Harry McConkey believes Ballinamallard will be stronger for their experiences this season, as they start to look beyond the current campaign.

The Manager has admitted defeat in their attempt to secure promotion this time around, but believes his players will learn from the disappointment and can use the experience to push them on to new heights in the future.

“We have got to learn from the situation we found ourselves in, and learn from the pain that I have felt, and the players have felt,” he said.

“You are hoping that if you can work through it, then it will stand by you and drive you on to better things.

“We are still a work in progress and we know we have been too inconsistent throughout the season and that we are not deserving of a promotion place at this moment in time, but we are a team that should not fear anything, going forward, and know that we are good enough to reach that height.”

The Mallards went into Saturday’s league clash with Dergview trying to avoid their third defeat in two weeks to their local rivals, and a late Patrick Ferry goal ensured they at least took something out of the game.

McConkey was delighted with the efforts of his team, as they hit back after going a goal behind.

“We needed to stop the rot, and stop another defeat. That was very important for us, psychologically,” said the boss.

“I have absolutely nothing but pride at the way the boys approached the game from the outset. They showed me great, spirited aggression, but controlled. We won a lot of the battles and didn’t look threatened in our back four. Our keeper hadn’t a lot to do, and the midfield was dominating quite a bit.

“We just yet again appear to be lacking a bit of confidence in that last part of the pitch, or not finding the final ball, but at no time did we look under any serious pressure.

“After last week’s game, when you analyse the performances, we haven’t been doing ourselves justice when it comes to the results because we haven’t finished off that last piece, or we have got caught napping in our own box on set plays.

‘Very frustrating’

“It was very frustrating for the players, because in open play we were matching anything they could throw at us, and we felt very comfortable in dealing with that.

“In the past, we haven’t responded well to going a goal down, but this time the heads stayed up and the chests were out, and we went again.”

The Manager also highlighted the contribution of the attacking duo of goal scorer Ferry and BJ Banda, who caused problems for the Dergview defence all day.

“Patrick has done very well in the last two games at centre forward,” said McConkey.

“He has worked very hard out of possession and has looked dangerous in his runs. I was delighted for him to get that goal, because I think he needed that to consolidate his performance.

“BJ, as well, has been a handful in the last couple of weeks when he has been on the front foot. He gave us a balance on the left.”

Next up for Ballinamallard is a match against title-chasing Annagh at Ferney Park.

The Portadown-based club have been the surprise package of the Championship this season, but Ballinamallard have a good record against them this season, and McConkey is hoping they can continue that run.

“Annagh is the perfect game for us,” he said.

“They are a team that were only dreaming of being where they are, and they are now full of confidence, but we have beaten them three times; once with ten men for a lot of the game.

“We should have no fears when they come to Ferney. We will be determined to produce another performance like we did on Saturday, in terms of effort and commitment, and hope that this time we get that little break that you need. If we do get that, then we can finish this season on a high in regard to performance at least.”

Ballinamallard go into the match with a strong squad, with only Simon Warrington and Colm McLaughlin unavailable for selection.