Saturday’s defeat at Seaview will only spur Ballinamallard on to get a good result at home to Glentoran on Saturday.
The Ferney Park side entertain the Glens hoping they can pick up three points to keep them in the top half of the table.
Manager Whitey Anderson is optimistic that his side can put in a good performance at home.
“We were bitterly disappointed last week at not getting at least a point, after a good performance.
“The boys were magnificent from start to finish and on another day we could have come away with a point or three,” he said.
“We’ve certainly shown in the last number of weeks that we’re back in competitive mode with all the teams in the league. We have a lot more to look forward to this season and the boys know that now,” said the Ballinamallard manager.
He knows Glentoran are a young and improving side, playing very well at the moment.
“They are on a good run, but we are on a good run also and we have great confidence at Ferney Park. It’s a big game for both of us, but I believe that if we can pick up the three points on Saturday it can help us make a big push for the top half for the rest of the season,” said Anderson.
Ballinamallard have built up a momentum over the past six weeks, having only two league defeats in seven.
“We’ve been building steadily and although we won’t have Jason McCartney because of suspension we will be reasonably strong. We have a good squad of players now who are showing a real determination and hunger.
“I’ve very confident we can get a result this Saturday,” he said. “But we will have to play at the same intensity and have the same momentum as last week.”
He says his players are well able to sustain this pace now, adding that their fitness levels are excellent at the moment.
“They are keen to keep up the progress and keep working hard for each other,” he said. “They have the desire and hunger to get better every week. More than that though, they have shown a great ability to play at this level and I’m confident that if we take it one game at a time then we can improve even more in the weeks to come.”
Although Anderson will be without Jason McCartney, out suspended after his red card against Crusaders, Steve Feeney, Duwayne McManus and Richard Lecky could all be in for consideration after their performances, after injury, in the Reserves last week.
Goalkeeper Fergal Murphy seems to be still out with an ankle injury as does full back Mark McConkey, who failed a fitness test before the Crusaders game last week.