City of Derry all set for Cup Final showdown with Dromore in Kingspan Stadium

January 30th 2010: Dubarry Park, Athlone - City of Derry versus Armagh. It’s the All Ireland Junior Cup and a finale that still gets an airing on the bar stools of the Judges Road clubhouse.

McCarter was a try scorer as Derry watched a 12-9 lead become a 17-12 deficit by injury time. It took an inspired Peter Henderson tackle to save the game with the clock already in the red but from that, deep inside their own '22', Derry sounded one last charge. Moving upfield Jason Mitchell's 'bouncer' of an assist, found its way out right to Mark O'Connor and he flew in from 25 yards to level before landing a sublime conversion to crown Derry the best Junior side in Ireland.

He didn't know it then but McCarter had just played in his first – and last - cup final as a player.

"It was Jasey Mitchell who threw the pass and it was the ugliest pass you'll ever see," laughs the Derry Head Coach when reminded he was attributed the match winning assist in reports, "It was deep in injury time, last play of the game, and I remember it bouncing up into Mark's arms and he just gunned it for the corner.

"When Mark scored that try, I thought we’d won. I took off my strappings. I had my hamstrings and wrists strapped. I took it all off and then realised it was a draw and that if Mark missed his conversion we were heading for extra-time. That shows the chaos at the end but I still remember vividly watching the ball go through the posts and everyone going absolutely bananas. It was a fantastic afternoon. Those celebrations went long into the night."

Now, 14 years on, McCarter is back in another cup final. He's not Derry's only survivor either. Sam Duffy, Stephen Corr and Simon Logue were all part of that historic All Ireland winning squad but unlike his old team-mates McCarter's got a different remit this time.

And as Head Coach of the City of Derry side taking on Dromore in Saturday's Ulster Junior Cup final (5pm) at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, he's determined to ensure his players make the most of an unique occasion.

"A cup final can be a catalyst for a club," explained McCarter, "Let's be honest, we haven't had much to shout about over the last number of years. The last season or two has been as positive as it’s been on the pitch for a while and we've noticed a massive change in term of the supporters coming to watch.

"The atmosphere about the club has been better, there's a better buzz and we have a good crowd going up on Saturday so it does, success breeds interest. And we are desperate for it. I think everyone in the club is and we're very conscious of that as a squad. We want to give everyone a good day out."

The 2010 season kick-started one of Derry's best periods of the modern era as Bevan Lynch and Terry McMaster's squad went on to win AIL Division Three and then gain promotion to AIL 2A before narrowly missing out on promotion to Division 1B.

"The year before Derry had won Qualifying 1 but had lost a promotion play-off to reach the AIL. Terry and Bevan were the coaches and they brought a few lads back. I came back from Dungannon, 'Corrsy' (Stephen Corr) came back from Instonians, 'Stavo' (Stephen Ferguson) came back from Ballymena.

"Adding us to an already strong squad, we knew we had a good chance that season of getting promoted. That was our aim back in 2010. We ended up going on and doing really well for the next few years.

"Cup finals can do that, they can make a huge difference and that's why we are trying to build up this week, we know we can beat anyone on our day at this level.

"I want us to enjoy this final regardless of what happens but a cup final can do wonders for confidence. Even getting to the final gave us a major boost and to win it would be a brilliant end to the season and hopefully galvanised the boys to go again and do even better next year.

"At this level there are loads of opportunities like the All Ireland Junior Cup which we have qualified for again. You have the Towns' Cup, this Ulster Junior Cup, so there are opportunities to reach finals and big occasions. Hopefully on Saturday the whole setting - the stadium, the crowd - will get boys fired up to do a job."

Standing in Derry's way though is the considerable challenge of a Dromore team who have beaten the Judges Road men three times over their two seasons in Championship One, and McCarter is keenly aware of the challenge facing his team.

"There are a few things we've picked up from the videos and having played against them, things we think we can exploit," added the Derry coach, "We have also picked up things they're very strong at, things we need to nullify but we're not going to re-invent the wheel at this stage either.

"It's about making sure we come into the game with our preparation ready and they'll be exactly the same. This is a game that could genuinely go either way. Both teams will feel they can win it and cup finals generally boil down to who copes with the pressure best, who takes their chances and which team makes the least mistakes.

"It's going to be a good game between two decent sides, but I don't think any previous match is going to matter that much.

"As a player I missed out on two Senior Cup finals through injury and have only played in one final so I know how special and rare these days can be over the course of a career. But that's a challenge to embrace, that's why we have to leave everything out there."

Ulster Junior Cup Final

City of Derry v Dromore

(Sat, Kingspan Stadium, 5pm)