AIB All-Ireland Club SHC Semi-Final
Sarsfields 0-18 Slaughtneil 0-17
By Paul Keane at Cedral St Conleth’s Park
A remarkable rollercoaster ride for the Sarsfields club will take one last sweeping turn next month when the Cork side pitch up at Croke Park for the AIB All-Ireland club SHC final.
Around 14 months on from the disastrous floods of Storm Babet, which left their Riverstown grounds submerged, and just two since losing the Cork final heavily, they have somehow placed themselves within an hour of national success.
Cathal McCarthy’s 63rd minute score, a beauty from the left wing, ultimately separated the sides while four points from county man Jack O’Connor proved significant too. There were five important points from Aaron Myers too.
But this will go down as a win for the collective and for everyone associated with the Glanmire club in perhaps the most turbulent era in their history.
They will be the first Cork side since Newtownshandrum in 2006 to contest an All-Ireland senior club final and will take on Na Fianna or Loughrea, who meet in the second semi-final today.
Sarsfields lost that county final to Imokilly in October but took out Feakle and then holders Ballygunner in Munster before emerging victorious from this stern test in Kildare.
But it’s another painful loss for Slaughtneil, their fifth All-Ireland semi-final defeat in the last decade.
Both sides travelled to Cedral St Conleth’s Park sensing opportunity knocking given that traditional heavyweights like Ballygunner, Ballyhale Shamrocks and St Thomas’ were all out of the picture.
But it was more a tense arm wrestle than a free-flowing encounter despite the favourable conditions and new sod at the redeveloped Kildare venue.
Sarsfields hit the interval with a narrow 0-8 to 0-7 lead but only six of those combined 15 points came from open play.
Cormac O’Doherty slotted five from placed balls for Slaughtneil but was off target with three more while Daniel Hogan nailed four first-half points from frees but fired two wide.
Hogan’s second wide came just before the half-time break when he struck the post from a relatively easy position, prompting the management to put Myers on the frees after the break.
Bryan Murphy did snipe a cracking point for Sarsfields from the right wing in a period when they scored five in a row between the 17th and 24th minutes.
Shane McGuigan’s score for Slaughtneil just before half-time was the Derry men’s best of the half but there was more perspiration than inspiration overall.
Sarsfields were living dangerously at the back and three of their defenders were on yellow cards by early in the second-half.
It was that sort of game with referee James Owens also showing Slaughtneil and Derry football star Brendan Rogers yellow for a tussle with his marker at one stage.
Slaughtneil dug deepest in the third quarter and reeled off four points in a row at one stage to lead by 0-12 to 0-9.
Meehaul McGrath hit the fourth of those scores, a fine effort from distance, and with 16 minutes to go Slaughtneil were in pole position. A famous win beckoned.
But they couldn’t hold on and supporters who had made the marathon journey from south Derry winced as Sarsfield finished strongly.
From the 44th minute onwards, they outscored Slaughtneil by 0-9 to 0-5 and grabbed back control of the game with five unanswered points.
McCarthy’s second point of the game left Sars 0-18 to 0-16 clear three minutes into stoppage time but Slaughtneil still almost rescued a famous win.
They forged a terrific goal opportunity when O’Doherty passed across to Mark McGuigan but his shot went over the bar instead of under.
Scorers for Sarsfields: Aaron Myers 0-5 (2fs), Daniel Hogan 0-4 (4fs), Jack O’Connor 0-4, Cathal McCarthy 0-2, Bryan Murphy 0-1, Shane O’Regan 0-1, Liam Healy 0-1.
Scorers for Slaughtneil: Cormac O’Doherty 0-9 (8fs, 1 65), Shane McGuigan 0-3, Shea Cassidy 0-1, Eamon Cassidy 0-1, Ruairi O Miainain 0-1, Meehaul McGrath 0-1, Mark McGuigan 0-1.
Sarsfields: Ben Graham; Paul Leopold, Cillian Roche, Conor O’Sullivan; Bryan Murphy, Eoghan Murphy, Luke Elliott; Colm McCarthy, Cathal McCarthy; Daniel Kearney, Daniel Hogan, Cian Darcy; Aaron Myers, Jack O’Conor, James Sweeney.
Subs: Shane O’Regan for Sweeney 42, Craig Leahy for Leopold 44, Killian Murphy for Eoghan Murphy 50, Liam Healy for Kearney 58.
Slaughtneil: Oisin O’Doherty; Sean Cassidy, Fionn McEldowney, Paul McNeill; Shane McGuigan, Ruairi O Mianain, Conor McAllister; Jack Cassidy, Meehaul McGrath; Cormac O’Doherty, Brendan Rogers, Mark McGuigan; Shea Cassidy, Se McGuigan, Eamon Cassidy.
Subs: Cathal McKaigue for O Mianain 52, Gerald Bradley for McGrath 56, Peter McCullagh for Jack Cassidy 58.
Referee: James Owens (Wexford).
