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Slaughtneil fell short in their attempt to reach a first All-Ireland Club Hurling final at the sixth attempt as Loughrea ran out comfortable 2-22 to 0-15 winners in Sunday’s semi-final at Parnell Park.
After five semi-final defeats over the past decade, Slaughtneil had hoped to break new ground after picking up a 13th straight Derry title and a sixth Ulster crown.
But Loughrea proved too strong. An Anthony Burns goal helped them lead 1-9 to 0-10 at half-time before a superb Vince Morgan major helped propel the Galway champions into their first All-Ireland final since 2007.
Loughrea’s celebrations at full-time were somewhat tempered, however, after Cullen Killeen was shown a straight red card in injury time for what appeared to be an off-the-ball clash with Slaughtneil’s Brendan Rogers.
Killeen is now set to miss the final in which Loughrea will face Ballygunner or St Martin’s on the weekend of 17/18 January.
Slaughtneil stay in touch before half-time
This is the latest in a string of All-Ireland semi-final disappointments for Slaughtneil, who have been the dominant force in Ulster over the past decade.
Their five semi-final reverses included some near-misses, notably last year’s one-point defeat by Sarsfields after extra-time.
But they did not come quite as close on Sunday as Loughrea pulled clear during a dominant second-half display to book their place in the showpiece game.
Despite not having played a competitive game since beating St Thomas’ to retain the Galway title on 1 November, Loughrea appeared sharper from the outset as they raced into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead through Caimin Killeen and Tiernan Killeen’s point from play and a Martin McManus free.
But after Conor McAllister nailed a long-range score, Slaughtneil settled into the game and trailed 0-6 to 0-5 after 15 minutes thanks to four Shea Cassidy points.
Anthony Burns spurned the first goal chance of the game when he blasted wide, and while Tiernan Killeen’s free stretched Loughrea’s advantage to two points, two Shea Cassidy frees brought Slaughtneil back level for the first time.
Jamie Ryan and Chrissy McKaigue – operating in an advanced role for Slaughtneil – exchanges scores before Burns atoned for his earlier miss when he blasted high into Oisin O’Doherty’s net after a long ball forward caused confusion in the Derry side’s defence.
Caimin Killeen scored a fine point from play for Loughrea, but Shea Cassidy and Ruairi O Mianain’s efforts ensured Slaughtneil only trailed by two at the interval.
InphoSlaughtneil’s hopes of a second-half fightback were quickly quelled when Loughrea scored three of the first four points after the restart before Morgan rattled the net with an unstoppable strike.
Morgan’s green flag put Loughrea seven points up, and while Slaughtneil continued to chip away, they were unable to find the goal they needed to cause significant consternation in the Galway side’s ranks.
While Loughrea were able to keep Slaughtneil at arm’s length to eventually win by 13, they were incensed at full-time after Murphy’s decision to dismiss Cullen Killeen.
The Limerick official gestured that Killeen had struck Slaughtneil’s Rogers, placing a sour note on an otherwise excellent performance from the influential Loughrea midfielder.
Line-ups
Loughrea: Gearoid Loughnane; Paul Hoban, Johnny Coen, Kieran Hanrahan (0-1); Brian Keary, Shane Morgan (0-2, 2f), Joe Mooney; Ian Hanrahan, Cullen Killeen (0-1); Caimin Killeen (0-2), Tiernan Killeen (0-6, 4f), Jamie Ryan (0-3); Anthony Burns (1-1), Vince Morgan (1-1), Martin McManus (0-2).
Subs: Neil Keary (0-3) for McManus (45 mins), Alan Kelly for I Hanrahan (51 mins), Gavin Maher for B Keary (56 mins), Luke McInerney for Ryan (58 mins), Mikey Murray for Morgan (60 mins).
Slaughtneil: Oisin O’Doherty; Fionn McEldowney, Paul McNeil, Conor McAllister (0-1); Ruairi O Mianain (0-2), Meehaul McGrath, Shane McGuigan; Cathal O Mianain, Chrissy McKaigue (0-2); Mark McGuigan (0-1), Se Mcguigan, Eamon Cassidy (0-1); Brendan Rogers, Cormac O’Doherty, Shea Cassidy (0-8, 7f).
Subs: Conor Coyle for C O Mianain (37 mins), Jerome McGuigan for S McGuigan (39 mins), Peter McCullagh for Mark McGuigan and Gerald Bradley for S Cassidy (both 54 mins).
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)
