BALLINAMALLARD manager Tommy Canning has challenged his players to start another undefeated run in the NIFL Championship, after their run of seven games without defeat was ended by an injury time goal from Newington on Saturday.

The Mallards current run, which started and ended with games against Newington, was their longest unbeaten streak in the league since a run of eight Premiership matches without losing at the end of the 2013/14 and start of the 2014/15 seasons. The new boss is now hoping they can bounce straight back against third-placed Institute on Friday evening.

“Now the question is can we put another run together,” said Canning. “That is the challenge for the players and for the group. Can we go on another run now starting this weekend and maintain that for as long as we can as well, because in the championship if you can put a run of games together it can alter your league position very quickly.

“It was a brilliant run, and an historic run in some ways, but it is over now. We have been trying in recent weeks to push that run as far as we could, but it was always going to end somewhere.”

For long stretches of the game last Saturday it looked as though Ballinamallard would continue to extend their unbeaten run after they had clawed their way back from conceding an early goal. Canning felt their performance merited at least a point.

“Our quality and our commitment to the game deserved something out of it,” he reflected. “I thought we played really well. I felt we continued to maintain the quality and commitment that we have shown since I came in, and you couldn’t be too critical of the players because they have carried out the game plan that we had set out for them.

“They worked hard all week in preparation for the game, and there was no one who didn’t produce what was asked of them. You have to give some respect to Newington because despite the fact we were asking lots of questions of them and going looking for the win, they stayed in it and kept fighting and threatened on the counter attack a couple of times in the second half.

“They have lots of energy and they certainly were prepared to lose it to win it, in the same way we were. It fell on their side on Saturday which was disappointing for us.”

Jamie Dunne’s yellow card on Saturday means he will be suspended for Friday’s match against his old club, but Richie Johnson will return and Alex Holder is hoping to have recovered from injury to be available for selection for the clash at the Brandywell.

“Kevin Deery has them flying and they are going really well,” said Canning as he looked ahead to the Institute game.

“They are maybe similar to us in some ways because they have a lot of young players. He has brought in some lads from outside of the Championship and they have a bit of experience in there as well, so he has put a really good squad together and it is no surprise to me that they have been doing really well.

“It is Friday night which will be something different for the players, and it is a great game to go in to.

“It’s a great challenge for us, and an opportunity to pit ourselves against a team that is in the top three. It will be different to games we have played recently in that Institute will want to play football and will look to dominate possession more than our recent opponents, which we like to do as well, so it should be an interesting game.”