Homers aiming to reach Junior Shield final

Fresh from reaching their fourth successive Junior Cup final earlier this week, Robert Duddy’s men now turn their attention to Thursday night’s Junior Shield semi-final.

They take on old foes Lower Shankill at Spamount playing fields in Holywood, with a place in the decider up for grabs.

“It’s another massive game for us,” Duddy told Times Sport.

“We played them in then semi-final of the Junior Cup last year.

“It will be a tough game, no doubt about that - I watched them on Saturday and they are a quality side.

“Before the game on Monday night, we have 24 guys sitting in the dressing room and we have to tell eight of them they;re not even in the squad - that’s a really hard task.

“To be fair to them, every one of them has supported their team-mates and they know they will probably get a chance on Thursday night.

“We’ll switch it around a bit and give the squad a run.

“You don’t want to put the cart before the horse but if we were lucky enough to get that far, it would be an unbelievable achievement for a Saturday Morning League team to reach the two biggest junior competitions.

“But that’s what keeps us motivated and keeps driving us on,” added Duddy.