BALLINAMALLARD boss Tommy Canning admitted their Irish Cup exit was a missed opportunity, as they fell just short of toppling their Premiership opponents at the Newry Showgrounds.

The Mallards manager felt his side were as good as Newry on the day, but they were left to rue two costly mistakes in the opening 20 minutes that gifted City a two goal lead.

‘Disappointed’

“We were disappointed with the result because we thought we missed an opportunity to get through to the next round,” Canning admitted.

“When you reflect on the match, it was the two individual mistakes at the start of the game that cost us. That is not something we have suffered from too often in my time here, but on Saturday it cost us.

“We were asking questions of Newry and causing them problems. We were every bit as good as they were. In the first half I thought we shaded it.

“In the second half it was more even, but at worst we were every bit as good as Newry and had we not made those big mistakes I think we would have won the game.”

Despite falling 2-0 behind in the first quarter of the match, the Mallards fought back with Simon Warrington scoring before the half time interval and Alex Holder finding the net early in the second period, but they could not cap their comeback with a winner.

“We felt we were very much in the game at half time and we started really well in the second half,” said Canning.

“At that stage our tails were up and we were really going at it. To be fair to Newry they took more risks in the second half.

“Whilst we were attacking they were prepared to leave more players up the pitch and it was causing us a bit of trouble. Myself and Mark (Stafford) were toying with the idea of changing shape, although we were caught in a position where we were also causing them problems going forward. The game became very open, and then they had a good counter attacking move and O’Connor scored Newry’s third.”

Ards away

Ballinamallard will have to put the cup defeat behind them quickly, as they travel to Ards on Saturday for a league clash against a team three points below them in the table.

Ards parted company with manager Matthew Tipton on New Year’s Eve, and then sprung a major cup surprise when they knocked out holders Crusaders on penalties on Saturday, so Canning is expecting to face a team in confident mood.

“We can expect a difficult game,” admitted the manager.

“We are playing a team that is around us in the table which puts even more emphasis on the game. It is a big game for us, make no mistake about that.

‘Big month ahead’

“Going away to Ards is never an easy one but we have a big month ahead of us, with Ards away, Welders at home and Ballyclare away.

“We are coming into the last section of the season now and we need to be putting points on the board, and we will go to Ards on Saturday with every intention of getting three points.”

The Mallards will be boosted by the return from injury of Callum Moorehead who had been sidelined since October. Jamie Dunne will also be back after suspension, but Aaron Smyton and Ryan Morris remain on the injured list.