BALLINAMALLARD have to get better at managing the closing moments of matches if they are to maximise their league position this season, according to manager Tommy Canning.

Canning watched on as the Mallards conceded a result-altering injury-time goal for the third time in their last four matches on Saturday. They conceded in the 95th minute to lose to Newington and repeated that feat at Institute, before Ards because the latest beneficiary of the Mallards’ injury-time jinx.

The manager knows they now have to eradicate the late slip-ups, starting with their match against Harland and Wolff Welders at Ferney Park on Saturday.

“We have to find a way of being a bit uglier and seeing games out, being a bit cleverer, and managing the game a bit more in the dying stages,” he admitted.

“The Newington game was a slightly different context in that we were pushing on to try and win that game. In the Institute game, we had come under a fair bit of pressure, and we were depleted that day, so I don’t know if it’s as straightforward as conceding in three of the last four games but nonetheless, whatever the reason for it, it has cost us five points.

“It is difficult to pinpoint it, but it is costing us at the minute and we have to try and work a way of managing the game better, seeing the game out and maybe taking control of the game in the closing stages. It can be frustrating, and I know some of the players after the game on Saturday were very, very frustrated by the fact it keeps happening.”

Canning believes that the late goals have meant his players are not getting the rewards they deserve for their performances, and Saturday was another example of that injury-time fragility costing them dearly.

“We played so well for so long in the game, and the three points would have been a fitting end to a decent performance, but we didn’t get them,” he said.

“Going away to Ards is not easy, and on another day you would be happy with getting a point, but not when we were so dominant in the game and had so many chances. It is disappointing because again the players put in an incredible performance. The quality of our play and the level we were operating at for 65 minutes was so, so good. You feel that we deserve to get more out of games than we are, but it is nobody’s fault but our own.”

Simon Warrington scored twice to take his tally to seven for the season, but missed opportunities in front of goal proved costly in the end.

“We caused Ards all sorts of trouble. We had big, big moments in the game and if we had taken one of those chances then the game would have been over,” Canning said.

“We really had them on the rack, and I think that would have put the final nail in the coffin, but when you don’t take them it gives them hope that they are still in the game, and in fairness to them, in the last 20 minutes, they were the better team.

“We seemed to get a wee bit too deep, and we couldn’t get a platform to get out and didn’t seem to have the same control.”

Welders come to Ferney Park on Saturday sitting two points above Ballinamallard in the NIFL Championship table. The Mallards have won three of their last five encounters, including both of the last two matches held at Ferney, but despite a good record against Paul Kee’s team, Canning is expecting a tough test.

“I think Welders will be a big, big challenge,” he admitted. “On their day, they are as good a footballing team as there is in the division. They have a very particular way of playing and they will not deviate from it too much. They have a lot of very good players, and they will enjoy playing on Ferney Park, so it will be a tough game for us.”

Welders striker Matthew Ferguson is the Championship’s top scorer, and Ballinamallard’s defence will be without the influential Peter Maguire through suspension, but the manager is confident his squad has the strength in depth to finish the season strongly.

“We have a run of three home games in our next four, and we really want to put as many points on the board as we possibly can before the end of the year,” he said.

“When you are at home that is a big opportunity, so there is an onus on us to approach the game on Saturday in the right way and continue to perform the way we have.

“Peter Maguire is suspended and it will be interesting to see how we cope because Peter hasn’t missed a game this season.

“He is a big player, but Richie Johnston should come back from the injury that kept him out last week, and he was going well before he dropped out. It will be a big opportunity for him to stake a claim for a spot.

“The game is probably a week too early for Callum Moorehead, but everybody else is fine.”