Ballymena duo ‘Steel’ themselves for showpiece final

Arron Lemon and George Young are in the Larne squad who take on Bangor in the final of the Paddy Power Steel and Sons Cup at Seaview.

The competition is famous for its final traditionally taking place on Christmas Day but the match has been brought forward to Christmas Eve as December 25 falls on a Sunday.

The journey across Shane’s Hill has proved a beneficial one for Lemon and Young – who play on opposite flanks in Larne’s midfield – have rebuilt their careers at Inver Park following their release by Ballymena United last season.

Lemon has been a virtual ever-present for the Reds this season, while Young has only missed a handful of games.

Now, the 22-year-olds are hoping to star in the biggest game of their careers to date in front of a crowd which will surpass many Carling Premiership attendances.

“George and I both had the same attitude towards our football careers – we both want to play at as high a level as possible,” explains Arron, who had a successful loan spell with Wakehurst in the second half of last season.

“We were happy to drop down a level into the Championship in the hope that we might possibly get back to playing in the Premiership one day – if that was to be with Larne somewhere down the line it would be even better.

“We both wanted to play at a competitive level and while there is an obvious gap between the Premiership and Championship, Championship One is a good standard too.

“The final itself is really exciting for the club and the town of Larne.

“We feel we have a good enough squad to win the final but we lost 2-0 to Bangor in the league earlier in the season so we know that they are a good side,” added journalism student Arron.

For Young, son of former Ballymena United midfielder Stephen ‘Goosey’ Young, the final represents the highlight of his career so far.

“We’re all really excited – it’s a great final to be involved in,” said Young, an apprentice electrician.

“We’ve worked hard all year, we deserve to be there and hopefully we can go on and win it.

“I have a point to prove to myself. I was disappointed when I left Ballymena that I hadn’t made as many appearances or as big an impact as I had hoped.

“I was just wanting to play football competitively every week – I’m only going to get better by doing that.

“I would love to get back playing in the Premiership – it would be even better if I could do it with Larne.

“Even the semi-final was a taste of the atmosphere involved. There’s a lot of hype about the final and a lot of media coverage and it’s a great stage for a lot of players.

“There are a few fellas coming up from Ballymena who are going to be Larne fans for a day so hopefully we won’t let anybody down,” added George.