AFTER the heartache of last year’s Ulster final defeat to Cushendall, every Slaughtneil player had cause to enjoy the warm afterglow of Saturday night’s epic semi-final.
For Conor McAllister, though, it was just that little bit sweeter.
Days before that 2023 provincial decider he ruptured his patellar tendon at training – seeing the Emmett’s corner-back miss a huge game for the club, and setting him on a long road to recovery.
When he came off the bench for the last 20 minutes of Slaughtneil’s comprehensive county final win over Banagher, it was McAllister’s first taste of competitive hurling since the previous year’s Derry decider.
But boss Paul McCormack decided he was ready to start once it came to Ulster – with McAllister thrown in at the deep end against a Cushendall side hell-bent on holding onto their title at the Athletic Grounds.
“Talk about a baptism of fire,” he smiled.
“It’s a long road back, and it’s a huge step up when you come into a game like that. It was unbelievable, the intensity there, and credit to the referee, he let it go – it made for an unbelievable game.
“When you have these boys around you, the likes of Finn McEldowney in there, only 18 years of age, setting the example… I wouldn’t say it’s easy to come back but those boys help, big time.”
McAllister managed to escape his defensive duties long enough to join several of the Slaughtneil attacks, firing over a superb first half score as the Derry champions set the terms of engagement from the off.
The Ruairi Ogs, typically, kept battling, first reeling in that early lead before – with Slaughtneil almost there – a long-range Neil McManus effort was deflected into the net at the death to send an exhilarating game into extra-time.
It was a similar scenario to the previous year’s Ulster semi-final, when more McManus heroics saved Cushendall’s skin before they ran over the top of Portaferry in extra-time. This time around, though, was a different story – Slaughtneil firing on all cylinders from the off, keeping the Glensmen at bay.
“Credit to Cushendall too, they never say die, as always. We knew that coming into the game.
“We were here to watch them last year against Portaferry, three down with a minute to go, we knew we weren’t home until the final whistle was gone.
“But we had it won. We got off to a brilliant start, Cushendall clawed it back, and then we had it won again. It’s very easy to drop the head but credit to Paul [McCormack] in the changing room after full-time, he just got us settled, got us focused again, got boys’ heads up and the body language was good.
“We just got back at it - we’d no choice. There was no panic, just calmness. We had the game nearly won once, we knew we could go and do it again.
“We knew we had the legs, we had confidence in our preparation to go and win it again.”
Their reward is a showdown with Portaferry back at the Athletic Grounds on December 1.
For Slaughtneil, though, it is proof that a change in how the dual club trains is bearing fruit; having moved from separate football and hurling nights to split sessions – 45 minutes football, 45 minutes hurling.
“I think the dual session has been good, though obviously that hasn’t been a factor the last few weeks; we’ve been able to have a real focus on hurling.
“You’ve seen the improvement even in those few weeks, having everyone going out and getting that extra time with a hurl in their hand.
“But we have a big challenge coming. We know how good a side Portaferry are, in all honesty they probably should’ve had Cushendall beat last year, so we’re under no illusions going into the game.”
