Ballinamallard can draw level with Newry City at the top of the Championship table if they defeat their County Down opponents at Ferney Park on Saturday, but despite the high-profile nature of the clash, Mallards’ Manager Harry McConkey has vowed to treat it just like any other league game.

“We will let other people worry about the importance of the game, because you can overstate that,” he said.

“We have to perform as best we can to make sure we get something out of each game, and that hasn’t changed for some time now.

“We have to play and not be too uptight about the consequences of it. If you focus on the process, then the result will look after itself.”

Long-time league leaders Newry City come in to the game having not won any of their last three league games, while in contrast, Ballinamallard have only suffered defeat once in their last nine.

The gap between the pair closed by another three points on Saturday, as the Mallards capitalised on Newry’s Friday night defeat to H&W Welders by triumphing over Annagh United.

“The circumstances of Newry’s game on Friday night made the Annagh game even more important,” admitted the Manager.

“This league is going to switch and sway, and last weekend it took a sway towards us, but we have failed to grasp opportunities this season when other teams have dropped points, particularly Newry.

“I wanted that to be in the players’ minds, but in the first 10 minutes we didn’t play out from the back in the way we can. Our distribution wasn’t good, and we couldn’t get into the flow of it, and the first impact we made was the goal itself.”

Ten minutes after their goal, Ballinamallard had Richard Clarke sent off, but the Manager was thrilled with the fight and character shown by his players who played for an hour with ten men on their way to victory.

‘So delighted’

“I was so delighted with the effort and the energy the players put in,” he said.

“John Edgar and Chris Kelly will certainly have slept on Saturday night because they put in a fantastic shift to protect the back line, and Dean Curry along with Ryan Morris were fantastic, as was the entire back line.

“Rory Brown made a great save, and it was a good start for Simon Warrington, who has come back to the club to make his mark.

“After the match they were in a buoyant mood, because they had put in a great shift and had got rewarded for it, despite the sending off of our Captain. It was a brave performance to make sure that didn’t affect us.”

The dismissal of the influential Clarke could still have serious repercussions for the team, as they enter into a crucial phase of the season.

The Captain’s three-game ban means he misses this Saturday’s match, as well as the upcoming Irish Cup tie against Crusaders, and McConkey was left annoyed by the referee’s decision to brandish a Red Card.

“It totally frustrated me,” he admitted. “Clarkey was going for the ball, and his opponent was coming from the side out of nowhere, and he put his head down. Clarkey’s foot was up, but he was trying to take the ball out of the air.

“Clearly there was contact made, but there was no intent. To me, it was one of those accidents that happen in football, and if there was a Yellow Card shown and a wee warning, then I don’t think too many people in the ground would have raised an eyebrow. It was very harsh.

“It is a terrible blow for Clarkey, who is such a professional. Anybody who knows him knows he is not someone who kicks people, and he was very unfortunate.”

Clarke’s suspension is the latest in a growing list of selection issues for the Manager as he looks to field a strong 11 against the league leaders. Sean McEvoy missed the Annagh match after going over on his ankle and he remains a doubt for Newry, while Arkinson suffered a similar injury against Annagh that forced his substitution.

Simon Warrington also had to be substituted with a knee injury, and will be monitored during the build-up to Saturday’s match. Callum Moorehead is suffering from a foot injury, and Reece Byrne is also undergoing treatment.

Ben McCann is on the road to recovery but is unlikely to be available in time for Saturday, but Duwayne McManus is back in contention for selection and new signing Ronan McKinley’s international clearance has been processed and he is also available to play.

“I went to watch Newry last Friday and it was good to see them in person,” revealed McConkey.

“We will prepare for them this week, as we do for all opposition, and work on it during training. We have a few injury concerns now and we have to address those. You can’t plan with real certainty in these current times.

“You have to have plan A, B, C and D, and with the injuries and suspensions we know we are going to be a bit light, but we are hoping we have enough to put up a strong challenge.”