O’Neills Derry SFC quarter-final replay: Slaughtneil v Eoghan Rua, Coleraine (tonight, 8pm, Owenbeg)
THE conventional wisdom after a game like last weekend’s would be that Eoghan Rua missed the boat but that would do their own status a disservice.
Despite not having reached a county final since their one-point loss to the Emmet’s in 2015, they have been the second most consistent team in Derry in the time since.
Others may argue the case but in winning the Derry and Ulster leagues, All-Ireland sevens and Dr Kerlin Cup last year, they were primed for a shot at the champions before they fell asunder in the semi-final to their nemeses, Ballinascreen.
It was no surprise to many that the drawn game was so close, but what was surprising was Slaughtneil’s level of performance in the first 20 minutes.
They found themselves 0-6 to 0-1 down. They were kicking ball away most uncharacteristically, and they were giving away scoreable frees in defence.
Led by Padraig Cassidy, they were much better thereafter but Eoghan Rua equally deserved something from the game and Liam McGoldrick’s goal gave it to them.
So many of the big individual battles were cancellations. Chrissy McKaigue’s second half arguably saw him shade it against Sean Leo McGoldrick, and the Coleraine men may look to remedy that with a positional switch for the versatile McGoldrick.
Equally, the four-in-a-row winners will hope that Brendan Rogers is fit after making his return from a foot injury to play half of the county hurling final on Sunday.
He would go straight in on Colm McGoldrick, against whom he has a good record. The powerful full-forward proved troublesome for the Emmet’s in the drawn game, with Karl McKaigue – who has been playing through injury and sat out the hurling final - eventually switched off him in the second half after a handful of fouls.
Conor McAllister did a good job on Ruairi Mooney and Paul McNeill likewise on Ciaran McGoldrick, and Eoghan Rua will need more out of both of them if they’re to get across the line.
They may also consider starting Liam McGoldrick around the middle after he extolled a huge influence on the second half after moving out from full-back.
Eoghan Rua will most likely still be without Declan Mullan, while Slaughtneil are also likely to continue with the influential Patsy Bradley, though their debutant Jerome McGuigan helped them dominate the middle last time.
If any side is capable of repeating their performance and taking Slaughtneil back to the brink, it’s Eoghan Rua. But they still might not have quite enough to finish the job.
