GAA: Derry U20 skipper Conor Doherty happy to have worn Armagh down in Ulster decider

  “We are Ulster champions, we are Ulster champions,” came the ecstatic chorus from behind the Derry dressing room door. That priceless moment when the Danny Murphy Cup was celebrated in all its glory. The sound petered out and Derry skipper Conor Doherty emerged.  Soaked to the skin in a mixture of sweat from the Clones heat and water from the water bottle shower inside. But the Newbridge man is buzzing, but without prompting he speaks of the Donegal game that set the ball rolling. “We were getting written off from day one against Donegal and it was just a matter of them turning up and they’d beat us,” Doherty commented. “We knew we had a chance.  Mickey (Donnelly), Chris (Collins) and J Mac (John McMahon) preached to us all year – the chances are, we would always had a shot.” “From the start, people wrote us off.  We came back against Down, from 10 points down, and we showed we are always there – never defeated.” Doherty stressed the quality that Armagh brought to a final he described as ‘tight’ contest. “We knew it was going to be point for point but we knew we would get that break and we knew we had it in the legs with the fitness and eventually they gave into us.” With fifteen minutes to go, Armagh wilted and Derry appeared to find an inner drive.  The goals made a difference but Doherty chose to highlight the efforts of those who put the shoulder to the wheel with him. “Brian (Cassidy) was brilliant, Dara (Rafferty) in the middle of the field and Lorcan (McWilliams) up front as well with Callum (Brown) have been super for us. “Oisin McWilliams has been massive for us all year, he is the major link man on that line – it’s good to have him.” A league and championship double with Newbridge has helped Doherty develop.  There was a run out against Kerry in the All-Ireland minor quarter-final. But Doherty feels the hurt of watching a Neil O’Donnell inspired Donegal lift the minor title from under their noses two years ago was the inspiration. “Maybe that defeat I received and a few of the boys received back in 2016 (minor final) was in the back of our minds. “It was that extra drive and when it was tight, it was ‘look we need to get on top’ and we knew it wasn’t over until the final whistle. “We had preached all year ‘never to stop’ and thankfully we got through there today.” The build-up to the final was made even more difficult with the cloud hovering over Armagh’s lineup. “When the situation was taken to Croke Park, we sorta knew they were going to get off with it,” Doherty replied. “We never thought about it, we never let it affect our camp, we took it that we’d be playing the best team possible and today we showed that. “It is hard to do it, but when you have a strong backroom team and a strong bond like we have, it is easy to do – everybody has the same vibe and the same mentality.” For Doherty, the motivation is to get his hands on another cup later in the season. “That’s the aim now.  It doesn’t stop here, we have to keep going.”