Instonians' Paul Pritchard points to ‘confidence and execution’ plus over AIL
Only five points divide first and ninth in AIL Division 1B and, after two consecutive wins, Instonians stand seventh four points off top sport while City of Armagh sit two above the Belfast rivals on the same tally.
Instonians host second-place Trinity at Shaws Bridge today with the game being moved forward to a 1pm kick-off.
Inst player/coach Paul Pritchard is delighted with how his players have responded after losing the first two games.
“I think the two losses were both very different,” said Pritchard. “Garryowen...we were fairly happy, as happy as you can be on a loss.
"Any time we go there, they play extremely well...we were very, very close to that game, which we felt we could have won it and we came away with a lot of positives.
“Then, going into Highfield at home, we were very disappointed after the game...we just were unable to build momentum, probably just showed a little bit of naivety at times.
“I thought the boys bounced back brilliantly...Nenagh is a very hard place to go and how we played that day was outstanding.
"Then last week against high-flying Naas our effort was outstanding...I think the main thing that myself and Ricky (Andrew) highlighted on the Tuesday was how big our effort was and that's what you need to do.
"And that's what we'll need to do this weekend.
“The biggest thing for us was making sure we kept confidence...we were probably bottom of the league at one stage.
“We haven't really been there before and you're losing two games at the start, we haven’t suffered those habits since I've been there...so, it was making sure that we weren't trying to change too much and over-react to the situation.
“It's very early, the confidence and execution against Nenagh were outstanding...so we're happy with how we reacted.
“We played Trinity three times last year, so we’re sort of getting used to these teams and what to expect...extremely hard-working team, athletic group of guys.”
Chris Parker wants Armagh to start turning narrow defeats into wins as they travel to Naas.
“It’s a one-point defeat...a two-point defeat – we're still picking up points on the road but it's very much games we could have and should have won,” said Parker. “I think when we look at it with the group that we've got and the youthfulness, they're learning every week and they maybe haven't been in these situations that often.
"They need that experience being in these situations and learning how to make better decisions...I think we're getting there and it’s experience, you can't buy it. We'll get there...the table is just crazy and every point matters.
"Traditionally, we haven't really picked up many bonus points...so to have picked up something out of every game, it's certainly reviewing it as a positive.”
Basement club Ballynahinch travel to Clontarf in Division 1A. In 2A, leaders Ballymena host Wanders and it’s second against third as Dungannon travel to Cashel, while Queen’s go to Limerick to face UL Boh’s.