George Oakley’s only previous cup final experience came from the sidelines but the Caley Thistle attacker still felt close enough to the occasion to know what to expect in Saturday’s IRN-BRU Cup showpiece against Dumbarton.
Englishman Oakley was with AFC Wimbledon when the London outfit gained promotion to League One via the promotion play-offs in 2016 but he was reduced to just one appearance that season after suffering a hamstring tear and a broken leg.
Watching on as his team-mates secured their place in England’s third-tier, courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle in front of nearly 58,000 supporters at Wembley, Oakley did not feel detached from the glory and he is eager to savour more of it at McDiarmid Park this weekend.
Oakley said: “I was unlucky that I missed out on the play-offs because I broke my leg, which was hard.
“But I was there supporting, and cup finals are days you will always remember in your head as a footballer.
“It was a big team bond. I was in the dressing room and always involved with everything because that’s what you are as a team. If you’re all together, anything is possible.
“It was a good day. It was just annoying I wasn’t involved playing-wise or in the squad but it was a day to remember and I can say I was involved in that season.
“We got player medals and we got pictures with the cup so it’s always in the memory.
“Football is such a short career and you don’t know what age you are going to end at.
“You just have to take these in, grab them with both hands and enjoy the day.”
Oakley joined Caley Jags last summer after his Dons contract expired, and has gone on to establish himself as John Robertson’s first-choice forward, netting eight goals in his debut campaign in Scotland.
The 22-year-old feels helping the Highlanders reach a final is a mark of the progress he has made, adding: “I’m glad it has come so early in my Inverness career.
“I never thought I would be where I am at my age and that’s the beauty of football. It can take you anywhere and that’s a good thing.
“Football can change in a week. You have to be persistent and keep yourself going. If you are positive, things like this can happen.
“You have to make the spot your own and my aim now is just to keep it, keep playing and doing well for the team.”
Although Oakley is targeting a triumph this weekend, the striker is already looking further ahead in Inverness’ efforts to reclaim their place in the Premiership.
With a top-four finish now highly unlikely this season, Oakley hopes a victory over the Sons can give Caley Thistle the impetus to launch a stronger charge for promotion next term.
He added: “I never thought in my first year I would end up in a cup final. It’s an achievement, it’s good in its own way and it’s another day to look forward to.
“We need to grab it with both hands, enjoy it and win it which is the most important thing. We can then put it in the memory bank, as I will always have the memories from when I played here to look back on when I’m older. I want to be able to say I won that final.
“A lot of boys came in at the start of the season and a lot of guys went out. You’ve just got to get that spark. It’s nice to get into that cup final and if you win it, it generates that team feeling that we are good enough to win things.
“For instance, if we are looking forward to next season for bigger and better things, as you always do as a player, hopefully that will just push us on to achieve more.”