FULL POST-MATCH REACTION: The view of Ballymena United's Jim Ervin following defeat to Larne

Here’s what he had to say after the 1-0 defeat at the Ballymena Showgrounds:

THOUGHTS ON THE GAME:

"The positives we can take from it is that we've held the league champions at home right until the death.

"We conceded a goal so early on and other teams could have crumbled, caved in and lost by three or four.

"We didn't and I thought we battled really well.

"They keep the ball really well and you expect that from Larne but I felt we were in their faces and we performed.

"I thought our game plan was executed to a tee - bar the result - as what we asked the players to do, they did that by staying in the game and we didn't take our chances.

STRIKERS NOT MUCH SERVICE:

"They were up against two beasts.

"Not giving anything away as we've studied Larne and watched a few bits and pieces, we were trying to do things to isolate one or the other.

"I thought at times we did that and Noah (Stewart) moved to play Mikey (Place) in for the opportunity he had.

"We are maybe disappointed that Mikey hasn't finished it but you have to give Rohan Ferguson credit because he pulled off a great save to keep them 1-0 up.

"Even towards the end when we pushed Kym (Nelson) up, I thought we were going to get something and we huffed and puffed to make it as nervy as possible at the end and hope something goes your way.

"I thought we did that and Larne were holding on.

"When you're at the end of the table that we're at, that's all you can ask of the players to stay in the game for as long as possible.

"If you look at their bench and our bench...Fraser Taylor has been sick all week, hasn't trained and we made a decision late on Thursday to bring him over.

"Michael Leddy has come down with a bug and hasn't been around the place for the week.

"We thought we would have been lucky to get 60 minutes out of Fraser but it proved to be 75 and I thought he was fantastic.

"You're bringing on a 17-year-old in David Taylor, you're bringing Johnny McMurray on and it's a young group and we're trying to build something.

"It's up to us to try and keep the momentum and performance levels going, but as I say, games are running out and it's crucial we get points behind now and the end of the season.

KEEP BELIEVING RESULTS WILL FOLLOW PERFORMANCES?:

"You have to.

"Football is all about confidence and if you're losing games, your confidence does go.

"The one thing I can say is that there's been very few times this season where I felt really let down by the players.

"There were a couple of scorelines that might have got away from us but disappointing performance levels have been few and far between.

"The majority of the time the performance levels have been there and the work ethic but it's just that end of the pitch we are struggling in terms of scoring goals.

"That's why strikers earn the big bucks in football because they're the ones who put the finishing touches and get the scorelines you're hoping for.