Ballinamallard must forget their cup disappointment and replicate the effort and work rate from their last two league performances if they are to triumph over Annagh United on Friday evening, according to manager Harry McConkey.

A much changed Mallards side lost to Limavady in the semi final of the North West Cup in midweek, but in the NIFL Championship a victory over Newington and a draw against Ards has sparked hopes that the Mallards can continue their climb away from the lower reaches of the league table.

“Last Saturday’s game, if you took away that last horrible equaliser, there were lots of things I was really pleased about, and I saw a crowd of lads that were fighting so hard for each other,” said McConkey.

“The players must make sure they show that same response they showed at Newington and the same performance, and continue with the effort they showed on Saturday.

“Alex (Holder), Simon (Warrington) and James (McGrath) particularly give us that high energy press and that is something we can see giving us some benefit going forward.

“That almost worked for us on Saturday, and against Newington with that system the boys had a great energy and understanding.

‘High energy’

“We need that high energy, and we need to be able to deal with their direct play and win second balls. Annagh have a team littered with players that have great experience and make no mistake, when you go to Annagh it is very tough, but their form has been inconsistent.”

Annagh’s recent record in the league matches that of the Mallards with four points from their last five matches, and success for McConkey’s team on Friday would help eradicate any lingering frustrations at their North West Cup exit at the Limavady Showgrounds.

With the cup match falling in the middle of a spell of four games in 11 days the manager felt he had to make wholesale changes to the squad, and that contributed to the lack of cohesion in a first half performance that McConkey admitted was ‘shambolic’ at times.

“It was deeply disappointing to lose a semi-final in that manner, but we always knew we were running the risk of that with the size of the squad and the importance of Friday night,” he said.

“We had players in danger of injury or bookings, and we also wanted to give an opportunity to the young players in this competition.

“What I did ask of the players was that they must give everything, but they did exactly the opposite. They never came out of the blocks at all. They looked like a team that was lacking in confidence and in energy.

“The first half was shambolic. It shows the importance of relationships in your back line and with the goalkeeper.

“When you make those amount of changes you are leaving yourself open to that risk, and against a quality front line we found ourselves lacking.

“Some of our young lads froze a little bit and some of the senior lads disappointed even more so. I was disappointed in the midfield area because I know we were capable of doing a lot more on the ball than we did in that first half.”

Positives

With the game all but lost at half time the manager challenged the players to go out and win the second half, and he saw the positives in an improved showing.

“In the second half we came out with a lot more positive play and got forward more,” he said.

“I thought Nick Collen had a very good game for his first 90 minutes with the first team. He made a really good impression and that was pleasing, Nick Palmer started to get into the game more, and Aaron Smyton looked to be coming back to his best.

“The goals we scored were very good, one a great team goal and one a great finish.”

Mark Stafford remains an injury concern for Friday night and is unlikely to come into contention for selection against Annagh, but McConkey is hopeful several other players who are carrying slight knocks will be available for the trip to the BMG Arena.