Ballinamallard Manager Harry McConkey is looking to banish the memories of Ballinamallard’s Boxing Day defeat to Dergview, as they renew their local rivalry at Ferney Park on Saturday.

The Mallards crashed to a 2-0 defeat in the Christmas fixture, and the boss knows they cannot afford a repeat of that scoreline if they are to close the gap to the leaders at the top of the Championship table.

“The last time we played Dergview, we were deeply disappointed and frustrated,” he admitted.

“There are moments in games that are vital, and we had moments in that game against them, but things went horribly against us, and we are determined to make up for that.”

Dergview go into the game needing a win to have any chance of making the top six before the league is split in half for the final five fixtures.

Ballinamallard have already secured their place in the top section, but they are still looking upwards towards a promotion spot despite the defeat to Loughgall on Saturday.

That defeat saw them slip to fourth in the table, but with neither of the top two able to record victories, the Manager is convinced that the promotion battle is far from decided, despite Ballinamallard sitting seven points adrift of second-placed Annagh United.

“The inconsistency within the top six teams in the league is quite remarkable at times, and that is why we must keep going,” he said.

“Last weekend Dergview had a wonderful win against the Welders, Annagh were beaten 5-1 by Institute, and Queens at the bottom drew with Newry at the top, and that shows you the crazy things that can happen in this league.

“We have to get out of this and put a real run together, and each match that we don’t do that, then we are clearly in danger of missing out on that coveted second place.

“Until that moment is dead, we keep going.

“The positive is that we have clinched our top six spot and although we don’t want to be talking about sixth place, the competitiveness from the start of the season meant we had to be in the top six going into the play-offs.

‘Huge disappointments’

“There has been a lot of work put in this season to get where we are. There have been huge disappointments and obstacles put in our way, but it is still not too late and we have to push together and everyone has to put their shoulder to the wheel and show a real hunger and desire.”

The manager was disappointed with the manner of the defeat against Loughgall on Saturday, which saw the County Armagh side edge ahead of them in the league table.

An early Rory Brown penalty save was a bright point in a disappointing first half, which culminated in a Loughgall goal just before the break that changed the course of the game.

“We had weathered the poor conditions and the pitch, and we had got ourselves the best chance of the half, and there were many things to be able to be upbeat about even though we weren’t playing particularly well, but then they scored just before half time,” said McConkey.

“I didn’t think they were playing that well either, but the crucial thing is that they got the breakthrough goal. I do believe that if we got the breakthrough goal, then we’d have a different game.

“It was a day when we needed to get a better quality ball in, but we tended to go a bit too long and direct at times, and didn’t get enough quality ball to Sean McEvoy and Callum Moorehead in the wide areas.

“Our response was very good when we came out for the second half. We seemed to get a bit more balance in midfield and we were able to give our wide players better quality balls, but we couldn’t get the good clear opening that we wanted.

“I felt there still was fight in the players’ bellies, but we are all deeply, deeply disappointed that we weren’t able to take at least a point out of that game.

“They were better in the first part of the game, but we were definitely better in the second part. It has been the story of our season – missed opportunities and presenting teams with opportunities that they don’t have to work too hard for.”

Influential

Ballinamallard are likely to face up to Dergview without influential defender Mark Stafford, who is rated as doubtful after picking up a hamstring strain in the game against Loughgall.

Colm McLoughlin will return to training this week but Saturday’s game will come too early for him to be considered, with the Manager hoping the rest of his squad will be available for selection.