Being four points down after 20 minutes against Kilrea wasn’t part of the gameplan for Magherafelt managers Brian McGuckin and Damian Barton.
The 2019 Derry champions were strongly fancied to get the better of Pearse’s in their first round clash at Swatragh and they prevailed 1-13 to 0-10.
The full-time score didn’t tell the whole tale though as Rossa were pushed all the way and a late goal from substitute Niall Higgins gave them a slightly flattering winning margin of six points.
