AIB All-Ireland Club SHC: Loughrea come good with powerful second-half display

​AIB All-Ireland Club Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final

Loughrea 2-22 Sleacht Neill 0-15

By Paul Keane at Parnell Park, Dublin

With two points between the teams at half-time, the golden ticket for next month's All-Ireland decider at nearby Croke Park was there for the taking.

Loughrea led by two points at that stage but it was anyone's game as Sleacht Neill attempted to overcome a semi-final at the sixth attempt.

Half an hour or so later, Loughrea breasted the winning tape with 13 points to spare, that giant gap between the teams underlining just how good they played in the second-half.

Beaten by Na Fianna at the semi-final stage last year, Loughrea were determined not to suffer another miserable Christmas and powered on to reach what is a first final for the club since 2007.

Vince Morgan's 37th minute goal was the gamebreaker, allowing Loughrea to put significant daylight between the teams.

And the westerners hit the afterburners then, reeling off nine points in a row in the final quarter to see off a Sleacht Neill side desperate to make it to a first ever final.

But the game ended on a low note from Loughrea's perspective as midfielder Cullen Killeen was shown a straight red card in the 62nd minute.

That final will take place at nearby Croke Park on January 17/18 against the winners of this afternoon's second semi-final between Ballygunner and St Martin's.

Loughrea will feel they need to tidy up on their shooting because despite firing 2-22, they also registered 15 wides.

Darren Shaughnessy struck the crucial goal for Loughrea in their county final win over St Thomas' back in early November but he missed out this time, underlying the depth of their panel.

Shaughnessy was named to start at full-forward but was replaced by Morgan, a like-for-like switch in terms of goal-poaching ability as it transpired.

Morgan was immediately powerful and direct and won an early free that Tiernan Killeen converted, helping Loughrea to open up a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after seven minutes.

Tiernan Killeen was exceptional initially, at the hub of everything positive that Loughrea did in an attacking sense.

The Leinster SHC finalist with Galway had three points on the board by the 11th minute, set up Caimin Killeen for Loughrea's opening point and drew the foul that led to Meehaul McGrath's 18th minute booking.

That left McGrath in a sticky situation and the Sleacht Neill management responded by switching Shane McGuigan across to mark Tiernan Killeen.

That move, along with a noticeable upping of the ante by Sleacht Neill generally, led to the game shifting in the Ulster champions' direction.

They battled back to level terms in the 23rd minute at 0-7 to 0-7 and were level again at 0-8 apiece before Loughrea registered their goal.

Chrissy McKaigue, wearing number nine but starting at full-forward, had just pointed for Sleacht Neill and from the resulting Loughrea puck-out, the ball broke loose and Anthony Burns pounced, darting in to gather up the ball before blasting it to the net.

Loughrea hit the interval 1-9 to 0-10 ahead but rued their seven first-half wides.

That figure stretched to nine misses early in the second-half and with four Loughrea players also on yellow cards at that stage, opportunity knocked for Sleacht Neill.

Four-time Galway champions Loughrea weren't about to let the opportunity slip, however, and put in a commanding third quarter to lead 2-13 to 0-13.

Points from Burns, Tiernan Killeen and Martin McManus preceded the Morgan goal in the 37th minute.

It was a cracking goal too as he took off on the left and kept going until he got a powerful shot away that flew across Oisin O'Doherty to the far corner of the Sleacht Neill net.

Sleacht Neill did their best to grab a foothold in the game, reeling off points from Mark McGuigan, Shea Cassidy and Eamon Cassidy.

But Loughrea then reeled off those nine points in a row to set the seal on a terrific win, substitute Neil Keary making his own case for inclusion in the final with three points.

Scorers for Loughrea: Tiernan Killeen 0-6 (0-4f), Anthony Burns 1-1, Vince Morgan 1-1, Jamie Ryan 0-3 (0-1 s/l), Neil Keary 0-3, Caimin Killeen 0-2, Martin McManus 0-2, Shane Morgan 0-2 (2f), Kieran Hanrahan 0-1, Cullen Killeen 0-1.

Scorers for Sleacht Neill: Shea Cassidy 0-8 (0-7f), Chrissy McKaigue 0-2, Ruairi O Mianain 0-2, Conor McAllister 0-1, Mark McGuigan 0-1, Eamon Cassidy 0-1.

Loughrea: Gearoid O'Donoghue; Paul Hoban, Johnny Coen, Joe Mooney; Shane Morgan, Kieran Hanrahan, Brian Keary; Ian Hanrahan, Cullen Killeen; Caimin Killeen, Tiernan Killeen, Jamie Ryan; Anthony Burns, Vince Morgan, Martin McManus.

Subs: Neil Keary for McManus 45, Alan Kelly for Ian Hanrahan 53, Gavin Maher for Brian Keary 57, Luke McInerney for Ryan 58, Mikey Murray for Vince Morgan 60.

Sleacht Neill: Oisin O'Doherty; Conor McAllister, Paul McNeill, Fionn McEldowney; Ruairi O Mianain, Meehaul McGrath, Shane McGuigan; Cathal O Mianain, Cormac O'Doherty; Mark McGuigan, Se McGuigan, Brendan Rogers; Eamon Cassidy, Chrissy McKaigue, Shea Cassidy.

Subs: Conor Coyle for Cathal O Mianain 19-22 blood, Coyle for Cathal O Mianain 39, Jerome McGuigan for Se McGuigan 39, Peter McCullagh for Mark McGuigan 55, Gerald Bradley for Shea Cassidy 55.

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).