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Jeff Hughes admits he learned the hard way that getting to a final counts for nothing if you don’t win it.

Hughes brought his first spell with Larne to a close with a 5-1 thumping from Portadown in the 2005 Irish Cup final. It was a tough day for the then 20-year-old, but it’s one which has stuck with him since.

“It was fantastic to play at Windsor Park that day for Larne in the Cup final,” he said.

“It was the proudest moment of my career. It was also an emotional day and it taught me how cruel football can be when I was very, very young.

“We got hammered during the game in the quarter-finals against Loughgall and scraped through the replay.

“The same happened in the semi-finals against Ballymena, and then in the final against Portadown we got hammered in the game and with the scoreline.

"It taught me that fairy tales don’t always come true in football.

“This year we’ve got there but we have won nothing yet. We have to come down to earth and prepare well.”

Hughes is delighted fans will be back for the game saying: “I’m going to have a fight now with the family to see who gets their one and only ticket.”

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Jeff Hughes knows fairy tales don’t always come true