The Ladbrokes.com Championship side raced into a shock lead after just four minutes when Paul Leeman and Sean Ward failed to deal with a long clearance allowing Mark McClelland to nip in and beat Elliott Morris in off the underside of the bar.

The Glens might have levelled ten minutes later when Kyle Neill crossed for Dean Fitzgerald only for 'keeper Allen Huxley to turn the ball away.

However, the visitors were given a boost on 25 minutes when the Comrades were reduced to ten men when Stuart Galbraith was dismissed by referee Keith Halliday following a clash with Fitzgerald.

Colin Nixon might have made this numerical advantage count six minutes from the break when he met a Neill delivery only for his header to drift past the left hand post.

Then, on 43 minutes, Keith Gillespie hit the inside of an upright with a speculative effort into the area ..... but moments later Nixon did grab the equaliser with another header from another Neill cross.

Alan McDonald's side almost moved into the lead four minutes after the break when Andrew Waterworth turned a Neill corner onto a post.

But, four minutes later, they too were reduced to ten men when Neill was sent-off for a bad tackle on Stuart McCullough and, indeed, might have fallen behind again on the hour when Scott Irvine found himself clear only to rattle the crossbar.

With a replay looking ever more likely Daryl Fordyce came within a whisker of snatching the win for the Glens only for Huxley to get down low to save his goalbound effort with five minutes left.

However, with just seconds remaining, Glentoran's blushes were spared when Comrades defender Andy Long was adjudged to have brought down Matt Burrows in the area with Gary Hamilton converting the resultant spot-kick.