It's cup or bust for United's season

And if the Sky Blues produce a similarly slip-shod performance against Glenavon at Mourneview Park this Saturday, that cup dream will also become history.

"I was at pains to point out before the game that the most important game was the Newry game – not the cup match," said manager Roy Walker.

"If we had won it we would have jumped a place – we couldn't do it, and too often we haven't been able to do it.

"For the first 25-30 minutes we passed the ball quite well, got in around the back, missed chances but looked relatively safe but for some reason, 10 minutes before half-time we looked relatively unsafe.

"I'm critical of the players. The second half was abject, a non-event. I couldn't pick out any outfield players really who came out of the second half with credit – I could see them all doing things they shouldn't have been doing.

"I thought our forwards were poor, they didn't hold it up or work hard enough, in midfield we had nothing really to offer and no-one really putting their foot on the ball and our passing was poor in there too often.

"We didn't get the width into the play even when we made the changes and as the game went on, when they brought on their sub, we looked porous and the back and looked like we could become undone.

"On another day, over the piece we would probably have lost the game so we have contrived to get a point but it was a very disappointing performance," added Walker.

Had Gary Muir not somehow shot wide of a virtually empty goal in the eighth minute – after Newry keeper Andy Coleman had scuffed a clearance from a back-pass into the Scot's path – the outcome might have been different.

Instead, the Ballymena goal led something of a charmed life for the remainder of the game, with Newry's Alan Davidson trundling a shot against the post, while United keeper Dwayne Nelson made several crucial saves.

Ballymena should have snatched an undeserved win in stoppage time when Kevin Kelbie burst into the box but he shot weakly at Coleman when laying the ball off to James McLaughlin for a tap-in would have been a better option.

Ballymena United: Nelson, M Smith, Colligan, Haveron, Stewart, Ramsey, Muir (sub McCaughern 87), Surgenor (Sub McLaughlin 57), A Smith, Kelbie, Watson (sub Cushley 57). Subs (not used): McConnell, O'Neill.

Newry City: Coleman, King, Munster, McDonnell, Black, Keegan, O'Connor, Davidson, Boyd (sub Graham 81), Rowe (sub Hazley 75), Garrett. Subs (not used): Devlin, Henderson, Feeney.

Referee: Simon Creaney (Newtownards).