They came closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening half-an-hour or so when Paddy McLaughlin hit the crossbar on 23 minutes.

Gareth Harkin then saw a goalbound effort well tipped away by Tuda Murphy followed by a Stephen Dooley mis-kick from just a few yards out as the visitors continued to look the more likely to find a way through.

For Glenavon Tony Grant found himself one-on-one with Davy O'Hare only for the Bannsiders 'keeper to clear the danger before Grant could get a shot in while a Gary Liggett effort towards the break just skimmed an upright.

But their best effort came just before the break when Trevor Molloy was denied by a goalline Howard Beverland clearance after he attempted to knock home the rebound from a Conor Walsh effort.

After the break Bannsiders Jody Tolan came agonisingly close to finding a way through only to thwarted by a superb Murphy save when he knocked the ball onto the post and away to safety.

Indeed, the woodwork was to play an increasingly important role in this ultimately scoreless encounter.

The visitors rattled it again on 79 minutes - twice - when first a Stephen Carson effort struck the post before Kyle McVey's follow-up cannoned against the crossbar.

And Glenavon had similar luck. By now playing with ten following Molloy's dismissal for his part in an incident with Beverland they too were denied by the fittings when Hugh Dickson crashed a header from a Hugh Carvill corner off the bar.

Dickson was also in the thick of the action right at the end when he popped up on his goalline to clear a Tommy McCallion effort away to earn the Lurgan Blues a share of the spoils.