Kennedy completes rousing Derg comeback at Mallards

Ballinamallard United 2

Dergview 2

A DRAMATIC stoppage-time equaliser by Mikhail Kennedy completed a rousing second half comeback to earn Dergview a precious point against Ballinamallard in the Boxing Day derby at Ferney Park.

In the fourth minute of added time with the visitors piling on the pressure, a left-sided cross by substitute Sam Robb wasn’t dealt with by the Mallards defence and Kennedy controlled the breaking ball to hammer it low into the corner of Ryan Morris’s net.

Substitute Morris had taken over in goal on 86 minutes after Ducks stopper Jamie Ray had been sent off for hauling down Kennedy as the last man and as the home side struggled to hold onto a slender 2-1 lead going into the final moments of what had turned into a compelling derby encounter.

Initially it was anything but. Harry McConkey’s side ruled the roost in the first half and by the interval the points looked all but in the bag after two quality strikes from BJ Banda had given the hosts a 2-0 advantage.

But the visitors were far from done and in the second half Tommy Canning’s charges took the game to their opponents. A 56th minute header by teenage defender Bobby Deane breathed new life into the Dergview challenge which ended with Kennedy slamming home that late leveller.

That last-gasp equaliser stretched Dergview’s unbeaten run in their derby rivalry with the Mallards to a remarkable nine games, although that proud record will be of little significance if the basement side doesn’t avoid relegation by the end of the season.

No-one knows that better than Canning who believes his players can take confidence from their eye-catching comeback.

“Psychologically it’s a big point for us,” said the Strabane man.

“We have been struggling in games when we have gone behind and I know the players have been questioning their own mentality, so that’s a huge boost for them to know that they came from two down in front of a huge crowd at Ballinamallard on Boxing Day which isn’t easy.”

Opposite number Harry McConkey was bitterly disappointed that his team had to ultimately settle for a point.

“I’m sick and tired of it,” he said.

“We made wrong decisions when we were in control. If we score a third goal the game is dead but the Derg came out in the second half and they had a response but you have to manage that.

“In the second half the tackles were going in and you saw the fire in the belly of the Derg which never goes away.

“We can only blame ourselves, it was vital for us to get three points. It left a real bad taste in the mouth that we were only a couple of minutes away from achieving that.

“But the only solution to is to shake ourselves off and go again, we have another big game next week against Annagh.”

That game takes place at the BMG Arena on Monday while Dergview’s next outing is against Institute at Darragh Park on Friday night. Kick-off 7.45pm.