'It's Nothing Less Than We Deserve, To Win A Second Championship'

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Maghery won their second ever Armagh Senior Football Championship title on Sunday, defeating Crossmaglen Rangers by four points at the Athletic Grounds.

The victors put 4-9 past Crossmaglen who were chasing a third consecutive title. The defeat was Cross' first defeat in an Armagh decider since 1982.

"Growing up, my cousins and my brothers, that's all we talked about: 'Just give me one championship'," Man of the Match and scorer of 1-3, Aidan Forker, told BBC Northern Ireland.

"That was in our psyche from early doors. It wasn't pushed on us. My father never pushed anything on us.

"You knew in your heart of hearts that he was hurting from championship defeat four times.

"It's important to try and make people proud of you. I know no matter what happened, they were proud of us.

"This is special. We're a close-knit, family community. It's a small place and this is probably our golden era. We have some good footballers coming through that we will try and push on."

Maghery won their first ever senior county championship in 2016.

"Six months ago, we didn't know what we were at," Forker added.

"No one really did. This is not just about this team... It is about this team because they are a special group of boys; they're warriors and competitors and every superlative you can think of. They've been putting their shoulder to the wheel for years and it's nothing less than we deserve, to win a second championship.

"It's about the whole community. No matter what happened today, we gave the community a massive lift getting to the county final, given what's happened in the world.

"Rest assured, we'll enjoy our night."

Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

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