Derry captain Cormac O’Doherty never doubted Oak Leafers' Christy Ring destiny
Captain Cormac O'Doherty says he never once questioned Derry's ability to lift the Christy Ring Cup and prove the county's doubters wrong on what proved a historic day in Croke Park.
The Slaughtneil talisman has been an ever present in each of Derry’s three successive Croke Park defeats under Johnny McGarvey and was appearing in his fifth Christy Ring final in the weekend's 3-24 to 3-19 victory over Kerry.
Derry hurling has never been short of critics down the years, many within the county itself, but O'Doherty said he always believed this panel had what it took to finally end the Oak Leafers' pursuit of Christy Ring glory.
"It was just unbelievable, " said O'Doherty who made his championship debut in a Nicky Rackard Cup tie against Armagh in 2017.
"Not a lot of people believed in us but we knew coming down the road what we were capable of. We knew it was going to take an unbelievable performance. Obviously we had the result two weeks ago that gave us that belief that we can compete with Kerry, compete at this level and that we could win those big games.
"Definitely that result two weeks ago (in Celtic Park) stood us in good stead. We knew what we were capable of, it was about producing it and to a man, today we did."
The victory caps a remarkable Derry renaissance in a season bookended by matches against The Kingdom, who defeated McGarvey's men 0-12 to 5-23 in the opening league match of the year.
"Everybody in there, they're proud Derry hurling people and there's no doubt that defeat hurt us and there have been a few bad days since," reflected O'Doherty, "We went to Westmeath to stay up in the league and we came up short. That hurt as well.
"But all those narrow defeats across the league stood to us heading into the Christy Ring. I suppose life comes full circle and this year and to sign off with that after what happened in January when a lot of people were doubting us, even more so after that game. Every man stepped up since then and I think this (win) is what the men in that changing room deserve."
The Derry captain was full of praise for the young players like Jamie Lee McGlade, Rian Collins, Tiernan and Connor Melaugh who’ve stepped up from the county’s U20 panel to boost the senior squad
"They’ve all been involved with the U20s and shown their quality but, as we found out that day against Kerry (in the league), it’s a different level stepping up in to senior inter-county hurling though to be fair, they have taken everything in their stride,” added the Oak Leaf captain.
"Myself, Meehaul (McGrath), Deccy (Foley), all the older lads, we'll try to drive the standards but those young lads have brought unbelievable energy and enthusiasm. They've just taken it all in their stride and youthful exuberance came to the fore today.
"I'm delighted for those lads because everyone looks at the older boys who've been here before but it was those lads who probably got us over the line today. I'm delighted for them.”