BALLYMENA United have been paired with Championship side Ards at home in the draw for the Fifth Round of the Irish Cup.

The draw which took place in Belfast this morning initially had drawn out the County Down side as the home team in the tie but due to their groundshare with Ballyclare Comrades and the fact the landlords are at home to Islandmagee - paved the way for a switch to the Ballymena Showgrounds.

Older fans will remember the two sides contesting the 1974 Irish Cup final in which Ards won 2-1 at Windsor Park in which Billy McEvoy scored the winning goal.

Since that final, the two sides have only met twice in Northern Ireland's most prestigious cup competition firstly at the quarter-final stage in 1978 when ironically Billy McEvoy (who transferred from Ards that season) scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory at the Showgrounds as the Braidmen went onto the final, only to lose to Linfield.

The only other meeting was in 1985 which also produced a single goal victory for the Sky Blues at the quarter-final stage - this time John Sloan scored the winner at the old Castlereagh Park.

The two clubs also met in the First Round during the 1957/58 season, which was the season Alex McCrae's side memorably went on to win the Irish Cup.

Tommy Kincaid's side currently lie 8th in the Ladbrokes.com Championship 1 table. The tie will be played on Saturday 16th January, 2010.