Harry McConkey was once again left to rue individual errors as Ballinamallard conceded four times to lose to Newington.

The Mallards started the match well and Ben McCann had given them the lead with his first goal of the season, but they were punished for their mistakes as Newington hit back to claim victory.

The home team’s first goal came from the penalty spot, and the next two were a result of McConkey’s side losing possession deep in their own half, as Newington took full advantage.

‘Our errors’

“It was our errors that led to their goals,” admitted McConkey.

“When you are pushing men forward that can happen, but we have had this all season when we have been caught through lapses of our own.

“We have been our own toughest opponent. We don’t fear anybody in this league. It is a very tough league, but in terms of open play we are as good as anybody, but when it comes to finishing in one box and defending resolutely in the other, that is where we badly let ourselves down, and we have no one else to blame for that but ourselves.

“The players weren’t that bad. They worked really hard, but it came down to individual errors.

“It is so frustrating when you see some elements of our play that are so good.”

Ballinamallard are one of the lowest-scoring sides in the NIFL Championship this season, and on Saturday they once again demonstrated their inability to convert chances, as they struck the frame of the goal four times.

“Newington said to us afterwards that we were one of the better footballing teams in the league, but it is about the end product, and when you see how few goals we have scored it tells you everything,” admitted the manager.

“It is a horrendous scoreline because it was a nip and tuck game. It is a result that doesn’t reflect what we have put into the game, and how we played for most of the match.”

Ballinamallard have a chance to get back to winning ways this Saturday against Knockbreda. The teams met in the last game before the split and Knockbreda ended the Mallards’ hope of making the top six with a 3-2 victory in Belfast.

This time however the fixture is at Ferney Park, and McConkey is looking for his players to shrug off their recent disappointments.

“Knockbreda are literally playing so hard for each other and that is something we have to match,” said McConkey.

‘Go for it’

“Once we dropped out of the top six you always knew it was going to be a hard run, because there is always that subconscious thing that we should be playing in the top six and we are not.

“We must shake that off and really go for it. We are at home, and we need to be going out for three points.

“We know how hard it will be against them, but we also know we are capable of doing it.

“We need to kick back after that very disappointing result against Newington.”

Mark Stafford will miss the match through suspension, but Ryan Morris is close to a return and Shane McGinty got some minutes under his belt on Saturday and should come into contention.