THE Ulster Club Hurling Championship semi-final between Cushendall and Slaughtneil is front and centre on Saturday evening as the teams head to Armagh for a repeat of last year’s final (7.15pm, live on RTE 2).

Last year, the Antrim champions claimed a four-point win in Newry but this margin masks what was a dominant display from the Glensmen as their domination of this fixture continued.

It proved to be the last stand for Micky McShane who brought his nine-year tenure with the Derry side to an end and this year, former Armagh dual star Paul McCormack came in and helped the Emmett’s maintain their stranglehold on their county title with a 12th-straight success.

Undoubtedly, they will be smarting from their defeat to Cushendall in last year’s provincial final and motivation will not be in short supply as they seek a return to the decider where Portaferry lie in wait, but then the Antrim side has their own ambitions to maintain their own push for further glory having retained the county title last month with victory over Dunloy.

Last year, the Ruairis came up agonisingly short against Kilkenny’s O’Loughlin Gaels in the All-Ireland semi-final and they will certainly be keen to get back to that stage, but to do so they must negotiate the provincial terrain, starting with Saturday’s showdown under the Athletic Grounds’ lights.

Winning Antrim was to be savoured, but they were quick to refocus and manager, Brian Delargy insists they have nothing more on their minds but the 60-plus minutes ahead this weekend.

“The boys enjoyed it - we all did - but they were back on the pitch on the Thursday,” he said of their county final win.

“You sometimes bring them back the first night and go easy, but the boys came back in good form and raring to go again, so since that Thursday it’s been really good and the standards have gone up.

“When we had our meeting at the start of the year, it wasn’t mentioned about winning All-Irelands. It was just about keeping the group together and building on what we’ve been doing.

“We won the Antrim league with good performances throughout and now onto championship and Ulster. I can’t remember the All-Ireland semi-final (last year) mentioned once.

“They are a good bunch of lads and we just want to keep the season rolling. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s one game at a time.”

Their opponents have also performed well on the All-Ireland stage in the past but have been unable to get over the line in the last four and Slaughtneil’s ambitions will be just as great this year.

They have plenty of quality with Cormac O’Doherty, Brendan Rogers, Ruairi O’Mianain, Shane McGuigan and Jack Cassidy spearheading their challenge.

Their own county title win was not to be taken for granted and it wasn’t but their manager acknowledges the challenge is much greater this week.

“It’s an opportunity, but we don’t know where we are at until the game’s on and I hope we take the opportunity,” said McCormack.

“They have a lot of good players, so your head would be spinning trying to put out all those fires. We are under no illusion it is going to take more than one man to step up, so we will just do the best we can as the game takes a life of its own. We will have a plan, but it needs to be carried out.”

These teams will know each other inside out at this stage and despite coming from different counties, there is almost a derby feel to this Ulster Championship as the three teams involved were also here 12 months ago.

It’s a huge showcase for Ulster hurling with the game broadcast throughout the country, but winning is the most important thing for both.

Cushendall report a clean bill of health for the game and their manager is aware it will be all hands to the pump this weekend to ensure their year doesn’t come to an end.

“Playing the champions of each county, they are battle-hardened, successful and know how to win,” Delargy acknowledged.

“It’s good that the three teams there are back from last year, so they are used to it.

“The standard of Ulster hurling is very high and it’s good to see it on RTE as it will get to show the standard in Ulster is good.

“If you don’t perform and get put out, you have a long time to wait, so it’s about performing and getting the win.

“Slaughtneil will be wanting to put it right after last year’s performance, but we know we are going to have to play our best.”