Dwayne has already got his hands on cup!

The United goalkeeper represented the club at the tournament’s press launch earlier this season, where he was pictured holding the trophy with his Linfield counterpart Jonny Tuffey.

Sadly, that was the extent of Dwayne’s Irish Cup involvement this year after a cruciate knee ligament injury ended this season prematurely but he is still aware of exactly how big the occasion is, having played for Dungannon Swifts when they lost on penalties to Linfield in the 2007 final.

“I saved the first two before Glenn Ferguson scored the third one for Linfield.

“I thought I was going to get my hands on the cup that day but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s a great feeling - in my mind it’s the best football fixture in the calendar year.

“It’s a big day out and it creates a big buzz for the clubs involved.

It really gutting for me but at the same time I’m really pleased for the team and the club.

I think Ballymena deserves to be in the final - it’s not going to happen every year but the ambition should certainly be there to try and reach finals more often.

“We got a taste for it with the County Antrim Shield final last year and now we have the biggest one of the lot to look forward to.

“Aaron Shanahan has come in and done really well in goals.

“I speak to him regularly and I’m really pleased that he has reached the cup final.

His save against Queen’s in the semi-final was the turning point of the game for me and saves can be as important as goals,” says Dwayne, who aims to be back fit for the start of pre-season training.