Jamesie Kirk's lads had travelled down to County Armagh hopeful of clinching the runners-up medals with a win, but Niall Currie's all conquering Loughgall side put paid to that dream with the 1-0 result.

A draw would have been sufficient to pip Bangor for third position, but a nil return meant that the Reds ended in fourth place.

With the First Division trophy, the Intermediate Cup, the Mid Ulster Senior Cup, the Bob Radcliffe Cup and the Carnegie League Cup already in the trophy cabinet at their Lakeside Park headquarters, Loughgall were intent on finishing their clean sweep on a high, so this was no end of season meaningless fixture as far as they were concerned.

After having conceded four goals in an exciting midweek match in Portstewart with a makeshift central defensive partnership, Comrades were back to full strength with Ian Mannus in goal, and Michael Smith, Evan Forsythe, Ryan Murray and David Freyne forming the back four.

The regular midfield was restored with Joe McRoberts and skipper Stuart McClean in the centre, flanked by Mark Patterson and Gary Bell, while up front Darren McKay was recalled to partner Eddie Hill in an experienced attack.

The superb playing surface suited Ballyclare's passing game admirably, and they took control in the opening quarter. Eddie Hill came within inches of opening the scoring in the second minute, when his low shot flashed wide with Marc Robinson struggling to get across his line.

Except from one long range rocket from Moffatt, Ian Mannus was almost a spectator at the opposite end, as Comrades continued to force the pace. Strong claims for a penalty were turned down when a defender jumped straight in to Joe McRoberts when the pair were contesting a high cross, so the scorecard remained blank at the break.

Early in the second session the travelling fans felt that they had been denied a penalty a second time, when Gary Bell was floored from behind in the box. Joe McRoberts seemed to have broken the deadlock when his low effort was parried by Robinson; the ball was trickling towards the net, but a defender managed to clear off the line as Darren McKay closed in for the kill.

Comrades continued their attacking policy in an attempt to get that all important win, but they were caught out by a long ball over the top to Barron, who fired in to the bottom corner giving Mannus no chance.

In a last throw of the dice manager Jamesie Kirk introduced Conor Mulholland, Kyle Agnew and Adam dick for Hill, Patterson and Freyne, and Mulholland and Dick both came close to salvaging a point as the seconds ticked away.

Commenting Jamesie Kirk said, "We had eighty per cent of possession, but we couldn't make the decisive breakthrough. We were all bitterly disappointed at not being able to secure the runners-up spot, so in the end we finished in fourth position, behind second placed Dundela and Bangor.

"Overall this has been a very successful year.