'A brilliant day for the club' - Bailie on Ards victory

Ards manager John Bailie says he doesn't see the 2-1 win over Ballymena United in the Irish Cup as an upset.

Goals from Lee Newell and Aidan Steele gave the Championship side a 2-0 lead at the Showgrounds.

Ethan Devine pulled one back for the Premiership hosts but Ards held firm to earn a place in the sixth round.

"It's a brilliant day for the club - a difficult day, the pitch was difficult to play on," said Bailie.

"Any win in the Irish Cup is a massive day and we're really pleased to be in the sixth round.

"We haven't really saw it as an upset - that's not degrading Ballymena. We came here two months ago in the League Cup and lost 1-0. Truth be told we were unlucky to lose."

Ards, who sit seventh in the Championship, have been drawn away to Belfast Celtic or Moyola Park in the last 16.

"We've quite a few players missing and we've come here with our form in the league patchy but our performances have been very good - that's been frustrating for me as a manager.

"We've tried to drum into our players that against anyone we've quite a bit of quality in our squad.

"Ballymena threw the kitchen sink at us in the second half and I think we deserved our rewards today."