Damian McErlain delight after rollercoaster Ulster final

There was no hiding Damian McErlain’s delight after Derry’s mammoth effort saw them win a fourth Ulster title in nine seasons.

Three have come under his watch. McErlain was at the helm when the Oakleafers ended a 13-year famine to land the 2015 title and again two years later, but it was nothing like this.

“It was an absolute rollercoaster on the day,” McErlain said, adding his frustration at not closing the deal in normal time when holding three moments of relative control in a game that had a bit of everything.

Derry hadn’t conceded a goal since Donegal’s sucker punch at the end of the league final.

“It was one of those games,” McErlain said of an energetic affair. “Boys were trying to track (runners) and we lost the plus one (covering player) which we’d normally keep just to keep the house right.”

McErlain hailed his players’ behaviour when their mentality was tested. They had the composure to stay afloat in extra-time before Conall Higgins’ pressure kick to secure extra time when their title chances were slipping away.

“It was a brilliant test of character for the boys,” he said. “They were sporting and kept their manners throughout and that was good from our side.”

Winning the game on penalties was a flashback to the senior win 14 days later when Odhran Lynch was the penalty hero with three saves to deny Armagh. For young players, it tested character in every way.

“You can’t talk about it, you can’t put it on a board, you can’t show it on a video,” McErlain said, pointing to how little control there is over a game being decided on penalties.

“It is crescendo, the pressure and the whole thing that goes with it. It is unique, it’s not idea in Gaelic football

“It is what it is and once we got to the end, there was no losers from that point of view.

“Nobody has lost the game, but at the end of the day we are Ulster champions and that’s what the record books will say,” he added before paying tribute to the squad’s attitude across the entire season.

“They are a minor group, as they are, they’ve come together and they do the work. They are a brilliant group of lads. There are never any questions asked, it is a brilliant step in their development.”

McErlain backed up his pre-final thoughts on the value of their semi-final win over Donegal after several facile wins.

“The Donegal game did prepare us for that to be fair,” he said. “It was every bit as tough as that, but that (final) just went on for longer.

“We won it more times than enough and didn’t close the thing out. It is brilliant to get it done and we’re delighted to get over the line.”

Derry now go forward into an All-Ireland quarter final against 2022 champions Galway who lost Friday’s Connacht final to Mayo. The ‘back door’ in the All-Ireland series also pairs Mayo with Monaghan as the race for the Tom Markham Cup begins.

Galway edged out Derry in last year’s semi-final, but McErlain hadn’t given them “a second thought” before Sunday’s Ulster decider.

“Galway and Mayo would’ve been here today I’m sure…they’ll not know what to make of it.

“We know absolutely zero about them. We were supposed to play them in the friendly at the start of the year but it didn’t work out.”