Institute face club's biggest game in almost 30 years today

Ballinamallard vs. Institute

Ferney Park

Today, 3pm

Eddie Seydak insists he does not need to lecture his players on just how massive today’s game at Ballinamallard is in Institute FC’s history.

The former Derry City coach has been placed in charge of team affairs following the departure of manager Brian Donaghey on Monday after a run of just two wins in 21 games that has left ‘Stute on the precipice pf relegation from senior football.

With just one league game remaining. The best that ‘Stute can hope for is a relegation play-off, but they can still be automatically relegated if they don’t match Knockbreda’s result against H&W Welders.

It is not an ideal situation for any manager to come into, and Seydak has no choice but to dive in head first with everything on the line.

“The situation is quite clear,” he acknowledged. “We need to try and get a win. We’re going to prepare as best we can and hopefully continue the good work that Brian Donaghey started. The only thing I would change is that I would like to have that wee bit of luck that has eluded him over the last few months. If we perform to our ability and have that wee bit of luck, then hopefully we can do well.”

‘Stute have lost 13 of their last 21 games stretching back to November, and it was clear during the most recent defeat to Newington that the players’ confidence was at a season-long low. Addressing that before Saturday is one of Seydak’s priorities.

“It can be difficult, but I think the players are good enough to get the result we need,” Seydak continued.

“After a poor performance or a blow par performance, the best you can do is get back out on the pitch and make amends for it. The only people who can do anything about the situation are the players. They are in a lucky position. The Chairman can’t do anything, the Secretary can’t do anything, I can’t do much; once they go onto the pitch, it’s all down to them. The players are quite able to perform to a high level.”

Imbalance

Scoring goals has been a huge problem for ‘Stute since the turn of the year, and while Sean McCarron has done well with five goals since his arrival in January, only three other players have chipped in with goals. With just one clean sheet also in 21 games, there is a severe imbalance where it matters most.

“It’s a bad combination conceding goals and not scoring them yourself, but I think a lot of it comes down to confidence,” Seydak said. “We’re hoping that myself and Gary Forth will be able to help them and we can get a result. For a good part of the season, the team has been working hard and sometimes you just don’t get that luck that you deserve, but hopefully that will be with us.”

Institute have not played at Intermediate level since 1995, and they certainly do not want to leave senior football, making this weekend’s game the biggest for the club in close to 30 years.

“It’s absolutely massive and the players know that,” Seydak stated. “They don’t need a lecture from me to know it’s a big match. If you’re in football, you want to play in the big matches, preferably at the top of the league, but this is also a huge match.

“When they go on in their lives, hopefully they can look back and say that when Institute needed a win, I was in that team that got the result we needed and it was a great day. It can be a good memory for them if they perform well and get the result we need.”