Saturday saw the 10th annual Patrick Higgins Memorial Shield take place and as before we were graced with a glorious day.
With 7 local teams taking part on the day along with an All Star select team it was another highly competitive tournament with all teams looking to get their hands on the silverware. On the day though, it was the 2010 champions Bellaghy who retained the shield for another year.
Magherafelt set the early pace in their group by beating Bellaghy and the All Stars as well as picking up a draw with a very strong Moneymore side.
In the other group it was Kilrea who looked like they were going to add to their two titles already won in the previous 9 years. However it was Desertmartin who topped the group and were joined by Kilrea in the last 4 at the expense of Ballymaguigan and Lissan.
The Semi finals paired up Magherafelt with Kilrea and Desertmartin with Bellaghy. Magherafelt continued from where they left off in the group stage with a classy performance to book their place in the final, while Bellaghy, who were now in their stride brushed aside the hosts challenge to make the decider.
In what must go down as one of the best finals to date, Bellaghy showed the extra bit of hunger that just seems to be bread into everyone down there to run out winners and go home with all the smiles.
The club would like to thank all the clubs who attended and everyone who attended on the day to make it the success it was. We also look forward to seeing clubs back again next year to challenge again and maybe Bellaghy will be the first team to get 3 in a a row.
