Slaughtneil find yet another way to triumph in a thriller

SLAUGHNEIL: A McMullan; P McNeill, B Rogers, K McKaigue 0-1; F McEldowney, C McKaigue 0-1, K Feeney; Patsy Bradley, P Cassidy 0-1; R Bradley, Shane McGuigan 0-3, 1f, M McGrath 0-2; C Bradley 1-5, 1f 1 ‘45’, Sé McGuigan 1-0, C O’Doherty 0-2 Subs: B McGuigan for McGrath, 24 - 29 mins, Blood Sub, B Cassidy 0-2 for O’Doherty, 30m, B McGuigan for Patsy Bradley, 60m.

KILCAR: E McGinley; B McGinley 0-1, C McShane, B Shovlin; R McHugh, M Hegarty, P Carr; C McGinley 0-1, M McHugh 0-1; S McBrearty 0-1, E McHugh 0-1, C Doherty; A McClean 0-1, P McBrearty 0-10, 5f, S Shovlin

Subs: M McClean 0-1 for S Shovlin, 42m, M Sweeney for C McGinley, 44m, B O’Donnell for McShane, 60m

Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone) Attendance: 3,120

THE ‘Double-Treble’ or the ‘Treble-Double’, nobody quite knows what to call it, but Slaughtneil are just an hour’s football away from defending their Ulster titles in football, hurling and camogie after they came through a difficult test, rising to the Kilcar challenge and burning off the Donegal champions.

How they did it was a marvel as at half-time they were a point down, 0-8 to 0-7, and it appeared that Kilcar’s impressive running game, along with the accuracy of Paddy McBrearty, could spell the end for the leg-weary Derrymen.

But Kilcar spurned four giltedged goal chances — not to mention the general excellence of Antoin McMullan in Slaughtneil’s goal — while Slaughtneil themselves hit only two wides in the entire game, one coming in the final play.

To put it another way, Kilcar had 24 efforts at goal all evening while Slaughtneil had 21. This is what economy of effort looks and feels like.

“We were a point down and they were really putting it up to us, there’s no two ways about it,” said Slaughtneil’s assistant manager John Joe Kearney (inset) with an audible ‘phew’ afterwards.

“I suppose they had their goal chances in either half that they didn’t put away. It could have left it a different result or a lot closer anyway. At half-time, we knew what they were capable of.”

His opposite number, Barry Doherty, was downbeat but not downhearted after a season that delivered their first Donegal title in 24 years.

“I couldn’t have asked any more from the lads, they worked hard,” he said. “We tried to push up on their kickouts, which was giving us success but we didn’t start well. We went into half time a point up and didn’t start the second half the pace we should have.”

From the start, it looked like both teams had put considerable thought into the man marking roles. Brendan Rogers picked up Kilcar captain Patrick McBrearty, Ryan McHugh playmaker Ryan McHugh was pushed to centre-forward where he was accompanied by Karl McKaigue, Kilcar limited Chrissy McKaigue’s influence by placing the lively Conor Doherty onto him and Keelan Feeney was to mark