'We're quietly confident' - Killester Donnycarney midfielder Stephen Chambers ahead of Saturday's Intermediate cup final against St Mochta's

Killester Donnycarney midfielder Stephen Chambers admits that he is looking forward to his side’s date with destiny on Saturday evening at Tallaght Stadium.

Gary Howlett’s side will face Brian McCarthy’s` St Mochta’s with a shot of history on the line for both teams, as neither side have won an Intermediate Cup previously.

Chambers has been with Killester since 2015, and he is now hoping he can be a part of the side that etches their names in the history books as the club’s first ever FAI Intermediate Cup winning side.

“It’s a massive occasion for the club. We’ve had a long few years and it’s the club’s first ever FAI Intermediate Cup Final so we’re really excited for the game,” he told extratime.com.

“It’s obviously going to be a really tough game against a really strong St Mochta’s side. We might be going in as underdogs but we’re fairly confident.”

Chambers, the brother of former Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic midfielder James - has been playing in the Leinster Senior League since departing Bohemians.

He first joined Glebe North after leaving the Gypsies, before joining Killester United ahead of the 2015/16 Leinster Senior League campaign.

While at Killester (now Killester Donnycarney) Chambers has played under two managers and witnessed one club merger since.

“We’ve been building (with Killester Donnycarney) for the last couple of years,” he adds. “ The Leinster Senior League (LSL) often gets a bad rep but when you play the top team’s week in week out the standard is quite good.

“There’s a lot of players in the league who could play at a higher standard but don’t due to work commitments and I think it’ll be a great showcase for the league on Saturday.  

“We played Galway in the FAI Cup three years ago and we probably should’ve won that game. We should have won that day and they had a lot of first-teamers playing that day.

“There’s three or four teams at the top of the Leinster Senior League that would do very well (in the First Division).

“It’s a good comparison but it’s always hard to match it up because every time we play them, we’re not at the same stage of the season.”

Killester Donnycarney have seen off local rivals Kilbarrack United, Castleview, Liffey Wanderers and most recently, Ringmahon Rangers on their way to the FAI Intermediate Cup Final.

The journey to the final has been difficult for the recently amalgamated club – and Chambers is hoping that they can finish the job on Saturday evening at Tallaght Stadium.

“It’s has been weird over the last few months because you have your usual routine but that obviously all goes out the window,” he added.  

“We knew we were going well and had two semi-finals on the horizon with this and the Charlie Cahill (Cup).

“We were always anxious to see what was going to happen, but we were told by the higher authorities that they were always going to put the preference for the Intermediate Cup.

“Even though it won’t be at the Aviva or that there won’t be two or three thousand at the game it will still be a special occasion for us.”

And the free-scoring midfielder finished: “We are going in as underdogs because of where they are in the league but that will suit us.

“We’re quietly confident about what we can do and achieve. We know exactly what we’re coming up against, and they know what they’re up against you know. They’ve got some good players in good areas, but we do as well. 

“It would be massive for us (to win the FAI Intermediate Cup), absolutely massive.

“We would go down in history at the club and it would be nice to go into the clubhouse on a Sunday and see our pictures up on the wall of being Intermediate champions. But we’ll get to Saturday first and hopefully we can do the business.”