Andy McGrory has experienced the highest of Irish Cup highs, winning it twice at Glenavon, but one of his biggest career regrets remains not getting over the line in any of three finals with Ballymena United.

After losing out in extra-time to Glentoran in 2020 – a final which was attended by only 500 spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic – another crushing blow awaited two years later.

With Ballymena mere seconds away from ending their 33-year wait for Irish Cup glory, Josh Robinson equalised in the dying moments of normal time before Johnny McMurray struck a 121st-minute winner for Crusaders.

David Jeffrey’s last match in charge of the Sky Blues came 12 months later, departing after a 4-0 loss to the same opponents at the same stage.

placeholder image — Andy McGrory celebrates winning the Irish Cup with Glenavon in 2014. (Photo by William Cherry/Presseye)

It’s often the ones you didn’t win, the ‘what ifs’, that stick with you most, and McGrory believes Ballymena would have been worthy winners on a number of occasions.

"The Irish Cup has been good and bad to me over the years!" he said. “I've played in five finals...I lost all three with Ballymena but won two with Glenavon.

"There's not too many that get to that many finals so it has been good to me.

"Not getting over the line in some, the one against Glentoran in Covid times when Robbie McDaid scored the winner, I thought we were the better team that day.

"The heartbreaking one is when Crusaders beat us 2-1, scoring with the last touch in both normal and extra time. That was a total heartbreaker, it took a long time to get over that...it took me months to forget about that game.

"Even now when I see highlights pop up, I still can't bring myself to watch Johnny McMurray score the goal. That was just brutal, it was so cruel.

"I thought we were the better team, it was just a couple of injuries came at the wrong time and key players had to go off the pitch which changed the game and momentum. It’s a regret that I wasn't able to get one with Ballymena.

"We had no luck whatsoever...I think I might have played five or six finals with Ballymena and didn't win any.”

Now back at boyhood club Ballymacash Rangers, McGrory wants to use his experience to help propel the third-tier outfit to new heights.

Ballymacash travel to Championship high-flyers H&W Welders on Saturday, and while realistic about his chances of enjoying another day out at Windsor Park in May, McGrory still has sights set on success.

"It's massive for us as a club,” he added. “Ballymacash played Glentoran a couple of years ago at this stage and we would love to keep going as far as we can.

"We know it's going to be highly unlikely for us to win the Irish Cup, but it would be nice to see if we can get a result and draw one of the big teams at home. It's a big payday for the club if we can get that, that's all we're hoping for.

"The Welders are a well-established side and Paul Kee has put together a really good team with a lot of players capable of playing in the Premiership.

"It will be tough for us but we'll go down there and give it a go. We're going in as underdogs so we've nothing to lose."