Derrylaughan captain Kennedy savours Championship triumph

BRIAN Kennedy may have won the biggest prize in the game with his county but it was clear how much skippering his club Derrylaughan to the Intermediate title on Saturday night meant to the towering Tyrone midfielder.

The 2021 All-Ireland winner provided a sublime pass to set up Tomas Carney for the only goal of the game in the tenth minute as the Kevin Barrys staved off Moy by two points to annex the Paddy Cullen Cup.

Afterwards as he basked in the glory of only the Kevin Barrys second ever Intermediate Championship triumph, the 26-year old reflected on what this triumph meant for the tight-knit lough shore club.

“ It’s a massive honour. I can’t believe it. I said there in the speech if you asked us six or seven weeks ago at the end of the league that we were going to win the Championship I wouldn’t have believed it but it’s great for this club to get back up to senior.

“ A Championship is well overdue. It has been fourteen years. It’s great to see all the youth being out here joining in the celebrations. I can mind being here myself on the pitch in 2010. It’s just massive for the club. It gives it a great boost.

“ We have had great support. The past two weeks have been mad around the club. We would be a small enough club but this will just bring the whole thing onto another level hopefully and we can push on over the next few years.”

Derrylaughan seemed well in command for the bulk of the contest but they had to withstand a few scares around their own square down the home stretch to see the job through. Kennedy was always well aware that Moy wouldn’t go down with a whimper.

“ It was good to get the goal and Tomas finished it well. But we know that the Moy are never beaten by more than two or three points when they do lose. They are a very dogged outfit and are always going to fight to the end.

“ You see it at the end when they stuck big Sean (Cavanagh) and Coleman on the edge of the square and dropped a few efforts past the post. In a Championship Final you need that bit of luck. We got a wee bit of the rub of the green tonight.”