Larne victory has given Ballymena United confidence going into Irish Cup final showdown with Crusaders says captain Josh Kelly

The Sky Blues derailed any hopes the Inver Park outfit had of achieving a league-cup double during a historic campaign when teenage defender Craig Farquhar and a pinpoint free-kick from Douglas Wilson secured a win for Ballymena at Seaview – the home of Sunday’s opponents.

David Jeffrey’s men finished ninth in the Premiership table after a lacklustre campaign but enter their last match of the season on an unbeaten run of three matches and combined with the Larne triumph, Kelly says they are confident of pulling off another upset.

"The semi-final result and performance will give us a lot of confidence,” he said. "We set up really well that night and performed well.

"In the midst of that league run we beat Carrick and Ballyclare in the Irish Cup.

"Those results gave us a bit of respite from the league results.

"Even though the results weren't great we went to The Oval and conceded a late goal, we lost 1-0 away at Larne, so the performances were there even though the results weren't.

"Thankfully we managed to get over the line against Larne in the semi-final and now the boys are confident going into the final.”

Ballymena have endured a testing Irish Cup run and have certainly earned their spot in a second consecutive decider, where they will be hoping to exorcise the demons of last season when Crusaders scored with virtually the last kicks of both normal and extra time.

They started their journey to Windsor by beating fellow Premiership opposition in Carrick Rangers on penalties, convincingly dispatched Championship outfit Newington 4-1 and needed extra-time to get past Ballyclare Comrades before seeing off Larne.

"Whenever we were drawn against Carrick it was the only all-Premiership tie,” added Kelly.

"So going there, then taking on Newington, going to Ballyclare and then having to face the league champions we have certainly earned our right to be in the Irish Cup final.

"We have to take confidence from that as a group as our performances have been great throughout the competition.

"There's no reason why we can't take that into Sunday and deliver again.”

The 24-year-old, who arrived at the club from Ards in the summer of 2019, was named captain of the Showgrounds side ahead of this season.

Sunday will mark his – and Ballymena’s – third in four years and he’s hoping for a very different outcome after two devastating extra-time defeats at the hands of Glentoran and Crusaders.

"Over the course of this season, as captain I have taken on a bit more responsibility in terms of how the team play,” he said.

"I was thinking about this recently, as a younger player you hope you play well, and obviously you hope the team plays well.

"But whenever you're given the armband you take more responsibility for the performance and hope the team performs for you, as well as the manager and the fans.

"I will take that into the cup final and hope that as a team we can deliver on the pitch.

"I've been at Ballymena for four years and during that time you build a real affinity with the club.

"It would mean a lot to win the Irish Cup, not only for myself but for the group of players we have.

"The changing room is brilliant, and it has been for the four years I've been here.

"I've really enjoyed my time here and to get an Irish Cup after having lost two previous finals would be very special, hopefully we can go and do that."

Kelly will be involved in a midfield battle with Crusaders star man Philip Lowry – the roaming goal machine that is enjoying the best season of his career to date.

If the Sky Blues skipper is able to win that contest, it could go a long way to helping Ballymena get their hands of a trophy that has eluded them since 1989.

"You just need to look at his stats this season, I think he's 20-odd goals, he was in the Team of the Year and nominated for Player of the Year, so he's had a fantastic year,” he added.

"He's obviously a main threat for Crusaders given the goals he gets from midfield, but it would be wrong to focus on one player.

"Our focus is to go and win the game and not focus on any specific players.”

There will be no surprises for either side this time around with it being a rematch from that thriller 12 months ago.

"I think it is good to have a bit of familiarity about it, but it's not about the occasion for us this year, we're focused on the 90 minutes of football because we want to win a cup final,” added Kelly.

"This will be my third Irish Cup final, I've lost the last two, so ultimately my mindset and the rest of the players' mindsets is to go and win a game of football and get the cup.”