Team's resilience pleases Kearney

"We have said all season that we wouldn't make excuses and this was another one of those. We said to the boys at half-time that the referee wasn't going to do us any favours.

"We said it wasn't going to be one of those occasions were you look back at the end of the season and say it cost us. Days like these are were the quality teams want to push to the final whistle and win the game.

"Good teams take three points and move on to the next game and although we left it late to do that I'm over the moon we did," said Kearney.

The former Ballymena United and Linfield midfielder wasn't so happy about allowing Banbridge back into the game.

"It was disappointing to go one ahead and then concede a goal in the manner that we did.

"However, that said fair play to Marty McNutt who apologised to the rest of the team after the game for his mistake.

"It was a crazy pass and mistake to make and to his credit he held his hands up to it.

"Credit the hunger of the players however too; They didn't stop and kept going right to the end.

"Last Tuesday we got hit by a sucker punch against DC and today we delivered one but that's football."

Looking ahead to the run in until the end of the season the Ballymoney man is just happy to keep in it for as long as possible.

"Our aim really is just to keep ourselves in it for as long as possible even though we have a little bit of breathing room.

"If we are still in it with four or five games to go then that will be brilliant because we want to be there.

"We want to stay in the mix for as long as possible and we have some of the big games at home.

"If Banbridge play the way they did today then not many teams will take three points from them and I think DC and Loughgall have to come here too," concluded Kearney.