WE LENT ON PAIN OF 2018
After the despair of relegation Mcguigan feels Oak Leafers are building something special
SOME people abstain from alcohol, cigarettes or chocolate during lent. For Derry sharpshooter Shane Mcguigan, he opted to give up Twitter, or X as it is now known, for Lent.
The All-star forward came in for special praise on Saturday night on social media when his 0-11 haul helped the Oak Leafers claim their third straight Division One victory with a 3-17 to 0-13 rout of Monaghan at Celtic Park.
When informed afterwards that the game also marked his 70th senior appearance for the county, a stat that was referenced on Twitter prior to the match, Mcguigan replied: “I deleted Twitter for Lent there!”
However, Mcguigan is experienced enough to appreciate the journey Derry have been on since a round seven defeat to Sligo saw them relegated to Division Four in 2018.
“I’m 26 now and the years are definitely flying in, so I’m treasuring every game I can get out on that pitch,” he added.
“You see thousands (at games) and you don’t know how much it honestly means to each and every one of the boys in there.
“Every game, even before the Tyrone game, two hours beforehand the stand was full. This is what we’ve dreamed of.
“Compared to Markievicz
Park that day. . . it was a dull day for the county. We’ve built from there.
“Plenty of faces have come and gone since then, but there’s a great core of boys there that are worth believing in and we believe there’s something we can do this year or next.”
Despite missing first-choice goalkeeper Odhran Lynch as well as Gareth Mckinless and Cormac Murphy, the back-to-back Ulster champions proved much too strong for Monaghan.
Goals from a trio of defenders, Conor Mccluskey (inset), Padraig Mcgrogan and Conor Doherty complimented Mcguigan’s attacking prowess, but the Slaughtneil clubman believes Derry are starting to answer criticism about a perceived lack of depth and their reliance on him for scores.
“Odhran Lynch, Gareth Mckinless, Cormac Murphy didn’t start
– they are three massive players for us in the last game against Tyrone,” said Mcguigan.
“We’ve boys that know the system well and we trust them. When you are bringing in the likes of Niall Toner, Donncha Gilmore and, you have to give it to him, Ryan Scullion. The composure he showed. He set the tone for us with his first kickout. He was the epitome of calmness.
“When we have a calm ’keeper, it spreads throughout the team and I thought he was brilliant for his first National League start.
“We know we’ve still got Gareth to come back, Eoin (Mcevoy) is making a push and you see Eunan Mulholland coming in there.
“The competition for places is massive. I think that’s what a lot of people said we’ve been lacking over the last couple of years. We didn’t have that strengthin-depth – we are definitely showing that now.”