Mickey Harte after win over Mayo: 'They're doing it for the real supporters of Derry. The snipers will do what they do'

The Ulster side came through a dramatic shootout. 

22 June 2024; Derry manager Mickey Harte during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship preliminary quarter-final match between Mayo and Derry at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Mickey Harte was left with a mix of defiance and gratitude after watching his Derry side overcome Mayo in MacHale Park after a penalty shootout.

Conor Doherty was the hero in this All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final tie. His penalty beat a diving Colm Reape to send Mayo crashing out of the championship. Derry were on the ropes in normal time before Chrissy McKaigue popped over an equaliser with the clock in the red to force extra-time.

“It was a nip and tuck game,” said Harte post-match.

“It looked like it was going to go to the wire from very early on. Mayo will be kicking themselves that they didn’t seal the game when they had that point and us into the fourth minute of added time. I would congratulate the referee who let us play on in that added minute because there was a stoppage. If he had stopped at exactly four minutes, we wouldn’t have had the time to get the score.

“We saw what happened and the team is on the attack and the referee blows the whistle and they don’t get to finish it out. I am very happy with the way he handled that added minute because it saved our bacon on the day.” 

Doherty, Shane McGuigan, Conor Glass and Ciaran McFaul all converted their penalties. Only Ethan Doherty missed. For Mayo, Paul Towey and Ryan O’Donoghue failed to beat Odhran Lynch.

“They were the five men that hit them in the National League final and stepped up again tonight.

“Thankfully they were all on the field when it happened because easily a couple of them could have been off. Conor Doherty had been off and got back on again. Ciaran McFaul went through a serious amount of work there tonight too. I was wondering what he had the energy to kick a penalty.” Despite suffering defeats against Donegal, Galway and Armagh, Derry now progress to the final eight. For Harte there was never a major recovery mission. They reverted to a more defensive gameplan to stop the concession of goals. Their morale needed no major boosting.

“We were fine. As some of the players would have said, they're in a bubble of their own and people can say what they want about them.

“They don't know what's going on day in, day out, night in, night out of those players. They're big enough now to know that they're in it for each other, they work for each other and that they're doing it for the real supporters of Derry. The snipers will do what they do.

“They'll only wait until the next time when there's an opportunity to snipe and they'll snipe again. This doesn't put them away; it just puts them down for a few days anyway.”