Joy for Beragh captain Jayne after earlier final losses

BERAGH Ladies are now looking forward to the new horizons of Intermediate football in 2025 after a rip-roaring second half performance saw them just about ease past their Drumragh counter-parts in an exciting Junior Championship Final on Saturday.

It was a very closey-contested opening to Ladies Finals Day at O’Neill’s Healy Park. But the Red Knights held the aces when it mattered most, despite a late revival from the Sarsfields which almost saw them snatch victory right at the finish.

Victory in the game saw Beragh clinch the Brenda Logue Cup for the first time since 2006. Several of their players also lined out in that final, and there was no doubting the delight of their players and supporters at the final whistle.

Team captain, Jayne Lyons, has enjoyed a marvellous year with Tyrone. But she was especially delighted to have won a first adult title with her club, and being captain added another honour for her.

“We made hard work of winning the title, and there’s no words to describe how we feel. Everyone is just delighted,” she said afterwards.

“The first half display definitely wasn’t a true reflection of what we’re capable of. Everybody knew that they had 60 or 70 per-cent more to give, so we weren’t too worried about our ability to do that.

“We have been never-say-die in this whole Championship and I knew this performance was in this team.”

Dervla Farley’s two second half goals were crucial to the victory, but there were a host of our strong performances from the Red Knights throughout the field as well.

“We were delighted with the way Dervla came on and score the goals and everybody in the panel has worked really hard all year,”Jayne added.

“This is our first title since 2006 and it gives us all a great boost. I know it won’t be another 18 years before we get another title because there are young girls coming through and what is being done at underage level is great.

“It’s definitely harder at adult level and hopefully this will be a good indication of how we get on in the future.

“This is a bitter-sweet win for me personally because I got to two other finals with Tyrone (National League and All-Ireland Intermediate) and lost them. It means everything to have won with the club because I’ve never won anything with Beragh before and this is just the icing on the cake.”