Withnell scored Ballymena's first two goals against Carrick on Saturday

Ballymena United will be without injured pair Peter Withnell and Joe Gray in Tuesday's TFG Sports County Antrim Shield final against Glentoran (1945 GMT).

Withnell limped out of United's 3-2 home win over Carrick Rangers on Saturday because of a hamstring pull while Gray is also injured.

Ballymena boss Kenny Shiels described the unavailability of the pair as a "huge blow".

"In particular, Joe Gray is a big, big player for us," said Shiels.

"But we'll rally the troops and play our open game as we always do".

The Braidmen were unlucky to lose 5-3 against Glentoran in the CIS Cup semi-final in November.

However, Ballymena's form has dipped considerably since then and Glentoran will go into Tuesday's final as huge favourites.

We're no mugs if we can get our game together Kenny Shiels

"Glentoran have kicked on since then and we have stuttered considerably," agreed Shiels.

"We don't want to go up there and produce an inept performance but we've been playing much better away from home than at the Showgrounds so that gives us a bit of hope.

"We're no mugs if we can get our game together".

Glentoran will be aiming to win their fifth County Antrim Shield in six seasons but Roy Coyle insists his players won't underestimate the First Division team.

"Finals are finals, one-off games, and it's all about preparing properly and getting the players to do a specific job on the night," said Coyle.