SHOWGROUNDS BASEMENT BATTLE ENDS ALL SQUARE
Newry City and Ballymena United battled to a share of the spoils in a bottom of the table clash at The Showgrounds.
The visitors might have seized the advantage early on when Daithi McCallion played Calvin McCurry through but his strike was well dealt with by Conor Mitchell.
At the other end Adam Salley broke away from his marker to test Sean O'Neill with a strong strike which the United keeper turned behind for a corner.
But Sean Brown came closest to breaking the deadlock in favour of the visitors just after the half-hour mark when he got past Noel Healy but could only look on as his subsequent effort came crashing back off the woodwork.
United might have moved in front around the hour mark when, following a scramble in the box, the ball eventually reached Fraser Taylor only for his shot to end up wide of the target.
Jim Ervin's side eventually grabbed the lead on 73 minutes. Substitute Noah Stewart ran through midfield before laying the ball off for Taylor who then found Brown with his cross from the right eventually reaching Stewart - who had continued his run - to slot home from close range.
However, it proved to be a short lived lead when Newry hit back just three minutes after that from a Georgie Poynton corner which reached Adam Salley and a bullet header past the outstretched O'Neill.
Newry City: Mitchell, King, Healy, McGivern, McKeown, Salley, Bagnall, Ball, Forde, Scullion, Doyle subs Maguire, McCaffrey, Carroll, J. McGovern, Poynton, McDonagh, P. McGovern
Ballymena United: O'Neill, Nelson, Rocks, McCullough, Taylor, McMurray, Boyle, Brown, Robinson, McCurry, McCallion subs Johnston, McGrory, Tennant, Place, Stewart, Barr, Leddy
Substitution 
Substitution 
