Yahoo Sports 1,925 days of dominance - Can Larne win fifth Shield?
County Antrim Shield final: Larne v Glentoran
Venue: Seaview, Belfast Date: Tuesday, 21 January Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC iPlayer, with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website
Having already made waves with their exploits in the Uefa Conference League this season, Larne are out to make more history on Tuesday evening as they seek to become the first team to win the County Antrim Shield for a fifth season in succession.
The distinctive piece of silverware has been a fixture of the Inver Park trophy cabinet since December 2020. Indeed, it has been 1,925 days since the club's last defeat in the competition, a 3-2 quarter-final reverse against this year's final opponents Glentoran in October 2019.
While Linfield have also won the regional competition four times in a row - doing so between 1932 and '35 and then again from 1981-84 - manager Gary Haveron says the club are excited by the prospect of a new record.
"It's always important for the football club to be the first to do anything," he said.
"It would be a heck of an achievement."
Haveron, who was Glentoran boss between 2016 and 2018, took the top job at Larne in December after a reshuffle that saw former boss Nathan Rooney moved into a head of football role one game after succeeding back-to-back Irish Premiership winner Tiernan Lynch.
Having previously been an assistant at Inver Park, Haveron was also in charge of Larne's Conference League victory over Gent but said he remains motivated by collective rather than individual success.
"It's for the club and the fans who come everywhere and support us," he said of the rematch of last year's final.
"It's important for them first and foremost.
"You're in a privileged position working in football. For me, the privilege is seeing people happy, making them happy and proud.
"That's the aim for me, to make sure they go home happy."
The final meeting comes just three days after Larne and Glentoran played at the Oval in league game that was postponed during the second half due to floodlight failure.
The score in east Belfast was still 0-0 when the contest was abandoned with Haveron expecting another tight encounter against his former side who are unbeaten in ten games.
"The boys have felt each other out and we'll see what Tuesday brings," he added.
"Every final we've played in the County Antrim Shield the past four years, there's always been an odd goal in it, wins on penalties a couple of times.
"There's never been any more in it, that's always the way that it's panned out.
"They're always tight affairs."
