'It will stick with me forever': Glentoran legend reflects on 'Big Two' memories - and why he thinks former club will win on Sunday

Having made 259 appearances and lifted a host of trophies across seven successful years at The Oval, Batey enjoyed many Blues battles, but Michael Halliday’s extra-time winner nearly 25 years ago holds a special place in his heart.

Batey’s Glens came out on the right side in eight of their 16 cup meetings against Linfield and he was in the dugout the last time the pair met in a final – the 2010/11 Co Antrim Shield triumph under manager Scott Young.

Englishman Batey departed the East Belfast club for Glenavon in 2002, but all these years later, he’s still able to vividly recall the memories from arguably the most special day of his career.

"The build-up was great...there was a big fuss made about it because it hadn't happened in so long and there was a big sell-out at Windsor,” he said. “It was a privilege to be captain.

"To walk out at Windsor as captain of Glentoran was an honour, it'll stick with me forever.

"No matter what people think about you as a player, you're always able to go back to the time you captained Glentoran to an Irish Cup against Linfield. To me, that was the pinnacle.

"Michael had one go in off his knee! I bumped into him recently...what a gentleman. He came across the road, we had a chat and hugged.

"That game was amazing. We occasionally chat about football and people would ask about my career...that team, you would look around the dressing room and think 'if we turn up, we will win this game'.

"In a certain period, I think it was one of the most successful Glentoran teams...there was no roaring or shouting before matches.

"When I first went to the Glens, Linfield were better than us and you mask a lot of it by banging your chest and flying into tackles, but after 15 minutes you'd realise they were better and that wasn't going to work. As we got better, we were calmer going into matches.

"We beat Linfield 4-2 in the Gold Cup and were 4-0 up, I remember Scott Young showboating.

"We had a game in the snow at The Oval too...there must have been four inches of snow and we tried to clear the lines.

"We got the orange ball out but after three minutes it went into the crowd and somebody burst it!

"We didn't have another one so we played with a white ball...if you watch it on YouTube, you can't see the ball, we made it onto Baddiel & Skinner in England.

"There were some really good games."

The careers of ‘Big Two’ players can be defined by results against city rivals, and this weekend’s BetMcLean Cup decider gives an opportunity for both sides to claim bragging rights.

With Glentoran making strides towards ending their 17-year Gibson Cup wait this season, Batey feels Declan Devine’s side are primed for success on Sunday.

"What this team has now is they've a nucleus of players who have made over 50 appearances for the club, which means they're embedded and know what it means,” he added. “Decky has a settled squad and keeps adding to it by bringing in good players.

"I don't think they're a million miles away at all. I hope they can finish the season very strongly...if I was a betting man, I’d be putting my money on Glentoran.”