pitch so we can get opportunities on goal.
“However, we also know that they are an extremely dangerous team going forward and that’s where we need to be able to work very concentrated to deny them opportunities,” he added.