Co Down village 'will be deserted' as Amateur League club prepare for dream Irish Cup trip
The message relaying around Drumaness ahead of Saturday is very much ‘last one out turn the lights off’ as the Co Down village’s football team prepare to enjoy their day in the sun.
Amateur League outfit Drumaness Mills are the lowest-ranked team remaining in the Irish Cup, reaching the sixth round for only a second time in club history, and have been handed a dream draw away to 23-time champions Glentoran.
According to the 2021 census, the population of Drumaness stands at 1,309 and a large majority of those occupants will be making a trip to The Oval this weekend alongside a host of former players.
Days like these don’t tend to happen too often for a club like Drumaness Mills, who were formed in 1929 and have spent their entire existence in the Northern Amateur Football League (NAFL) system.
They’ve won four league titles, four Border Cup crowns and three Clarence Cups, but nothing quite compares to the buzz surrounding the build-up to Saturday’s showdown.
Laurence Clarke has been involved with Drumaness Mills since first moving to the village in 1982, immediately falling in love with the club, and serves as their chairman.
Clarke has been pinching himself ever since Mills were drawn against Glentoran following last month’s 4-1 victory over Armagh City and admits he’s counting down the hours.
"The fact we've got through to the sixth round of the Irish Cup is totally surreal,” he said. "We have a big supporters bus coming up and lots of people are travelling up with their families.
"Drumaness will be deserted on Saturday, I think they'll be pulling down the shutters!
"It's hard to know how many fans we will bring, but anybody I have been talking to is going.
"Being realistic, you don't expect a team from the Amateur League to beat the likes of Glentoran, but it's the cup and anything can happen.
"You would just like to put your clock forward to Saturday morning because we can't wait, but life doesn't work like that! It seems to drag and your mind is all on Saturday, Saturday, Saturday...if you're involved in football you understand that.
"You want it for your players and supporters because they've been fantastic over the years, so it's like a little reward for them too to be able to say 'we were there'.
"The buzz about the village is fantastic - every time you go into the shop, somebody is talking to you about it and jokingly asking me 'are you going to the match?'.
"It's a fantastic opportunity. Some of the younger players wouldn't have played anywhere near this level so it's fantastic for them.
"It's also great for the children of our players to see their dads out there playing against Glentoran, it doesn't get any better."
While Glentoran booked their spot at this stage after beating Strabane Athletic 4-0 last month, Drumaness’ Irish Cup campaign began back in August.
They’ve had to navigate past Irish League opposition in Newry City and Armagh City, come through a penalty shootout against Desertmartin and were on the right side of a 10-goal thriller with Fivemiletown United, winning 6-4.
Realistic about their chances of ultimately winning an Irish Cup, the prize all lower-league teams are searching for is an opportunity to test their skills against Northern Ireland’s elite.
With gate receipts split between the two clubs, Drumaness are also set to benefit from a healthy financial windfall on Saturday – money which will go a long way as they continue upgrading facilities at their Meadowvale base.
"We were all dreaming of getting one of the big teams, but to actually pull one of them was amazing,” added Clarke. “It was surreal, but we've earned it.
"We want to show that on Saturday. The Glens are magnificent...when you look at their January signings, they mean business.
"Anything we get financially will be fantastic to push us forward. All Amateur League clubs struggle to pull large crowds, push themselves forward and improve facilities...a lot of rules have changed over the years and we're having to upgrade our facilities.
"It's the prestige as well, the opportunity to showcase our talents on this stage, it doesn't come around that often. You have to enjoy it.”
Glentoran and Drumaness are separated by 45 league positions – one is looking to seal a return to European football and bolstered their squad with high-profile January additions, while the other has sights set on scaling NAFL’s Premier Division from their current spot of 10th.
However, Newington proved in 2012 that scaling such a mountain isn’t impossible for Amateur League clubs, beating the Glens 1-0 in what is still one of the competition’s biggest-ever upsets.
"I'm trying to stay very grounded!” laughed Clarke when asked about the chances of a shock result. “Sometimes in your dreams you think of some of the comic books you read in the past of the underdog beating the big guy, you can only dream.
"It's only human to dream, but I try not to let those thoughts enter my head too often!
"It's a big opportunity for us, we're trying to develop as a club and community and they go hand in hand together. We're lucky in a small village likes ours that the community support us so well."