Ulster Championship awaits joyous Desertmartin
Ryan McEldowney kicks seven points to ensure the intermediate crown finally heads home to the St Martin's parish
Sunday afternoon will go down in history for the parish of Desertmartin as, at the sixth time of asking, the St Martin’s men finally got over the line to secure their first-ever Derry Intermediate Championship title.
It has been a case of seemingly never-ending heartbreak for Desertmartin, who came up short in their previous five final appearances, with their most recent disappointment coming in the form of a one-point defeat to Ballymacguigan in 2003.
Victorious manager Sean Brady was part of the Ballymacguigan side that ensured the St Martin’s men would have to wait another generation for their breakthrough. This time, however, there was to be no repeat, as rising star Ryan McEldowney kicked 0-7 to help Desertmartin surge to a 0-17 to 1-11 victory over Greenlough and finally get their hands on the Sheridan, Bateson and Lee Cup.
Speaking after the final whistle, 37-year-old Paul McGovern admitted he could hardly believe that the Yellas had finally crossed the finish line but attributed the historic victory to the strength of the young talent coming through at the South Derry club.
A wave of emerging talent has helped to drive the Yellas to their maiden title, and they will now have a first-ever Ulster campaign to look forward to when they take on Monaghan champions Donaghmoyne in a fortnight’s time. On Sunday, it was McEldowney who delivered a man-of-the-match performance, with seasoned campaigner McGovern reserving special praise for the young forward.
“Ryan has been unbelievable for us this year, and it was the same again today. We’ve seen what he can do for the past three or four years since he came into the senior team, and he’s really come into himself. He’s such a huge leader in this team, and the world is his oyster.”
“He’s carried us right through this championship, and I’ve no doubt he’ll go on and represent Derry. He’s got all the qualities to do it. We’d be lost without him. But it’s been all of these young boys who have carried us through all year long. That’s the mark they’ve made on this team. It’s been coming for a few years now, since they started to break through. We haven’t got the results in previous years, but it all just clicked this year.”
“When we needed it, those boys stepped up. They have calm heads beyond their years, and it’s full credit to them. It’s just unbelievable. I actually cannot believe it. It’s been such a long time coming that I genuinely cannot believe we’ve actually won it.”
Playing into a gale-force breeze at Celtic Park on Sunday, it was the Yellas who showed their class, racing into a 0-7 to 0-1 lead approaching half-time and giving themselves a commanding advantage for the second period, when they would have the wind at their backs.
However, a Brian McCallion goal on the stroke of half-time reignited the contest, cutting the deficit to three points. Greenlough outscored the eventual champions by 1-11 to 0-9 from the twentieth minute onwards, but Desertmartin’s lightning-quick start ultimately proved decisive.
“We gave away a goal before half-time, and that was a real sucker punch, but we knew that Greenlough would come at us. They are a top-class team. We knew beforehand that if we could go in at half-time in the game, we would’ve been happy with that because the wind here today was massive.”
“They threw everything at us in that second half, and full credit to them. They were never going to just go away. I’m just so glad that we managed to hang on.”