'A really proud moment for myself and my family' - Former Irish League youth product plays starring role as Rangers secure Scottish Youth Cup glory

Highly-rated goalkeeper Mason Munn, who spent time on the books of Glentoran before departing for the Glasgow giants in 2022, started the game and ex-Linfield duo Blaine McClure and Callum Burnside both came off the bench.

Aged 18, Munn saved two penalties in their semi-final victory over Dundee United and once again starred, producing a number of stunning saves, including in the 86th minute as Aberdeen’s youngsters pushed for an equaliser.

He has previously been linked with a move to Premier League giants Arsenal and represented Northern Ireland at underage level, starting for the Under-19s in November’s friendly defeat to Czechia.

Having watched on from the bench last season, Munn admits playing a key role in this year’s success is special.

“It’s absolutely amazing because missing out last year, I just really, really wanted to do it this year,” he told RangersTV. “I mentioned it in previous interviews how much it meant to me to go and win it.

“I thought it was a big blow when we went 1-0 down, but we went up the other end and Findlay scored the penalty. And from that moment onwards, we had belief that we were going to win the game.

“I had to pull off a big save at 2-1 which meant a lot to the team, and I’m just glad that we won it. It’s obviously a really proud moment for myself and my family who were watching. It’s like scoring a goal as a goalkeeper to make such a big save like I did towards the end.

“It was great to make a couple of good saves because it meant a lot to the team. My family travelled over last year and I didn’t play. It was a bit heartbreaking for them to see me on the bench, but I played my part this year.”

The young ‘Gers side fell behind, but goals from Findlay Curtis and Josh Gentles completed the comeback and Munn paid credit to head coach Steven Smith, who was part of Steven Davis’ interim management staff following Michael Beale’s departure, for helping instil belief that they could turn the final around.

“It’s very tough, especially in a final,” he added. “You can go 1-0 down and the crowd is against you – and you perhaps start doubting yourself at times – but the boys done really well.

“I thought we deserved to win the game overall, and there was only a ten-minute spell at the start of the second half where we weren’t great, but it’s how you deal with it and I thought we handled it well.

“He [Smith] was telling us to stay calm and reminding us that we were the better team. I thought the final pass in the first half was a big thing, trying to be more precise, but we were better in the second half in that regard.”