Loughgiel put Slaughtneil to the sword

Sleacht Néill (Derry) 0-5 ... Loughgiel (Antrim) 7-11

A large crowd gathered on Sunday afternoon in Slaughtneil for the AIB Armagh Hotel Ulster club semi-final in anticipation of a classic, a throw-back to some of the head-to-heads Sleacht Néill and Loughgiel produced over the past decade.

What they got fell far short of that – but you won’t hear anyone from across the Bann complaining!

Despite the home team getting off to a good start and leading 0-3 to 0-1 after 11 minutes courtesy of a couple of sharply taken points from Aoibh Mulholland, they scored just twice more while their visitors and provincial title-holders Loughgiel seemed to simply open them at will.

The Shamrocks had been caught on the hop by Dunloy in the Antrim final three weeks ago. That game turned into a classic as they fought their way back into contention with goals and then pinched their 12th-in-a-row with a goal from Annie Lynn in injury time – her third of the afternoon.

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Loughgiel arrived in Sleacht Néill with a lesson learned – and a determination to go for goals again. The Antrim final finished with them winning by 4-11 to 1-17. On Sunday they bettered that total with three more goals and didn’t allow Sleacht Néill the opportunity to build on their early advantage.

Caitrín Dobbin spent last week collecting dancing awards from the Ulster finals in the Carrickdale Hotel. Twelve minutes in, the corner-forward danced around the Emmett’s defence to slot home the first goal.

By the time Brídín McAllister scored Sleacht Néill’s fourth point a few minutes from the break, the game was well out of their reach with three more goals, all inside a three minutes’ spell.

The first of those was a little fortunate as Ciara Laverty’s shot for a point dropped into the home net after 24 minutes. Within 90 seconds Annie Lynn had fired home her team’s third goal and almost immediately Róisín McCormick made it 4-4 to 0-3.

Loughgiel led the Derry champions by 4-5 to 0-4 at the break and things got even worse.

Four minutes into the second half Marie Laverty saw her first effort at goal blocked. But the Cross and Passion Sixth Former grabbed the re-bound and slotted it past Josie McMullan.

Half time sub Siobhán Bradley raised a cheer with a point, but that turned out to be her team’s only score of the second half. Róisín McCormick pounced for her second goal in the 44th minute to make it 6-9 to 0-5 and Annie Lynn finished off an impressive performance from the Shamrocks with a seventh goal five minutes from time.

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Loughgiel had a big win over a naïve Swatragh team in last year’s Ulster final. Swatragh could have no complaints. Neither could a more experienced Sleacht Néill team on Sunday. Their unbeaten run from the start of the season came to an abrupt end as the Antrim champions tore into a provincial final against Clonduff in a fortnight. Last year at the semi-final stage they took the Down champions for seven green flags. A provincial title looks inevitable.

Scorers and Teams

Loughgiel: R McCormick 2-4 (0-4f), A Lynn 2-3, C Dobbin 1-1, C and M Laverty 1-0 each, K McKillop (f) and M McKillen 0-1 each.

Sleacht Néill: A Mulholland 0-2, T Bradley (1f), B McAllister and S Bradley 0-1 each.

Loughgiel: Emma McAllister, Charlene Campbell, Megan McGarry, Katie Lynn, Lucia McNaughton, Emma McFadden, Clare McKillop, Amy Boyle capt., Ciara Laverty, Kirsty McKendry, Annie Lynn, Katie McKillop, Caitrin Dobbin, Roisin McCormick, Marie Laverty. Subs: Maeve Shannon for L McNaughton (45), Orlagh Laverty for C Dobbin (45), Mary McKillen for M Laverty (45), Maria Lynn for C Campbell (48), Shanna Deery for K McKendry (55)

Sleacht Néill: Josie McMullan capt., Dervla McGuigan, Clare McGrath, Orla McNeill, Lucy McKaigue, Aoife Ní Chaiside, Céat McEldowny, Clíona Mulholland, Sinéad Mellon, Clíodhna Ní Mhianáin, Tina Bradley, Brídín McAllister, Olivia Rafferty, Carla McEldowney, Aoibh Mulholland. Subs: Siobhán Bradley for C Ní Mhianáin (ht), Eimhear McGuigan for L McKaigue (35).