Derry Club SFC: Newbridge beat Magherafelt to retain title

Newbridge have retained the Derry Senior Club Football Championship title with a narrow 1-17 to 1-15 win over Magherafelt at Celtic Park.

Callum McGrogan fisted the ball into the net in the fourth minute but Shane Heaveron’s two-point free drew Magherafelt level.

There was little between the two sides but Rossa hit the front in the ninth minute when Heaveron slotted into the back of the net.

There was never more than two points between the sides for the remainder of the half and Heaveron’s seventh point of the game left the score at 1-6 to 1-5 at the break in the favour of the holders.

However, Newbridge soon pulled five points clear thanks to two scores from Oisin Doherty and Conor McAteer’s two-pointer, but Magherafelt began to eat into that margin.

Doherty and Heaveron exchanged two-pointers, but Magherafelt fought back and made it a one-point game with two minutes to play when Cormac Murphy landed a point.

But the holders would have the final say when Eamon Young restored the two-point margin in additional time, and there were wild celebrations when the full-time whistle blew at Celtic Park.

Winning captain McAteer said it was a “surreal” feeling to win the title in consecutive years.

“With Magherafelt being our rivals it is so, so sweet,” said McAteer.

“You never get tired of this feeling. Being underdogs suit us and we tend to play better when our backs are against the wall.

“We’ve worked so hard and prepared for every possible outcome.”

It is a 12th Derry title and back-to-back triumphs for Newbridge, whose victory over Glen in 2024 was their first in 35 years.