CO ANTRIM SHIELD: David Healy urges fans to roar Linfield to victory

Both sides approach the first domestic final of the season on the back of a dramatic Irish Cup fifth round tie at the weekend, when big Guy Bates conjured up a last gasp extra time winner to take the Blues into the next round.

The Blues’ trophy cabinet has remained empty for two years. In fact, the Shield was the last piece of silverware to reside at the international venue following a penalty shoot-out success against Crusaders on March 4, 2014.

Healy is determined to end the famine and insists the supporters can play their part.

“I want the fans to come out and give us their backing,” he said. “They can play a massive part. I urge them to turn up in big numbers and support us like they have been doing and hopefully we can deliver for them.

“The club has been deprived of silverware for far too long. Our trophy quest starts with this Shield final. This is the chance for us to get up and running. The fans were a wee bit quiet on Saturday, but I think that was down to nerves.

“Now I want them to roar us on; it means so much to the players. We had the boys in on Sunday. We didn’t do a lot, it was more preparation for the final.”

It will be Healy’s first final since succeeding Warren Feeney earlier this season, but it’s one he is relishing.

“It means a lot to me, but it means more to the club and the people, who give the opportunity to manage this great club.

“We were all scratching our heads when we went through the lean spell in November. So, if we can win the Shield, it will be a wee thank you to them and to the supporters who stuck by me and by the players.”

Although the Northern Ireland legend has already enjoyed two victories over the Sky Blues in his short time in the job, he admits that counts for nothing.

“We’ve beaten them twice in the last three weeks, but that will not make one blind bit of difference,” Healy said.

“It’s an one-off cup tie. I know they have a good cup record. They are a good side with a strong manager. They have good players. It will be another big test of character for our boys.”

Young Paul Smyth must sit out an automatic one game ban following his dismissal at the weekend, which means Healy must reshuffle his pack, while defender Chris Hegarty was forced off with cramp.

On the plus side, Mark Stafford returns to the squad after serving a ban.

United manager Glenn Ferguson also faces a defensive headache due to Johnny Taylor’s red card just minutes from the end of extra time.

“It has given me a problem for the final, but it’s one I’ll deal with,” said Spike.

“I was disappointed. Johnny picked up a yellow card early in the game and I warned him the referee would try to even it up after Paul Smyth’s dismissal.

“Gary Thompson had stitches inserted in a head wound after Saturday’s game, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.

“We certainly can take a lot of encouragement from our performance on Saturday. What annoyed me slightly was the fact that we didn’t start to play until Linfield scored,” he added.

“I’ll have the boys lifted, but they shouldn’t need lifted - it’s a cup final. We’ll got to Windsor Park to take the game to Linfield. We need to play better than we did on Saturday and we’ll need to defend better.”

In his first season in charge at the Braid, Ferguson led United to a Shield success in 2012 against the Blues, albeit on a nerve tingling penalty shoot-out.

He adds: “We were underdogs four years ago at the Oval and managed to upset the form book. Anything can happen in a cup final.”