The annual Patrick Higgins Memorial Shield competition took place today.
Like
the previous two years eight clubs took part, Kilrea (last years
winners), Magherafelt, Glen, Moneymore, Ballymaguigan, Castledawson,
Greenlough and ourselves as host club.
With very
little between this years teams the league section saw Desertmartin top
Group A , with last years winners Kilrea taking the second spot. In
Group B, some local derby games saw Magherafelt win the group and Glen
claiming the second spot.
The knockout stages saw Magherafelt paired against Kilrea, with Glen meeting hosts Desertmartin.
The
pairing of Magherafelt and Kilrea saw a tight encounter with the
current champions holding a slight half time lead. However, some strong
team work from the Magherafelt lads in the second half saw them sail
into the final.
Glen, playing hosts Desertmartin,
shot into an early lead in their semi-final, leading by 7 points with
only a quarter of the game gone. After weathering the initial storm the
Desertmartin lads began to get a hold of the game and although putting
up a strong fight back they went down by one point in the end.
With
both teams seemingly picking up momentum as the day went on, it made
for a great final with neither team letting the mass of supporters
down. In the end a very strong team performance from Magherafelt saw
them run out winners.
Prior to the
presentations the club chairman Anthony McSwiggan made a short speech
before inviting the late Patrick Higgins’s friend and colleague, Mr
Harry McCann, to say a few words to the young players about Patrick’s
life and dedication to the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Ciaran
Higgins then presented both runner up and winner plaques to the two
teams before presenting the Patrick Higgins Memorial Shield to the
winning Magherafelt captain.
Congratulations to all teams who took part and the club look forward to seeing you back in the years to come.
A
special thanks to those who put so much time in to organising the
tournament, the ladies who served refreshments and the caretakers for
all their hard work.