Hurling & Camogie

Experience can edge Slaughtneil across the line in face of deadly Dunloy firepower

The pacy Keelan Molloy was excellent as Dunloy destroyed Ballycran at the Athletic Grounds two weeks ago.<br /> Picture by Seamus Loughran
The pacy Keelan Molloy was excellent as Dunloy destroyed Ballycran at the Athletic Grounds two weeks ago.
Picture by Seamus Loughran
The pacy Keelan Molloy was excellent as Dunloy destroyed Ballycran at the Athletic Grounds two weeks ago.
Picture by Seamus Loughran

AIB Ulster Club Senior Hurling Championship final: Robert Emmet’s, Slaughtneil (Derry) v Cuchulainn’s, Dunloy (Antrim) (tomorrow, 3pm, Pairc Esler)

FOR all the praise that came their way in the wake of dethroning Cushendall and breezing past Ballycran, tomorrow will be the real test of where this Dunloy side is capable of going.

Slaughtneil know the terrain at this time of year pretty well. Five Ulster finals in the last six years, twice they have returned home with the Four Seasons Cup after breaking through the glass ceiling in 2016.

Last year’s unexpected blip, when they were blasted away by Ballycran, was the sign of a group of players whose arduous campaigning on two fronts had eventually taken its toll.

But the break from training through Christmas for a crack at the All-Ireland stage has done them no harm in this campaign, with fitness and freshness restored as they safely negotiated the choppy waters of the Derry championship for the seventh time in-a-row.

Against Armagh’s Middletown in their Ulster semi-final a fortnight ago, they didn’t get out of second gear - they didn’t need to.

Mickey McShane will know that such a workmanlike display won’t cut it tomorrow, and the Ballycastle man will have watched with interest as the main event at the Athletic Grounds that day proved equally one-sided.

Dunloy were far too quick and far too sharp for a Ballycran side whose slim hopes of recovery were ended when they went down to 14 just after half-time. The remainder of the game was a procession, with Dunloy’s wealth of options from the bench inflicting further woe on the Down champions.

Where Slaughtneil coasted across the line, the Cuchullain’s split the ribbon. It was an impressive display, not just in terms of their efficiency in front of the posts but in the sheer relentlessness of their performance from first minute until last.

At Pairc Esler in Newry tomorrow, however, Dunloy will be granted nothing the like of freedom they were afforded in Armagh. Slaughtneil are adept at defending deep and breaking teams’ hearts.

Gregory O’Kane and his men do not need to be told this, having gained first hand experience two years ago when these clubs faced off in an Ulster semi-final at a heaving Owenbeg.

Backboned by a host of brilliant minors, it proved too much, too soon as the Dunloy challenge was quelled after a bright start. Two years down the line, the work done with strength and conditioning coach Eoin McNicholl is clearly paying off, though, and where they weren’t physically able for Slaughtneil in 2017, they now look to be.

There is no doubt Dunloy have the pace and finishing power to hurt any side. The speedy Keelan Molloy was unstoppable against Ballycran, but is likely to be faced with man-marker supreme Karl McKaigue tomorrow.

Conal Cunning, Eoin McNeill, Nicky McKeague and Nigel Elliott also had a field day last time out, with Ballycran’s decision to go without a sweeper backfiring as Dunloy were granted far too much space to wreak havoc, especially from wide areas.

The fact they amassed only four wides across the afternoon speaks volumes for their efficiency, but also the lack of pressure in key areas.

It is likely that the brilliant positional nous of Chrissy McKaigue will be a significant barrier to their progress tomorrow afternoon. Despite operating at midfield, the Slaughtneil captain tends to filter back at the first whiff of danger, with Mark McGuigan dropping in around the middle to plug the gap.

Having seen what the pace of Dunloy did to 14 men two weeks ago, Slaughtneil must keep their heads or they would be playing right into their opponents’ hands.

The Emmett’s attack, meanwhile, tends to centre around brilliant centre-forward Cormac O’Doherty, and it looks likely he will have Kevin McGarry for company.

Dunloy are disciplined in defence, and they will need to be at their best tomorrow as the inside line of Sé McGuigan, Brian Cassidy and Brendan Rogers rotate to good effect, with O’Doherty often providing the bullets.

That said, the goalscoring power that was once their hallmark hasn’t been in evidence as much through this campaign, while Dunloy barely allowed Ballycran near their square two weeks ago.

You can’t help but feel that the margins in this game could be extremely tight, with the respective benches potentially having a big say – and it is here where Dunloy might just tip the scales.

Seaan Elliott has been used mainly as an impact sub and his goals helped Dunloy to the county title, while young Anton McGrath scored a classy goal during his 16-minute cameo in the Ulster semi-final.

All the ingredients are there for a classic, the irresistible force against the immovable object, and a draw would come as no surprise.

Should Dunloy win, the sky is the limit in terms of what they could go on and achieve, such would be the confidence taken. But it is hard to shake the feeling that Slaughtneil’s renewed hunger and the experience of years on the road might edge them across the line – just.