DERRY IFC: McNicholl looking to bright future

A beaming Neil McNicholl is standing outside the Celtic Park changing rooms.

In front of him victorious manager Paddy Bradley is holding court. Behind him a raucous mix of relief and ecstasy is shaking the hinges of the door.

He is about 30 yards away from where he was standing around 15 minutes ago, watching Eoin Bradley's late sideline falling into the Drumsurn six-yard box.

Was he confident Bradley would nail it?

“I was thinking his is either going to go clean over the bar, or else it's going to go into Row Z, he's that unpredictable,” the midfielder told the County Derry Post.

“Then Daniel O'Kane has maybe not scored all year, but pops up with his left foot at the end, it's just one of those kind of games.

“The thing is, he has got two left feet, and he managed to kick it over with one of them!”

Glenullin manager Patrick Bradley hailed the blend of experience and youth in his side. Pic by Mary K Burke

Before the match, McNicholl and his team-mates were under no illusion as to the job ahead of them, with himself and midfield partner Traglach Bradley gearing up for a real battle.

“It's unbelievable, we knew that Drumsurn would be a hard team to put down,” he said.

“We know Dara Rafferty and Shea Murray are good players who want to get on the ball and go at you, so we had to try and pen them in a bit.

“We thought if we went 50-50 we could maybe get the upper hand on them. Boys in round the middle like me, Traglach Bradley and Brian Tiddles really had to push up on them.

DERRY IFC: Experience is key - 'Bradley'

The Glenullin manager had plenty of experience to dip into.

“When we got on top of them, we felt like we needed that wee win just to get us over the line with scores at a premium.”

Like many of his clubmates, amid the delirium McNicholl was able to look ahead and take in the bigger picture to Sunday's result.

“We've been talking back and forth about the team in '07 and how it was such a good team, and teams in the 1980s that won a championship,” he said.

“We're in the middle of a bit of a rebuild at the minute; there are boys about 37-38 and others who are maybe 18-19, so there's a real good mix on the panel.

“We think this is a team that could push us on over the next four, five, six years and go that step further.

“Hopefully I'll still be there!”