Gareth McKinless: Ballinderry 'took the foot off the gas' following All-Ireland success
Ballinderry captain Gareth McKinless says the Derry club ‘took the foot off the gas’ for a while - but the All Star defender is sure the former All-Ireland winners are on the way back.
Ballinderry won their All-Ireland in 2002, succeeding Crossmolina, who they face in Sunday’s intermediate final.
But after three Derry titles in a row between 2011 and 2013, and another All-Ireland semi-final in 2014, Ballinderry slipped back. They ended up being relegated to the second tier within Derry last year.
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Derry star McKinless, part of that three-in-a-row team, said: “We had a great time in the noughties and beyond that, won a lot of Championships, probably should have won more.
“The same as anything, sometimes you just take the foot off the gas. We didn’t have the same quality of players coming through as well and that’s down to a number of things in terms of within the club.
"The biggest thing probably is the younger lads have come through. We got seven last year, we got a few more this year and we’ve got another few more coming next year. So we’re starting to produce more quality players.”
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