Loughgall boss Dean Smith looking to move on quickly from "bad day at the office" against Carrick Rangers

​The Villagers have undoubtedly been the surprise package of the season so far after defeating champions Larne and picking up points on the road at both Cliftonville and Crusaders.

Further victories over Newry City, Dungannon Swifts and Ballymena United mean Smith’s side are sitting seventh on 15 points after the first complete round of fixtures.

"It (the season so far) has been fantastic,” he said. "We have 15 points and I just said to the players that we need to put this one to bed quickly because this is the first one in 11 that we’ve been off it.

"We just have to reset and get another 15 points from our next 11 games – that’s how we have to break it down.

"We have our own goals and aspirations and sometimes you just have to accept that it was a bad day at the office.”

Loughgall took an early lead through Jay Boyd before conceding three times prior to the break before substitutes Andrew Hoey and Benji Magee netted in the second-half.

Magee has been a real bright spark for the County Armagh outfit this season with the 21-year-old netting a third Premiership goal of the campaign, adding to previous strikes against Crusaders and in the famous victory over Larne.

"We’ve always got Benji in the back of our minds because he’s a game changer whether he starts or comes off the bench,” added Smith. "Maybe today I’ve got to hold my hands up and say I’ve got it wrong because we started with two players who are similar up front in Nathaniel (Ferris) and Jay Boyd and it probably didn’t work.

"I have to hold my hands up and say I got that selection wrong and maybe we should have started Benji, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”

The main cause of disappointment for Smith lay in the manner in which his side conceded their goals.

"It was a bit of a crazy game from our point of view,” he said. "We probably concede four goals that is very unlike Loughgall and it’s really disappointing.

“It probably takes us too long to find our identity again (after conceding) and come out and play football.”