Slaughtneil maintain Derry grip with 12th title in a row
Shane McGuigan of Slaughtneil. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Slaughtneil’s dominance of the Derry hurling scene continues after Saturday’s win over Banagher clinched 12-in-a-row.
Without being brilliant, the Emmet’s were always in control and title number 18 takes them level with Lavey second place on the roll of honour.
It was a performance built on the excellence of Shane McGuigan, Cormac O’Doherty’s nine and newcomer Fionn McEldowney epitomising the conveyor belt of youth with a strong defensive performance.
Slaughtneil will take on Ulster champions Cushendall in next month’s semi-final, a team they have yet to beat.
⚾️🏆 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗢𝘄𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗴!
— Derry GAA (@Doiregaa) October 26, 2024
Final score:@GACSlaughtneil 0-16@BanagherGAC 0-04 pic.twitter.com/bODFpsj8DQ
“We've probably let ourselves down in how we've performed in Ulster so there's a bit of hurt there,” commented winning captain Mark McGuigan.
“Cushendall have been the standard bearers in Ulster for the last couple of years. They probably, in my opinion, are sick themselves that they didn't win an All-Ireland last year.
“They'll be obviously no easy task. We'll probably go on as underdogs but it's a challenge that we'll look forward to.”
It took Slaughtneil time to get to grips with Banagher who defended stoutly, limiting quality ball towards Brendan Rogers who had a terrific battle with Cathair McGilligan.
Shane McGuigan floated over the first point and it was his delivery that put Rogers through for their second score.
McGuigan’s positioning stood him above the rest. He was like a magnet for the ball throughout. When he picked up a Cormac O’Doherty pass, he played Jack Cassidy in for a score and Slaughtneil were three clear before Darragh Cartin opened the Banagher account with a ninth minute free.
Goalkeeper McDermott was safe as houses under the dropping ball with the Banagher half-back line forcing Slaughtneil to play the ball around the edges, but they had the stickwork to make it count.
Fiontan McGilligan made a block on Jack Cassidy before going through to score to make the score 0-4 to 0-2 with his side’s only score from play.
At the other end, a well worked move looked to have put Rogers in on goal but Cathair McGilligan was in the right place at the right time.
Banagher had a glimmer of goal with 10 minutes to half-time but a pass from Niall Biggs didn’t make the run of Ciaran Lynch.
Without being spectacular, Slaughtneil held control. Points Ó Mianáin and Cormac O’Doherty pushed them 0-8 to 0-2 ahead by half-time.
The heavens opened early in the second half, leaving conditions tricky. Darragh Cartin fired over an early free but Ó Mianáin, O’Doherty and Sé McGuigan (twice) registered points to open up a 10-point gap, putting the game to bed.
“12-in-a-row, it’s no mean feat,” McGuigan said of their level on consistency. “We set out at the start of the year that we weren't looking any further than Derry “We spoke about the importance of this competition and the respect we have for this competition.
“It wasn't too long ago Slaughtneil weren't winning championships so there was a lot of pressure just to keep that run going. The players we have, they weren't going to put in. It would be a shame if we didn't push on and win.”
C O’Doherty 0-9 (8f), R Ó Mianáin, Sé McGuigan 0-2 each, Shane McGuigan, J Cassidy and B Rogers 0-1 each
D Cartin 0-2f, Callum O’Kane (f) and F McGilligan 0-1 each
O O’Doherty; P McNeill, R McCartney, F McEldowney; R Ó Mianáin, C Coyle, Shane McGuigan; J Cassidy, M McGrath; M McGuigan, Sé McGuigan, G Bradley; C O’Doherty; B Rogers, Shea Cassidy
E Cassidy for S Cassidy (40), C McAllister for Bradley (41), Cahal McKaigue for Ó Mianáin (48), L Cassidy for J Cassidy (59), E Boylan for M McGuigan (59)
D McDermott; J Lynch, R McCloskey, C McGilligan; N Farren, D McCloskey, G Farren; B McGilligan, S McCloskey; S Murphy, F McGilligan, C Lynch; D Cartin, O McCloskey, N Biggs
Callum O’Kane for Murphy (HT), Cathal O’Kane for C Lynch (38), S McCullagh for O McCloskey (54), D McGrellis for Carin (56)
J Connors (Donegal)
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