Newbridge have eyes on the Ulster prize - Doherty

4 hours ago 3

Conor Doherty says Newbridge have had their "eyes on the prize" in Ulster this year as they booked their place in the semi-final with a six-point win over Madden in Armagh.

Last year, the Derry champions fell at the first hurdle against the Orchard County's representatives Clann Eireann, but having retained their county title, the ambitions for 2025 are greater.

Newbridge got the ball rolling with a preliminary round win over Dunloy last weekend and carried that momentum into the Athletic Grounds on Sunday.

Although well aware the challenges will get tougher, Doherty is happy to have a semi-final against Scotstown to look forward to on the weekend of 22/23 November.

"If you had have told us this at the start of the year, we would have taken the leg off you," he told BBC Sport NI.

"This is a competition we have a real appetite for and we're really happy to keep moving forward in it.

"It was new territory for us last year and kind of shocked everybody what we did, but I think we had our eyes on the prize a bit earlier this year after the celebrations.

"The game (against Dunloy) stood to us and it was good to get the cobwebs dusted off. That was another test and Scotstown will be a different animal again."

Newbridge always seemed to be a step ahead on Sunday but Doherty didn't feel it was a perfect performance and predicts "we'll get an eating for the missed chances and over-carrying".

He insists they will need to improve if they are to retain their interest in the competition, but says Newbridge will "relish" the challenge.

"I turned the ball over a few times very carelessly and that's something we'll have to work on going forward," he continued.

"Kilcoo, Scottown and Erne Gaels are left in this competition and those boys will be looking after the ball, so we might not get away with those mistakes the next day.

"It was a good, controlled performance in the end, but good to be going into the next round with something to work on."

"It's going to be a complete different test, but we will relish it. We have plenty of heavy hitters in Derry too like Glen and Slaughtneil, so we will go into the game with plenty of confidence but do appreciate Scotstown is a serious team."

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