A young Newbridge side defeated Magherafelt on Saturday night to advance to their first Derry senior football final since 1991.
The sides were deadlocked late on only for Newbridge to snatch the victory with a late punched goal by Shane McGrogan, winning out by 1-7 to 1-4.
It was a perfect smash and grab by Newbridge, swinging the pendulum late on and giving their opponents little to no time to respond.
Newbridge were left embarrassed when the teams met at the same stage last year, managing to score just a paltry total in 0-12 to 0-2 loss.
That had the team highly motivated coming into the game, according to match-winner Shane McGrogan.
"Last year hurt, it was embarrassing. We knew if we hung in there, we'd get there. Last ten minutes, we've the legs on most teams. We've put a lot of work in,' he said.
"Last year, it hurt, it was embarrassing so we knew if we hung in there, we'd always get there"
What made their victory all the more impressive was that they did it without county man Padraig McGrogan, who missed out with a knee injury. Magherafelt, meanwhile, had the likes of Eoin McEvoy and Conor McCluskey in their ranks.
Newbridge's match-winner Shane McGrogan talks reaching the Derry SFC final and his late, late goal @rte2 @rteplayer
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/Bop1JL4SK1 pic.twitter.com/HIx3WfX0yG
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 12, 2024
Newbridge will face the winners of Sunday's higher profile semi-final between Glen and Slaughtneil in the decider, with RTÉ said to have been seeking that game for their live broadcast slot in the first place.
Whatever about RTÉ, some viewers certainly felt short-changed by the entertainment value on show, with the likes of former Dublin player Conal Keaney, Darran O'Sullivan, Kyle Coney and Colm Parkinson all in agreement.
The sooner the new rules come in the better was the common theme of the reaction, not that Newbridge will care too much.
"We had to keep the scores down because we knew Magherafelt are a deadly team," said McGrogan.
Sooner these new rules come in the better - Can’t watch football anymore ! #clubchampionship #rtesport
— Conal keaney (@ConalKeaney) October 12, 2024
Good match on @RTEsport I might leave off the second half 😴
— Darran O'Sullivan (@Darransull86) October 12, 2024
Hopefully, with these new rules coming into play, keeping 3 up will encourage more kicking in games. Shocking the amount of hand passes in this gam. @RTEsport @SatSportRTE
— Kyle Coney (@kyleconey90) October 12, 2024
Jim Gavin should say nothing at Congress.
He should Just play the first half of this match and all rule changes will fly through
— Smaller Fish GAA (@SmallerFishGAA) October 12, 2024
The rule banning the ball back to the goalkeeper in his own half is the most important of all the proposed changes. Instantly makes it a man-to-man game again rather than piggy in the middle. Too easy to keep ball as it is, no reward for pressing high
— Cahair O'Kane (@CahairOKane1) October 12, 2024
