Robert Reid's lads,went in to this crucial match in pole position, but after being whitewashed they now drop to third, behind new leaders Kilbride Swifts and Mosside.
The loss of influential midfielder Paul McAllister and Johnny Crooks around the half hour mark through injury proved to be too much for the villagers, who however were still in with a chance at the halfway stage when they were two down, having battled against a near gale force wind.
In the second session Ballynure did most of the attacking but failed to hit the target, and three minutes from time Mosside made sure of the Ballymena Intermediate League points with a third strike.
With the elements in their favour Mosside forced the visitors to defend in depth, and eventually their efforts were rewarded in the 26th minute when a swirling cross in to the goalmouth caused confusion, and one of their strikers touched in at the back post, giving Simon Hamilton no chance.
Simon was often in action but was not seriously tested owing to the robust tackling of the back four - Glenn Meikle, Karl Woods, Stuart Murray and skipper Stephen Taylor - but he had to retrieve the ball from the net again in the 41st minute when the home left winger netted with a header. In first half injury time Hamilton came to the rescue with a stunning save when the locals seemed set to increase the lead.
Nure's scoring chances had been few and far between, the best of which fell to leading scorer Ronnie Burns. In the 31st minute he got in behind the defence for a one on one with the keeper, but uncharacteristically he failed to hit the target.
Roles were reversed after the interval with Mosside having to defend most of the time. Ronnie Burns, Terry Lyness and Mark Leckey each tested the athleticism of the keeper several times, but still their side of the scorecard remained blank.
Burns seemed certain to reduce the deficit when he took on the keeper successfully, but ran out of space and the ball ended in the side-netting.
Three minutes from time Ballynure were caught out by a quick counter-attack, and when John Guy took out an opponent in the box, the referee immediately awarded a penalty from which Mosside sealed the 3-0 win.
Commenting club president Michael Graham said, "The loss of Paul McAllister and Johnny Crooks midway through the first half was a body blow. Having said that we were happy enough to turn round only two down, knowing that we would have the benefit of a near gale force wind blowing straight down the pitch.
"As expected we had almost a monopoly of attacking play after the break, but our forwards had left their shooting boots at home! Paul McAllister's knee injury seems to be quite serious, and he is likely to be out for the remainder of the season, along with other long term injury casualties Gary Burns and Karl Mullan.
"However plans are afoot to strengthen the squad so we are not saying goodbye to the title just yet. With twelve fixtures to fulfil there are likely to be a few twists and turns in the run-in," ended Michael.
Ballynure OB: S Hamilton; G Meikle, K Woods, S Taylor (C), S Murray; M Duff, P McAllister, J Crooks, M Leckey; R Burns, T Lyness. Subs: G Harvey, J Guy, G Graham.
This weekend Ballynure entertain Dunloy at Parkview Hockey Club grounds.