When Ballinamallard’s new goalkeeper Joel Little takes to the pitch on Saturday to make his debut against Ballyclare Comrades he will be fulfilling a long-held ambition to play for the Mallards. 

The 25 year old from Augher has joined the club on loan from Annagh United as a replacement for the departed Jamie Ray, and he is delighted that his first few weeks at the club have lived up to his expectations.

“I always wanted to play at Ballinamallard,” he revealed.

“I am absolutely loving the club. I have settled in really well, and a few of the other players have said to me that they think I have settled in very well. I’m glad I joined. I have a very good relationship with everyone already and Decy McIntyre, the goalkeeper coach, is a brilliant coach. It is fantastic.”

Little started his goalkeeping career at Fivemiletown United. He made a brief move to Armagh City before signing for Annagh United in January 2021.

He became a regular first-team starter for Annagh in October 2022 and kept clean sheets in both of his two matches against Ballinamallard that season, but injury curtailed his playing time and he has now made the move to Ferney Park in a bid to get his career back on track.

“For me, I want to get back playing every week, and help get the club back to towards the top of the table again,” he said.

“When I first signed for Annagh I was on the bench but then the keeper got injured and that was my chance to step in. I played for a few months starting every game, but then I broke my hand in January 2023.

"I was out for the rest of the season and I didn’t really get back in since then. It was very frustrating being injured and I was fed up sitting on the bench. I wanted to go out on loan, and my manager at Annagh was happy to send me out on loan, but they wanted me to stay in the Championship.

"He contacted Ballinamallard and they spoke to me after that.”

Little has been a regular between the posts since his arrival, and he admits he has been happy with how quickly he has settled back into regular first-team action.

“I have been very happy with how I have played in pre-season,” he said.

“I’ve actually performed better than I thought I would. Having not been playing for a year I thought I would be a wee bit rusty, but I’m very happy with how I’ve played in every game so far.”

With the warm-up games now behind them, Little and his new teammates start their NIFL Championship fixtures this weekend, and the new keeper cannot wait to get started.

“We are looking forward to it,” he said.

“We have played well in pre-season, and we played very well against Dungannon, Loughgall and Portadown, so we do fancy ourselves but it's hard to know at the start of the season what everyone else is like."