UHC FINAL
Slaughtneil 0-23
St John's 0-10
at Athletic Grounds
A STRONG performance from Oisin MacManus still proved to be insufficient for St John's after they suffered a defeat at the hands of favourites Slaughtneil who claimed their second Ulster title in as many years after victory on Saturday evening.
The Johnnies battled bravely but the Derry dynasty that is Slaughtneil showed their strength late on as they pulled away in the final quarter to seal a 13-point victory over the Corrigan Park side.
Oisin MacManus got the game underway when the Johnnies' forward was able to strike a distanced effort between the posts after the Sleachneil midfielders impeded Sean Wilson from the initial throw-in.
Shea Cassidy did eventually level proceedings for the Derry men but it took almost eight minutes before they struck their reply and restored parity at the Athletic grounds.
St John's 2025 Ulster Hurling Final panel
The Antrim champions would rue two chances to retake the advantage early on. Conall Bohill and McManus both saw the wide signalled before Sé McGuigan and Cormac O’Doherty would lead by example when their scores hit the catch net behind the goal as the current holders would take a narrow lead before the tenth minute mark.
The impressive Slaughtneil backline set the tone early on with the men in maroon and white proving very resolute when the Belfast men saw most of their early attacks turned over with Meehaul McGrath and Shane McGuigan showing their vast experience at this level.
Cassidy struck his second point of the half but Oisin McManus met his counterpart by striking a second free and halving the deficit for the Johnnies.
McManus cut the deficit once more and showed his cool nature by pointing twice in quick succession as the Slaughtneil lead only stood at three despite St John’s struggling to cope with retaining the ball as the Derry men hassled tenaciously.
Donal Carson battles for a high ball
Sé Cassidy’s spin and strike restored his side's lead after Domhnall Nugent’s puck-out failed to target a blue jersey once more, and Cassidy’s effort saw white flags raised.
Ths Johnnies struggled to make any real dent in their opposition outside of McManus who was having a terrific individual performance with five scores
Despite holding the lead, Slaughtneil could not punish St John’s, striking almost as many wides as they did scores with their lead just sitting at four points when the referee sounded his whistle for the half.
Both sides exchanged scores at the beginning of the half when Cormac O’Doherty and McManus would both score a point apiece a single minute after the restart.
Slaughtneil will face Loughrea in the All-Ireland semi-final
Shane McGuigan struck one of the scores of the game after the 18-year-old thundered a fantastic effort high and over Domhnall Nugent’s crossbar but Sean Wilson finally lifted the weight off McManus’ shoulders when he cut inside from the left and cracked his effort for St John’s seventh score of the match.
Brendan Rodgers pointed his second of the game when the county all-star short-pucked from close range to grant his side a five-point advantage early in the second period.
O’Doherty’s third point gave the Derry men the biggest advantage of the evening when he made no mistake from the free. However, just like clockwork, McManus once again tallied for the Johnnies with his sixth free of the evening.
O’Doherty’s 70-yard free just put clear daylight between the sides at the 48th minute of play and his follow up deadball strike saw an eight-point gap, which looked a mountain to climb for St John’s.
Chrissy McKeague’s over the shoulder strike caused a raucous of roars from the Derry fans in the Athletic grounds as they knew they were finally getting into a groove.
McKeague’s slight move into a more forward position was proving to be a stroke of genius when St John’s struggled to deal with the forward as he pointed a second score in as many minutes.
Despite the eight-point gap, Oisin MacManus was determined to keep his side in the contest as he continued to drive home his chances and convert them into scores for the Johnnies.
Cormac O’Doherty’s eighth point of the evening proved curtains for this final and the frustration seemingly got to St John’s as Oisin Donnelly was sent off after a careless challenge in added time.
O’Doherty’s tenth point of the game proved to be the final action of the tie and Slaughtneil ran out worthy winners for the second year in a row.
No doubt their achievement in Antrim this season will be remembered for many years to come, and going toe-to-toe with one of Ireland's best club sides is no mean feat either. Despite the defeat St John's will lick their wounds and be hungry for more success next season.
St John's: D Nugent; R McNulty, C Johnston, J Bohill; C Morgan, P McCallin, E McGurk; S Wilson 0-1, A Bradley; M Dudley, C Johnston, C Bohill; D Carson, S Shannon, O McManus 0-9 (0-7f).
SUBS: C Hanna
Slaughtneil: O O’Doherty; F McEldowney, P McNeil, C McAllister; R Ó Mianáin, M McGrath, S McGuigan 0-1; C Ó Mianáin, C McKaigue 0-1; M McGuigan, S McGuigan 0-2, E Cassidy 0-1; B Rogers 0-2, C O’Doherty 0-10 (0-8f), S Cassidy 0-5 (0-2f).
SUBS: C Coyle, P McCullagh, G Bradley, P Burke 0-1
