Nail biting stuff but Whitey delighted as Mallards are safe

The complexities of the promotion and relegation system within the Northern Ireland Football League system mean that teams seeking promotion must possess the necessary licence to play top flight football. Bangor did not apply for this licence so both Ballinamallard and Warrenpoint were hoping the Seasiders would finish in the two of Championship One and negate the need for a relegation play off. Bangor’s victory over Lisburn Distillery on Tuesday evening confirmed that they would finish no worse than runners-up, and hence confirmed Ballinamallard’s survival.

“I am delighted for everyone at the football club that we will be in the Premier League next season,” said a relieved Whitey Anderson. “The chairman, the committee, the sponsors and the supporters have all been tremendous, but in particular the players. It has been a tough season for them and they have kept working hard throughout, especially this last six weeks. We have been unbeaten in the last five games yet still find ourselves in the bottom two, but we have knuckled down and got results and those points were very important in not getting automatically relegated. We applied ourselves and did certain things in training to get back to basics in terms of our defending and we have found ourselves safe as a result of that. The reality is that for everybody it has been tough and there has been a certain amount of pressure, but now that has been lifted I’m just delighted for everyone involved.” Had Ballinamallard defeated Dungannon on Saturday they would not have had to rely on Bangor’s victory, but they lost a half time lead and had to be content with a draw against their local rivals. “The pleasing thing was that we scored two very good goals from open play but the disappointing thing was that we conceded two from set plays,” said Whitey. “We haven’t conceded a goal from open play in the last three games and I thought on the balance of things we deserved the win. I was very pleased Jason McCartney scored and then Liam Martin scored with an excellent goal and I was pleased for him because it has been tough for him since he came back, but he is a young fella with a bright future. In the last ten or fifteen minutes we left spaces at the back because we had pushed Mark Stafford up because we knew the score at Warrenpoint. The players gave everything and were absolutely out on their feet at the end. I don’t think it is just a physical thing either; it’s a mental thing because it can drain you and I think a lot of them are drained. Overall I was very happy with the performance and I thought we deserved more.” This season’s struggles have been in sharp contrast to the glory days of the previous season where relegation was never a concern after a bright start, and the manager admits their area of weakness has been obvious. “I think when you look at the league table there is not much between the bottom six teams as far as I’m concerned, but the reality is when you look at the goals for column it is amazing we are still in the Premier League in many respects,” said Whitey. “We have 32 goals which is almost a dozen goals behind the next worst team, and if we were had scored as many goals as them we would probably find ourselves well up the table.” The home fans have been singing about staying up in recent weeks and the manager reckons their unwavering support in stressful times has been vital to the team’s success. “We need them,” he admitted. “They have been fantastic all season. We didn’t get a good opportunity to say cheerio after the match because everyone knew what had happened at Warrenpoint and it wasn’t done yet. They do make a big difference and the players and I do really appreciate it. Thankfully we can all now look to Premier League football next season.”