Cormac ready to clear final hurdle at last

Slaughtneil (Der) v Ballygunner (Wat)

Tomorrow, Parnell Park, 1.30pm CORMAC O’DOHERTY knows Slaughtneil have no right to reach an All-ireland club hurling final just because they’re returning for a fourth crack at making it to a Croke Park showpiece.

The Derry and Ulster champions face Waterford’s Ballygunner at Parnell Park tomorrow, having lost three previous semi-finals.

“That (Ballyhale) was our third venture into the All-ireland series and the first two, we were well and truly beaten,” says O’doherty (above).

“Although we were in a good position against Na Piarsaigh, we were never really in a position to be competitive for the full game.

“In the Ballyhale game we were competitive but at the same time we were always chasing the game.

“Against a team at that level, the level we’re at now, when you’re chasing a game for 60 minutes it’s very tough to get a result.

“But definitely we learned a lot about ourselves that day, and it gave us an insight into what was needed to compete at this level.

“At the end of the day that’s all we did. We didn’t win. All we did was compete, but it gave us an insight into what it took.

“That’s something hopefully we’ve used the last two years to learn from.”

O’doherty continued: “What we’ve tried to focus on over the last few years is developing ourselves physically, technically and tactically.

“The two year gap allowed us to do that but, at the same time, we don’t know where we stand at this level because we’ve been out of it two years. We’ll soon find out.”