Linfield's 100th minute equaliser denies Sky Blues

Kyle McClean salvaged a point for Irish Premiership leaders Linfield with an 100th minute equaliser at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

Patrick McEleney thought he had scored the winner from the penalty spot, after the sides had gone in at the break level through Matthew Fitzpatrick's opener before Donal Rocks equalised midway through the first half.

Linfield hit the front on 12 minutes as Fitzpatrick pounced on a misplaced Duncan Idehen pass, slotting home beyond Sean O'Neill and into the bottom right-hand corner for his ninth league goal of the season.

Just as the visitors looked to be asserting themselves, Ballymena levelled through Rocks after a swift counter attack caught Linfield out.

Sam Roscoe came closest to putting the visitors back in front, with his towering header smashing the crossbar with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.

Instead it was the Sky Blues who hit the front as McEleney made no mistake from the spot after Chris McKee had brought down Andrew Scott inside the penalty area.

Just as the Sky Blues thought they had secured all three points, up popped McClean to rescue a point for Linfield who extended their lead at the top of the Irish Premiership to 20 points with their nearest challengers still to play on Saturday and Sunday.