Craigbane set on making history for Derry GAA in Ulster championship final

Craigbane GAC will look to make history this weekend.

The club are looking to become the first county Derry side to lift the junior Ulster football championship on Saturday afternoon.

Muff’s Naomh Padraig are the team in the way of them making history in Celtic Park.

Four Derry sides have come close—Faughanvale, Ballerin, Lissan, and Limavady—on two occasions to lifting the provincial title, but they stumbled at the final hurdle.

However, on this occasion, there is a feeling in the air that Craigbane could get the job done against their Donegal opponents.

Kevin’s Moore side look well equipped to bring the trophy back to Craigbane after an impressive season where they did not look out of place in Derry’s intermediate division before they expertly swatted every opponent aside in the Derry junior championship to lift their second title in three years at that level.

The side have seemingly kicked on and found another gear as they have defeated the champions of Tyrone, Cavan, and Monaghan—the three most successful counties at this level.

Craigbane’s mental resilience was tested last week in the semi-final against Drumhowan, when they were eight points down 10 minutes into the second half, but they sparked into life to claim victory in extra-time. 

Provincial success is not strange to Craigbane, as they have won two Ulster championships at intermediate level, and while the team may be full of youthful talent, players like Lee Moore, Brian Rainey, and Rory Moore use their 2011 experience to guide the side towards this final.

Craigbane are slight favourites for the fixture; however, that is not ruling out the ability of the Donegal side they meet in Celtic Park.

The Muff side are also a youthful and ambitious side, hopeful a victory can help propel the club to the next level.

Naomh Padraig have looked imposing in their two victories in the competition this far, with their quarterfinal victory over St. Comghall’s of Antrim by a scoreline of 0-12 to 0-8 in Letterkenny, before a controlled victory in the semi-final in Omagh, beating Collegeland of Armagh by 1-11 to 1-4.

The final promises to be an intriguing contest between two sides full of youth and exciting players, with both sets of fans full of hope and optimism as they embark on their respective short journeys to Celtic Park on Saturday.