McEvoy’s joy as Rossa return to top spot in Derry

By Michael McMullan

EOIN McEvoy looked on as a supporter when older brother Michael was part of the last Magherafelt team to take the John McLaughlin Cup home on final day.

The club lost three finals since and McEvoy was one of the reasons why they were knocking the door once again on Sunday.

Being on the both sides of the winning line is so, so different.

“You always dream of the day that you’ll win it but I don’t think anything prepares you for whenever you do win it,” he said, after emerging from the winners’ dressing room.

The boom box inside is on overdrive. This day has been too long coming for a club who have been churning out underage talent. Starlets like McEvoy.

“The memories in the changing room will last a lifetime with this group and the heartache it’s had.”

McEvoy points to the consistency they’d had in the last two seasons since Enda Muldoon and Gavin Devlin came in. Stephen Kernan joined the management.

It’s an inner circle that also includes 2019 winner Fergal Duffin, who winning captain Conor McCluskey labelled the Goat (greatest of all time) in his acceptance speech.

“Things won’t go your way all the time,” McEvoy said. “We’ve had a couple of setbacks, obviously in the final last year and that was just a learning curve for us.

“At the start of this year, we had a goal that we wanted to get back to this position, so from our perspective right to a few wrongs.”

Getting back to a final can never guaranteed. McEvoy points to Newbridge losing Mark McGrogan to injury. He also highlights the absence of goalkeeper Odhran Lynch and Guiseppi Lupari who have made a return.

Paddy McLarnon has turned into a cornerstone who went off in last year’s final. They lost Shea McGuckin after he had kicked vital scores in the first two games of this year’s championship.

Nothing is guaranteed but Rossa kept hammering. Even when the waters were choppier than last year. Their 2026 version had a shovel and, more importantly, they knew how to use it.

“This year, we played tougher teams,” McEvoy said of the days they had to dig.

“We played Sleacht Néill twice, who have a lot of medals and a lot of Ulsters.

“Then, we just about got out of the Lavey game so we probably showed that we can get out of them games.

“For a turning point, it probably was that Lavey game. So, you always say you want to get through the tight games.

“It’s not until you actually get into a tight game and you get through it that you can say you’ve been tested like that,” McEvoy added, choosing ever word carefully as he looked across the dark Celtic Park his side had lit on Sunday evening.

“That bit of confidence for the younger lads, to know that they have the bottle to get through, that really stood to us today,” he said. before pointing to how they scored a 1-12 tally without reply to turn Sunday’s final.

“It probably took until we won a couple of balls in the middle and obviously Conall Higgins was electric.

“He got a couple of two-pointers that really started to calm us and build our way in the game.

“Aidan McCluskey was electric coming out of defence, James Murray won a lot of kick-outs.”

Lesson

The real lesson was limiting the turnovers that Newbridge thrive on. In last year’s final, Magherafelt were trying to burrow their way through for goals that weren’t always on.

“We saw in the Glen game (Newbridge’s semi-final win) like how electric they are,” McEvoy added,

“CD (Conor Doherty), Paudi (McGrogan), all them boys, like Seán Young.

“If they turn you over and you are exposed so we probably made a big emphasis on just trying to limit the turnovers

“Newbridge just bring so much intensity and energy. In that second half and the chips were down for them, we tried our best to keep it out of contact.

“The amount of energy and spirit and intensity they brought without the ball, it was very, very hard to keep it out of contact in that stage.”

In the end, as Newbridge closed the gap to two points, McEvoy added a score to make it three before Cormac Murphy bagged a third goal to seal the seal. This time, McEvoy and Magherafelt, were on the right side of the line.