Lisburn Distillery's winning run of eight games may have ended, but the team still remain unbeaten in nine after this New Year's Day draw.

There was little to report in a first half that was pretty scrappy although City's Richard Clarke did hit the post after running on to a through ball and pushing it past Phil Matthews on 20 minutes.

The Whites thought they had taken the lead early in the second-half - but, the home side's protests were in vain on 52 minutes after Marty Verner's header had been kept out by City stopper Robert Robinson. The debate was whether or not the ball had crossed the line, in the eyes of the officials it hadn't, those closest seem to have thought otherwise.

Two minutes later however the Whites did take the lead Darren Armour put the Whites into the lead with a low drive into the bottom corner.

The game turned however on 73 minutes when Armour was dismissed, after a challenge on Clarke, by referee David Malcolm.

Newry came back to level three minutes later when subsitute Andy Crawford shot past Phil Matthews to relieve some of the pressure on Newry City boss Roy Coyle, the men from The Marshes had only one win since mid-November.