Ballymena United sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the BetMcLean Cup with a 1-0 win over Ards at the Showgrounds.

The Sky Blues edged past the dogged visitors thanks to an early strike by Donal Rocks.

Irish Premiership outfit Dungannon Swifts survived a scare at Stangmore Park before wrapping up their tie against Premier Intermediate side 3-1 Dollingstown.

The Swifts, winners of the trophy in 2018, fell behind when Kyle McGuigan fired Dollingstown into a shock lead.

placeholder image — Donal Rocks scored the winner for Ballymena United in a narrow 1-0 win over Ards at the Showgrounds

However, the home supporters’ nerves were finally settled when Andrew Mitchell bagged a leveller in the 68th minute before Dungannon forged ahead around 10 minutes later when John McGovern found the target.

The home side put the game to bed in injury time when James Knowles made it 3-1.

There was drama at Holm Park as Championship side Armagh defeated Glenavon on penalties.

The two sides could not be separated throughout normal time and extra-time as the tie remained scoreless, but Armagh eventually held their nerve to edge the shootout 8-7 with Jack Clarke firing the winning penalty.

Annagh United saw off Queen’s University 2-0 at home, with Kenny Ximines opening the scoring in the first half before Jack Hastings sealed the outcome.

Larne’s tie against Institute will be played on November 19 due to the Irish Premiership champions’ UEFA Conference League commitments, while Linfield will play Glentoran on December 3.

The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be held on Wednesday at 15:00 GMT.