The scale of the occasion will not be lost on Dunmurry Rec captain Stephen McNeice when he leads his team out against Bangor for the Steel & Sons Cup final on Christmas Eve
The big centre back is relishing the opportunity to play in his first-ever Steel & Sons final with the Northern Amateur Football League at the age of 34.
It has been quite a journey for McNeice as he made the switch to Dunmurry after a decade of playing with his mates at South Antrim.
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He admitted he maybe had some regrets that he had not made the step up earlier in his career.
“Yes, maybe not doing it sooner," said McNeice.
"I still loved the time I had with my mates, because it was all my mates.
“You get a wee bit of regret not doing a wee bit early but there’s no better way to go out than this.
“I don’t think the younger ones appreciate how big it is, and maybe I didn’t as well.
“The fella that plays beside me, big Paddy Larkin, he knows and I think it’s starting to come across from him just how massive an occasion it is.
“I played in the Lisburn League for about 10 years, a shoutout to South Antrim, playing with my mates and getting changed in portacabins so this is completely different to what I’m used to.
“It’s unbelievable to get a chance to come and play in a final like this.
“Even when I first joined Dunmurry Rec, the difference in the clubhouses and all, going about different grounds, it’s just not what I was used to.
“It probably gets a wee bit snobby; when things weren’t going well at Dunmurry Rec last year and I was getting other offers to go to other places but I was thinking ‘I’m not going back to council pitches, I’ve a big changing room there’."
The Steel & Sons Cup final is one of the showpiece events of the football calendar.
Seaview is set to be packed out as Dunmurry Rec get set for their toughest challenge yet against high-flying Bangor, McNeice knows there will be nerves but says they have to concentrate on playing the game and not the occasion.
“It has to be. We have to stick to the game plan because it’s worked so far and it’s got us here," he said.
“People might ask if we’ll go out and have a good go at them but no, we haven’t done it in other rounds, so why do it now?
“We are mentally tough. We have a good squad, one of the best squads I’ve ever been involved with - player-wise and personalities. It’s a nice mix of youth and experience and it’s a good place to be about at the minute.
“I was nervous in the semi-final, walking out and there were only a couple of hundred people there so I don’t know what it’s going to be like but I’m sure it’ll be alright.
“You just have to enjoy the occasion. I’m 34 now and it’s something I’ll never see again."
As Dumurry Rec progressed through the rounds the the Steel & Sons Cup took priority over their league games, but McNeice is hoping they can kick on again in their bread butter for the second half of the season.
“We will get this out of the way as such and then we’ll get back to the league," he said.
"We are a far better team than what we have been showing in the league at the moment.
“We’ve had a couple of games when people have said we haven’t been doing it but it certainly doesn’t feel like anyone has downed tools in the league.
“There’s something there and after this we have to show how good we are and get moving back up the table.
“We can’t be involved in a relegation battle, we were last year but there's no way we’ll be in a relegation fight this year.”
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