Ballinamallard manager Harry McConkey was delighted with the response from his players, as they overturned a half time deficit to take all three points against Harland and Wolff Welders.

On four occasions this season his team have trailed at half time, and on three of those occasions they have fought back to take something from the match. Saturday’s recovery against Welders matched their win against Loughgall when they came from a goal behind at half time to win. They also grabbed a second half goal against Ards to snatch a draw.

“Right from I came through the door the players have shown great respect and have been very good at taking information on board and putting it into action on the pitch,” said Harry.

“I have always said in football the half time team talk is the most important one of all. You know exactly who you are up against and secondly you are seeking to combat what you have seen developing over the first 45 minutes. Steve, Craig and I take ourselves away from the players and stew over the best plan of action and ask ourselves what we can do to help our players collectively and individually.”

Their latest comeback was against a Welders side that had knocked Portadown off the top of the Championship the week before, but in the second half Ballinamallard dominated proceedings for long spells.

“Our half time team talk was to keep doing what we were doing but step the tempo up a little bit, and keep moving them. I thought in the first half we were very unfortunate to go in 1-0 down. We had created some great chances and didn’t get the final touch, and we were causing them problems but not converting it.

“We felt we would tire them if we retained the ball. Macca (Josh McIlwaine) is a big presence up front and we seemed to feel that we had to go to him a lot of the time when we needed to be patient and look at other options as well.

“At half time we made reference that there were other combinations we could avail of, and in fairness to them in the second half they went out and played it brilliantly. We had people dropping in pockets and we felt then we were able to progress up the pitch and get our set plays through pressure.

“It’s only now we are starting to really capitalise on set plays and the quality of our delivery was good. We have a lot of big men there and we had a real presence and because of that we cracked them.”

The win keeps Ballinamallard in touch with the league leaders. Portadown are four points in front of them with Loughgall topping the table, one further point ahead.

There is a cloud hanging over Loughgall at present with the club facing the possibility of losing six points due to a player registration issue that could drop them behind Ballinamallard, and the manager is determined to be in a position to take full advantage if either of the top two slip up.

“The most important thing is to keep ourselves in the hunt,” he said. “There is a pack there that we need to be part of and that’s the most important thing for me. We had a lovely lift during the week and we had three players that played during the week weren’t even in the 16 today which shows you the competition we now have for places.”

Next up is a trip to fourth placed Newry City, and Harry is expecting a tough test against a side that played in the Premier League last season.

“It is going to be a big game for us,” he acknowledged.

“They are coming into real form. There is no doubt on their own pitch that is going to be a massive ask for us.

“ I always felt they were a team with a good squad of players who have played at the top level and have had to adjust to the Championship.

“They have been shocked in the early stages and they also had some injuries, but they now have their full panel back and they are getting up to speed.

“They will be tough to stop but we go up there with another little boost to our confidence having beaten Welders and it’s a game the boys should be relishing.”