Referee Paul Faloon had barely sounded the full-time whistle as a swarm of St Mary’s Magherafelt supporters ran on to the pitch at the Athletic Grounds to celebrate their win over Holy Trinity in Sunday’s MacRory Cup final.
First half goals from man-of-the-match Niall O’Donnell and Cahir Quinn paved the way for the Derry side to claim a 2-9 to 0-8 victory over Cookstown.
It was the second MacRory Cup success for Magherafelt following their maiden win in 2017 and they’ll represent Ulster in the forthcoming Hogan Cup campaign where they are scheduled to meet St Brendan’s of Killarney at the end of the month.
John McElholn, who manages the team along with Kevin Brady and Ronan Devlin, said the MacRory success is down to the dedication and commitment of the current squad.
“It is brilliant for the boys as they’ve worked really hard since the first week back at school,” said McElholm.
“They were beaten in a Rannafast final two years ago so this has been two years in the making - these boys were hurting from that.
“They felt it was a title they’d left behind and they really knuckled down. That was the real motivating factor and that really got them going.
“Their workrate is incredible and they are an absolutely brilliant bunch to work with, they are a brilliant group of lads. We are just delighted. They represent the school so well and everyone at the school is so proud of them.”
The three-man management team at St Mary’s covered all the bases in their bid to clinch the MacRory Cup on Sunday.
Yet, never in their wildest dreams did they imagine getting off to such a perfect start as Ballinderry clubman O’Donnell found the back of the Holy Trinity net after just three minutes.
Magherafelt O’Donovan Rossa’s Cahir Quinn netted his side’s second major on 14 minutes to give St Mary’s a strong platform to build from.
“It was a fantastic start and we really got out of the blocks well,” reflected McElholm.
“It was in contrast to the Omagh match when Omagh basically did the same to us. We were prepared for all eventualities.
“We came out and we were ready for being five up or five down - these boys had committed to working really hard no matter what the score.
“We were going for the full 60 minutes. They are a fit bunch, very athletic, as are Holy Trinity, and that showed. We were prepared for anything they might throw at us.”
While they bagged two early goals, St Mary’s only scored one point in the first half.
However, they were excellent in defence in the second half and Holy Trinity were unable to plunder a goal themselves to force their way back into the contest.
“We were only three points ahead at half-time and they had actually scored more times than us, four scores to three, so we weren’t happy at half-time,” said McElholm.
“We felt we were a bit loose in some possessions in the back line. We tightened that up and we gave a couple of men individual responsibilities.
“We got to grips with the game and the tide started to turn. Holy Trinity are a brilliant team and they are full of brilliant individuals. We’ve so much respect for them. We know we’ve good footballers in our team too.”
Defeated Holy Trinity manager John McKeever spoke graciously following his side’s loss and felt the Cookstown men failed to recover from the concession of the two early goals.
“The goals were tough to take at the times that they came and it gave them a bit of momentum at the start of the game,” said McKeever.
“Fair play to our lads, they battled hard in the first half to bring it back at half-time to only be three points down.
“They kept St Mary’s scoreless for 15 minutes, but St Mary’s are a brilliant team. They are well-drilled by their management and fair play to them.
“Congratulations to them. We are very proud of our lads - they left everything out on the field.”
