Ballinamallard are hoping to win the Harry Cavan Youth Cup for the third time in their history when they face Cliftonville Strollers in the final at the National Stadium at Windsor Park on Friday night.

The club won the trophy in 2002 and 2006, and manager Ryan Beacom is in no doubt that a hat-trick of victories would be a huge achievement for the Fermanagh outfit.

“It would mean the world to the club,” he said. “I am a newbie to the club, but Ballinamallard has always had a great tradition in cup competitions and some of their greatest results have come in the cups.

“In 2006 when they won it I was around that age and I remember the lads doing it.

“When you look back and see how special that team was, and what both the 2002 and 2006 teams went on to achieve individually, a lot of them had good playing careers and it was a great stepping stone for them.

“The players in those two teams went on to build the base of the team that brought the club their most successful spell in their history.

“It’s the blue riband event, and in my opinion it is the second biggest cup competition in Northern Ireland outside of the Irish Cup. In the last couple of weeks, I can tell there is a great atmosphere around the club, and it is something everyone is looking forward to.”

The young Mallards have dispatched Trojans, Dungannon Youth, Carrick and Maiden City on their way to the final.

Cliftonville now stand between them and the IFA’s premier youth trophy, and Beacom is confident the players have the quality to emerge victorious.

“They are good enough to be there so let’s see what happens on the day,” he said.

“The cubs have learnt enough lessons throughout the year, and they should have real belief in themselves. They will give it everything they have, and what will be will be.”

The age rules for the Harry Cavan Cup present a unique challenge for clubs, as it is a different qualifying date of birth to the Under 18 league, meaning a number of the players are not playing their league football alongside each other, but Beacom believes the squad is united in their approach.

“Preparations are going well,” he said. “It is an under 18 cup competition but technically it is under 19 and that means we are bringing in players from different age groups, and a lot of the lads that are involved in the squad are from the Under 20 group at the club.

“Trying to build the connection and the unity between the two squads was a challenge and getting a pattern of play, and getting to understand me and know me, it was always going to be difficult at the start, but the lads have gone above and beyond and have made themselves available for everything we have asked of them.

“We have had Mark Stafford in helping out and Whitey Anderson has taken a few sessions as well, and we are preparing them as best as we can.

“I feel we have done a lot, and I am quite relaxed about it. We have lifted a lot of stones and not left much unturned. Its quite a relaxed atmosphere at the moment.”

The Mallards started their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Trojans, before defeating Dungannon Youth 4-0.

They came within one kick of the ball from going out to Carrick Rangers in a nail biting quarter final penalty shoot out, before overcoming Maiden City in the semi final.

They now face a strong Cliftonville side, who won the cup in 2020 and knocked Ballinamallard out in the first round of the competition last season, but Beacom believes that if they produce their best they will be a match for their Belfast opposition.

“We are concentrating on ourselves,” he said. “We haven’t put much emphasis on the opposition because it will come down to what we produce on the day and how we execute our game plan.

“Dungannon won it last year, and that was the first time in their history to win it, so that goes to show the calibre of teams you are facing and just how difficult it is to win it, but we have been taking it game by game.”