Freshness of youth key for Slaughtneil's juggernaut

Cormac O’Doherty put in a man-of-the-match display in Slaughtneil’s 0-23 to 0-10 AIB Ulster Senior Hurling Final victory over St John’s on Saturday evening.

Deployed at centre back, the Derry inter-county stalwart was the conductor of the orchestra in much of the six-time Ulster champions’ best play.

O’Doherty was unerring from placed balls and finished with a handsome tally of 0-10, but he points to the squad’s replenishment through its constant conveyor belt of youth as the real driving force behind their seemingly perennial success at county and provincial level.

“The young lads have been massive. We’ve had one or two players coming in the last three or four years, and it’s just been brilliant, a real breath of fresh air. We need those young lads coming in and driving the whole thing on, and we’re very lucky to have them.”

“People talk about Slaughtneil getting old, but those young boys have just come in and made the team their own. Us old boys will hang around for a while yet, but it’s great to see it.”

It took Robert Emmet’s some time to find their flow against the Belfast men, with their first score not arriving until the eighth minute when Shea Cassidy cancelled out Oisín McManus’ first-minute free.

Slaughtneil seemed to play within themselves throughout and only truly pulled away in the final third. Their scoring efficiency is certainly something manager Paul McCormack will focus on as they prepare for their All-Ireland semi-final against Loughrea in just over a fortnight’s time.

Key to their preparation, O’Doherty says, is never looking beyond what is directly ahead, a mindset that has served them well all year.

Niall O'Kane reflects on the culture change driving Glenullin's success

“The whole club has just seemingly taken an upward trajectory”

Niall O'Kane reflects on the culture change driving Glenullin's success

“The whole club has just seemingly taken an upward trajectory”

“It’s a massive result and another Ulster championship, but we know we have to reach a different level in three weeks’ time against Loughrea. It’s so special to play for and represent our club, but any chance you get on such a special occasion, you have to take it, and we know we need to improve.”

“From the start of the year we sat down and said we needed to defend our Derry title, and we didn’t look past that. There are a lot of teams coming after us. Portaferry a few weeks ago was a massive battle, as was St John’s. I’ve no doubt the minds will switch tomorrow and move onto Loughrea.”