Ballinamallard suffered a second pre-season defeat when they lost away to Newry City on Saturday but manager Harry McConkey was pleased with the workout for his new look squad.
The Mallards were behind at the break thanks to a Stephen Hughes wonder strike for the home side and although they battled hard in the second half, the Premiership new boys sealed the win with goals from a Hughes penalty and Stefan Lavery.
“Obviously, Newry will be playing in the Premiership next season and that is the type of opposition that we want to face in pre-season, they are a side on the up. They were also very aggressive and physical in the early stages and that was a great lesson for us because before anything else, we have to be competitive,” said McConkey.
Goalkeeper John Connolly pulled off a number of good saves in the first period to keep the Mallards in the game but there was little he could do to stop Hughes opening the scoring with the attacker letting fly with an unstoppable drive from outside the box that flew into the top corner.
At the other end Nathan Cashel was a bright spark for Ballinamallard, lining up in a front three alongside Ryan Campbell and Aaron Arkinson but at the break Newry lead 1-0.
McConkey changed things around at the interval, introducing five substitutes and they did have a good spell on the resumption with the new faces in the side although they failed to make the most of the chances they created.
A penalty following a foul on Lavery allowed Hughes though to double the Newry advantage and Lavery wrapped things up with a third for the home side.
“I would have been satisfied with it,” said McConkey. “I would be absolutely delighted with Sean McAvoy and Conor Rippey and I thought that Ben McCann did very well. He had to partner three different players in two games but has never flinched from that challenge. I would also be pleased with the the commitment of the likes of John Edgar, Jacob Britton and Sam Robb to date,” he added.
The Mallards have a couple more big tests coming up this week with a trip to Solitude tonight (Thursday) to face Cliftonville and then a home game against Dungannon Swifts on Saturday.
“We are away to Cliftonville on Thursday night which will be another step up for the players from the last two games and then we are at home to Dungannon on Saturday. These are great challenges for the lads and great preparation for the new season. The key for us is to learn from our mistakes,” said McConkey.