GAA : SLAUGHTNEIL NEED TO TAME NEMO RUNNING GAME

ALL-IRELAND CLUB SFC SEMI-FINAL Slaughtneil v Nemo Rangers Saturday 4.30 – Portlaoise Ref: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

ON their last visit to Portlaoise, there was scenes of unbridled joy at the final whistle.  On a wet Sunday afternoon in February, Cormac O’Doherty’s dramatic winning point from the shadow of the O’Moore Park stand was Slaughtneil’s passport to Croke Park.

It was their first dip into the waters of the national stage.  At first they were choppy waters.  Kieran Donaghy’s presence, two converted penalties and the Emmet’s were staring defeat head on amidst the belting drums of partisan Austin Stacks’ fans.

Slaughtneil kept swimming into the face of the tidal wave.  The refusal to roll over.  Barry McGuigan’s synching runs.  Patsy Bradley’s seismic shift.  A collective ability to remain ice cool in possession.

Inch by inch, score by score - until O’Doherty’s late wonder point.  Slaughtneil were heading to headquarters.

Last February it was a tour de force by Chrissy McKaigue that chinned St Vincent’s at the same stage.

Croke Park wasn’t as kind.  Firstly, in 2015, a footballing lesson by Corofin sent Slaughtneil up the road with their tail between their legs.

Last year was different.  Andy Merrigan was within touching distance.  Dr Crokes ‘Slaughtneil’d’ them with their extra man, keeping possession.

You could have heard a pin drop as the Slaughtneil players filed onto the bus.  As they emerged into the dank, Drumcrondra darkness – there was uncertainty.  Would they ever get back?

On the inside, there is an expectation to get back to the biggest stage, as assistant manager John Joe Kearney explains.

”It kicked in from the start of the league.  We knew we had a young team that was capable of going the distance, if we could get out of Ulster,” outlined Kearney.

“We had a difficult passage through Ulster but that’s what we have got in that team – we have a great spirit and a will to win.”

BACK ON THE HORSE

Conor McAtamney’s goal and a thunderous Mickey Friel point gave them an initial scare against Swatragh in their first game back, before Mickey Moran’s side navigated their way out of Derry unscathed.

Ulster was different.  A minefield of danger.  Kilcoo, Omagh and Kilcar tested their mettle before Cavan Gaels wilted in the face of the spiralling Slaughtneil momentum in the final.

The sub-plot was a Dr Crokes rematch, but by the time the Seamus McFerran Cup was hoisted, word filtered through – the champions were gone.  It was Nemo Rangers

With seven All-Ireland and 16 Munster titles, Nemo are the kings of club football – one national triumph ahead of the mighty Crossmaglen.  The Cork City’s side last claimed Andy Merrigan in 2003 – the year after they fell to Ballinderry in the final.

They are managed by Larry Kavanagh.  Alongside him is his brother Joe and Stephen O’Brien, both of whom played against Derry in the 1993 All-Ireland Final.  It is their third and final season in charge and are due to step away once their All-Ireland campaign ends.

Mickey Moran studies the game.  He goes through the opposition with a fine tooth comb and despite not seeing Nemo Rangers in the flesh, the Slaughtneil management are beginning to piece their information together.

“We knew very little about them.  The only named player we knew was Kerrigan (Paul) and Tomás Ó Sé,” commented Kearney. “We had a look at them on the video analysis, they are a formidable enough outfit and they will take a bit of beating.

“They have the tradition of being there and done that.  We also have an incentive of being there and being defeated and to get back there, so that will be our motivation.”

Ó Sé, who won a Munster club with his native An Gaeltacht in 2004, didn’t feature in Nemo Rangers’ Munster run before Christmas.  Jack Donovan deputised for him, but Ó Sé is back in training with the squad.

The former Kerry star transferred to the Cork giants in late 2014 and played for the club’s intermediate team under Billy Morgan before making the step up to senior.

Paul Kerrigan was an initial doubt for the All-Ireland series, after being taken off with a knee injury in the closing stages of their win over Dr Crokes in November.  Kerrigan has played in both of Nemo’s two games of 2018 Cork league against Mallow and O’Donovan Rossa, games they won by a combined margin of 34 points.

Out of contention for Saturday though is Cian McWhinney.  The corner-back was stretchered off with a serious injury in the county final replay win over St Finbarr’s.

Slaughtneil are not without their injury problems.  Paul Bradley hasn’t played since their win over Ballinascreen in the Derry final, with a back injury, which required an operation.

“He is back in training and is doing very well but he wouldn’t be anywhere near match fit,” confirmed John Joe Kearney.  “If we were lucky enough to get through (to the final) there is a possibility he could play some part later on.”

Substitute (football) goalkeeper Seán Ó Caiside missed the hurling defeat to Na Piarsaigh with a broken finger, but he is out of plaster.

Sé McGuigan once again faces a waiting game following a hamstring injury picked up in a hurling challenge game, just under five weeks ago.

“With Sé there are question marks over whether he will be fit enough for a full hour of football.  He is coming on well.  He is doing a bit of light training but with a hamstring, it takes five weeks to get better,” added Kearney, who reported a clean bill of health from the club’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final.

The following Tuesday night Slaughtneil beat Antrim by a point in a challenge game in Bellaghy.  It was the club’s second game since their Ulster Final win over Cavan Gaels.

“We have had problems getting pitches and getting games.  To get a county team to play you is difficult but thank God we got a good game with Antrim, which will help.

“It was a good competitive, tight game and Antrim won by a point in the end.  We played Louth in the other game and like the Antrim game we put on some of our fringe players and they beat us by five points.  It was a good competitive game.  We were winning both games at half-time when we had a full team on.”

If, as expected, McGuigan misses out on selection this weekend Cormac O’Doherty is poised to return to the attack after missing the Ulster final, also with a hamstring injury.