Offaly manager John Maughan says opponents Derry were “full value” for their 12-point victory in yesterday’s Allianz Football League Division 3 final.

With promotion secured, the Faithful men were playing in what Maughan described as “a bonus game” at HQ ahead of their Leinster SFC opener against Mickey Harte’s Louth in Navan next weekend.

“It’s always a great experience to play in Croke Park and for our boys here, for many of them it was their first time, albeit a rather ugly defeat,” he is quoted saying by GAA.ie.

“Nonetheless we always felt it would be good preparation going into the Louth championship game. They’re a little bit despondent, heads are down a little bit in the dressing-room, but they’ll be fine.

“That was a bonus game for us, we didn’t anticipate it would go ahead this day last week, so they were excited last Sunday morning when I told them the game was going ahead. So, I have no regrets whatsoever.”

He added: “We were outclassed for periods and we were just hanging in there. Unfortunately, we ran out of a little bit of steam going down the last quarter, against a very good side. Derry were full value for their 12-point victory.”

Tweet

Most Read Stories