‘Archie’ set for 100th United appearance tonight

At the age of 21, ‘Archie’ has clocked up three figures and he looks set to follow in the footsteps of his father Alfie and enjoy a distinguished Irish League career.

Unsurprisingly Aaron, a man with a keen eye for the finer statistical details of the game, was fully switched-on to his impending milestone.

“Yes, I had that in mind when I noticed at the end of last season that I was on 95 games,” he told Times Sport.

“It’s hard to believe that it’s near enough three years since I made my debut and now I’ve reached this milestone.”

While other players have reached the 100 game mark, Stewart’s achievement has particular significance as he came through the club’s youth system and he hopes that his exploits send out a positive message to the next generation of would-be Ballymena players.

“I guess it shows that if you work hard enough, mixed with the ability, then there’s a chance for you.

“There have been plenty of young players who have come through the youth system and maybe played a handful of games without fully establishing themselves so it shows that simply reaching the first team isn’t the end of it – you have to keep working and progressing.

“I suppose my situation maybe gives young players in Ballymena a bit of hope and maybe I’m a kind of role model for what they want to be.”

While tonight’s game is a personal triumph for ‘Archie, only a positive result against newly-promoted Carrick will give the defender any cause for celebration.

“I’m looking forward to it and hopefully it can be 10 points from five games which would be pretty good start.

“We had a terrible performance against Crusaders and threw away two points against Glenavon but 10 points by the end of August would certainly be a good start to the season,” added Aaron.