Soccer Post - Junior Football

Anderson: It’s the last chance saloon
Junior Football News - Author: Administrator (Posted 1 year, 2 months, 4 weeks, 2 days, 9 hours, 46 minutes ago)

Ballinamallard boss Whitey Anderson believes it's do or die for Paddy Kelly (above) and himself
BALLINAMALLARD boss Whitey Anderson believes tonight is the last chance saloon for both his title pretenders and Donegal Celtic.
The Holm Park-based side trail the Ladbrokes.com Championship leaders Loughgall by eight points with two games in hand.
Paddy Kelly’s side meanwhile lag a further one point adrift but boasting an additional game in hand as the season approaches its climax.
The two sides clash tonight at Ballinamallard’s adopted home at Armagh City with Anderson predicting a real humdinger with both sides gunning for maximum points.
Anderson believes Loughgall are the slight favourites for the title in what is still a wide open race but concedes that defeat for either side tonight would just about spell the end for either club’s designs on the title.
“This is a big game now for us,” admitted Anderson. “After the Portadown defeat three games ago, we have responded with two wins and certainly if we win tomorrow night, it will put us back in the frame for the last seven games of the season.
“It would put us right back in the thick if it and it’s the same for both sides. “Both sides really need to win tomorrow night, I don’t think a draw is much good to either side so it has the potential to be a good game and I’ve no doubt it will be a good game.
“The boys are obviously well up for it after winning on Saturday against Ballymoney so we’re looking forward to it.
“We said to them after the Portadown game, it was important to respond and six points from six, you can’t really argue. The players have been excellent, superb and they have been all season.
“This game against Donegal Celtic is a very pivotal moment in relation to both teams challenging if they want to keep up with the top two, Portadown and Loughgall.”
Anderson has broken ranks with most managers in the Championship by tipping Loughgall for the title ahead of overwhelming pre-season favourites Portadown.
“If we win tomorrow night, I would say there’ll be any one of four teams can win it,” added Anderson.
“That Loughgall side could win that league. If anyone finishes above Portadown they deserve great credit and if Loughgall do, good luck to them.
“They are a very hard side to beat. They don’t give away much and are very solid.
“It would be good for the league if it kept on going to the end of the month.
“If Portadown don’t run away with it, and it doesn’t look like they will, it’s good for the league. Certainly tomorrow night will be an interesting one.
“There’s a lot at stake, but if someone had said to me at the start of the season that come March, we’d still be up there challenging, I would have laughed.
“But we’ll keep her lit now and hopefully we can get a result tomorrow night.”
Meanwhile, Anderson has lambasted the fixtures scheduling in the Championship which has bizarrely seen Ballinamallard play only four times in 10 weeks then four times in 10 days.
He rapped: “This is our fourth game in 10 days and previous to that we played only four games in 10 weeks.
"Before we played Portadown, we had only played five games in 2009 and they had played 14.
“It’s hard to get momentum when that happens, there is something seriously wrong with these divisional association cups, something needs to be done about it.
“It’s ridiculous, and we’re free this Saturday and again on the 25th of April. Out of March and April we have three free Saturdays and still we only get four games in 10 weeks.”