Lynch hails new generation after Magherafelt reclaim Derry crown

O'Donovan Rossa Magherafelt players celebrate with the John McLaughlin Cup ©INPHO/Andrew Paton

Magherafelt goalkeeper Odhran Lynch admitted the wait for Derry senior football championship glory had been “probably too long” after his side defeated three-in-a-row chasing Newbridge.

Goals from Johnny McErlain, Aidan McCluskey and Cormac Murphy led Magherafelt to a 3-17 to 0-20 triumph at Celtic Park yesterday evening, securing the club’s first John McLaughlin Cup success in seven years.

Lynch, who was just 19 when Magherafelt last lifted the trophy, reflected on the significance of finally getting over the line after years of near misses.

"It's just nice to get back and it's probably been too long," Lynch told BBC Sport NI.

"We've been knocking on the door and that's the fourth time coming into a final since we last won it.

"We just made everything hard for ourselves. We probably still made things hard for ourselves there today, but it's just great to get over the line."

The goalkeeper admitted, after winning the trophy as a teenager in 2019, that "you're sitting there going and thinking we're going to be there every year".

"But the following year we're in the relegation play-off,” he added. "It's just sticking at it. The young boys that have come through there have been awesome, they just bring a whole different buzz."