AIB Ulster Club Senior Hurling Final
St John’s 0-10 Slaughtneil 0-23
Saturday 29 November
By Brendan McTaggart
St John’s Ulster dream ended under the Athletic Grounds floodlights on Saturday evening as Slaughtneil proved to be a step too far. 13 points was the difference, in truth the Derry champions were well worthy of that advantage.
It was an awesome performance from Slaughtneil who had nine different scorers over the hour while restricting St John’s to just two points from open play. Cormac O’Doherty took the man of the match accolade, in truth it could have gone to any one of four players from Slaughtneil. O’Doherty’s accuracy from placed ball was exceptional while he was at his playmaking best, dropping deeper and providing an attacking outlet with his vision.
St John’s set up defensively, using Ciaran Johnston and Conal Bohill as sweepers while Donal Carson was a lone target man on the inside forward line. Fionn McEldowney was picking him up and Slaughtneil rotated who would drop deeper for them. St John’s looked to pack the midfield and stop the Slaughtneil threat at source. While it worked and Slaughtneil didn’t really play with much fluency in the opening quarter, any attacks from the Whiterock Road men were few and far between.
Oisin MacManus was a shining light for the Johnnies. He would raise the white flag on nine occasions, eight of those from placed ball but he went through plenty of work further out the field. While defensively, the work of Peter McCallin, Ryan McNulty and Jack Bohill couldn’t be faulted. Sean Wilson and Aaron Bradley worked tirelessly throughout but they got little or no change from Slaughtneil on the night.
St John’s had the opening score of the final with MacManus pointing a free with barely 30 seconds on the clock. That would be their last score for 17 minutes though as Slaughtneil grew into the game. Scores from Shéa Cassidy (two), Sé McGuigan and a Cormac O’Doherty free had Slaughtneil three clear at the end of the first quarter.
MacManus split the uprights with his second and third frees of the game either side of a super score from Eamon Cassidy. Slaughtneil were coming to terms with the St John’s set-up however with Shane McGuigan and Shéa Cassidy opening a four point gap by the 25th minute.
MacManus (free) and Sé McGuigan split the uprights before MacManus scored St John’s first point from play in the 28th minute. It was a brilliant score from the St John’s man and it raised the spirits of the large St John’s support at the Athletic Grounds. They wouldn’t register another score in the half however and while Slaughtneil only added another from the roaming Brendan Rogers, the Derry men were wasteful with eight wides to St John’s four in the opening 30 minutes.
With only four points in the game, St John’s were still in with a massive chance of turning the tide. Slaughtneil were in no mood to let up their grip on the game.
Cormac O’Doherty was instrumental in maintaining the Slaughtneil relentless challenge while Cathal Ó Mianáin, Brendan Rogers and Shane McGuigan were dominant. O’Doherty and MacManus swapped frees in the opening exchanges of the second half and while St John’s looked to play with more attacking impetus, the Slaughtneil defence were organised, disciplined and played with huge intensity. The mercurial talents of Conor Johnston, Shea Shannon and Aaron Bradley couldn’t bring the Johnnies challenge to life.
A brilliant, sweeping move from Slaughtneil resulted in a Cathal Ó Mianáin point before Sean Wilson scored St John’s seventh point of the game.
A brace of scores from Rogers and O’Doherty (free) were responded to by another MacManus free to leave five between the sides going into the final quarter. Four unanswered points in a little over five minutes put daylight between the sides as Slaughtneil clicked through the gears. Three frees from Cormac O’Doherty and the first of two from Chrissy McKaigue.
Another brace from MacManus took his tally to nine points for the night but Slaughtneil and O’Doherty were relentless in those closing stages. He would land a further four points (3 frees) while substitute Prionsas Burke added his name to the list of scorers in injury time.
Oisin Donnelly saw red for a wreckless foul on Cathal Ó Mianáin but it made little difference to the outcome of this game.
Slaughtneil move on to the All Ireland semi final and a meeting with Loughrea of Galway while St John’s season comes to an end. It wasn’t the ending the people from the Corrigan Park club had hoped for but it’s been a memorable season for the Johnnies. Beaten on the day but not broken, the Kings of Antrim bow out.
TEAMS
ST JOHNS: Domhnall Nugent; Ryan McNulty, Ciaran Johnston, Jack Bohill; Conal Morgan, Peter McCallin, Enda McGurk; Sean Wilson, Aaron Bradley; Oisin Donnelly, Conor Johnston, Conall Bohill; Donal Carson, Shea Shannon, Oisin MacManus
Subs: Michael Bradley for A Bradley (45); Caoimhin Hanna for P McCallin (57); Michail Dudley for D Carson (60)
Scorers: O MacManus 0-9 (8fs), S Wilson 0-1
SLAUGHTNEIL: Oisin O’Doherty; Fionn McEldowney, Paul McNeill, Conor McAllister; Ruairi Ó Mianáin, Meehaul McGrath, Shane McGuigan; Cathal Ó Mianáin, Chrissy McKaigue; Mark McGuigan, Sé McGuigan, Eamon Cassidy; Brendan Rogers, Cormac O’Doherty, Shéa Cassidy
Subs: Jerome McGuigan for S Cassidy (40); Peter McCullagh for E Cassidy (52); Conor Coyle for M McGrath (57); Gerard Bradley for Sé McGuigan (59); Pronsias Burke for C McKaigue (60)
Scorers: C O’Doherty 0-10 (9fs); S Cassidy 0-3 (2fs); C McKaigue 0-2; E Cassidy 0-2; B Rogers 0-2; Sé McGuigan 0-1; C Ó Mianáin 0-1; Shane McGuigan 0-1; P Burke 0-1
Referee: Peter Owens (Down)
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