Frustrated Ballinamallard Manager Harry McConkey admitted that they should have come away with all three points against Dergview on Boxing Day.

The Mallards dominated for long spells of the contest against their local rivals, but conceded a late injury time goal to let victory slip through their fingers.

“We had the game in our hands and we were doing very well, but we were put in difficult situations that we didn’t deal with very well collectively,” admitted McConkey.

“We have been in that situation too many times now, where we should be putting teams to bed and we haven’t done it.”

The agonising 94th-minute equaliser came after the Mallards had been reduced to ten men following the sending off of goalkeeper Jamie Ray, but the boss acknowledged that they gifted Dergview the goal with only seconds left on the clock.

“When you are down to ten you are always living on your nerves a bit, but we still had chances and we were just trying to get over the line at 2-1,” he said.

“We had gone to a back four and our shape was a bit all over the place because we had to make the changes, and we had perhaps square pegs in round holes.

“The cross needed to be cleared, and should have been cleared, but it has been knocked down straight to Kennedy who is a player on form and high on confidence.

“He struck it very well, but it was a gift from the point of view of our defensive side of things.

“We should never be as vulnerable as that, and that is what is frustrating me.”

The dramatic finale was in stark contrast to the Mallards’ dominance in the first half.

Banda scored twice and the Manager’s only frustration was that they were not further ahead at the break.

“In the first half I thought we dominated, and they didn’t get a strike near our goal until about 30 minutes,” he said.

“We took control of the first half and scored two good goals. I felt we were being a bit more effective in that last third of the pitch where so often we haven’t been.

“We got two goals out of it, and it gave us more confidence to keep doing what we were doing.

“We moved the ball early and at the right times, and the talk at half time was very positive.

“The players were really up for it and determined that at the very worst we would go out and fight for every ball so we didn’t give them anything, and make sure 2-0 was going to see us over the line. That was the minimum they were asking of each other.”

The visitors did respond in the second 45 minutes and McConkey admitted his side failed to match their first half performance in the face of a revitalised Dergview.

“In fairness to Tommy, he got a really good response from them, and we stopped passing it as early as we did in the first half,” he conceded.

‘Pressure’

“We took extra touches, lost possession and put ourselves under pressure. The longer the game went on there were always going to be chances, because Dergview were going to have to come at us to try to get something from the game, but they scored from the middle of the six-yard box and that annoys me, because that is an area that we should be able to defend better.

“We have highlighted that time and time again. They are a tall team, and the preparation was all around that, and we knew that was going to be their biggest threat.

“Once we rode that storm the plan was to play a bit on the counter and use the space in behind, and all was looking favourable for us, even at 2-1, until they broke from our corner.”

The late sending off not only had an impact on the outcome of the Boxing Day match, but will also pose a problem for the Manager for the game on Monday, January 2 against second-placed Annagh United.

McConkey has something of a goalkeeping crisis to deal with after it was confirmed that the contract of number one goalkeeper Michael Lynch was terminated by the club.

“With our third goalkeeper, young Nathan Hunter, injured, it may well look like we will have to arrange a short-term loan for the month of January,” he said.

He is hopeful though that others will be fit for the game.

“Peter Maguire should be back in, which is a great plus, and Lee Warnock and Arko [Arkinson] both had to come off in the game, but they both should be okay. We will be training on Thursday and see how people are and regroup.”