All-Ireland Club SHC: Slaughtneil’s woes continue as Loughrea win semi-final by 2-22 to 0-15

This is the latest in a string of All-Ireland semi-final disappointments for Slaughtneil, who have been a dominant force in Ulster over the past decade.

Their five semi-final defeats have included some near misses, most notably last year’s one-point defeat to Sarsfields after extra time.

But they didn’t get quite close on Sunday as Loughrea pulled away during a dominant second-half display to book their place in the final.

Despite not having played a competitive match since beating St Thomas to retain the Galway title on 1 November, Loughrea looked sharper from the start as they took a 0-3 to 0-0 lead through a Caimin Killeen point, a Tiernan Killeen from play and a Martin McManus free.

But after Conor McAllister scored from long range, Slaughtneil settled into the game and trailed 0-6 to 0-5 after 15 minutes thanks to four points from Shea Cassidy.

Anthony Burns wasted the first goal chance of the game when he shot wide, and while Tiernan Killeen’s free kick increased Loughria’s lead to two points, Slaughtneil restored parity for the first time through two free kicks from Shea Cassidy.

Jamie Ryan and Chrissy McKaigue – operating in an advanced role for Slaughtneil – traded scores before Burns atoned for his earlier miss when he fired high past Oisin O’Doherty after a long ball forward had caused confusion in the Derry side’s defence.

Caimin Killeen scored a brilliant point from play for Loughrea, but the efforts of Shea Cassidy and Ruairi O Mianain ensured Slaughtneil trailed by just two points at half-time.

More to follow.