AIB Ulster Club SHC Final

SLAUGHTNEIL (DERRY) 1-15 DUNLOY 0-10 (ANTRIM)

By Declan Bogue at Pairc Esler

Slaughtneil secured their third Ulster title in four years with an awesome win over Dunloy so manager Michael McShane was delighted by how his team secured more silverware in Newry.

"You saw out there today who’s the best hurling team," McShane stated. "Now of course, you need physicality with it and a lot of people have talked about Dunloy being physically ready – and they were.

"But it’s not physicality won that game – it was the best hurlers won that game, and we are better hurlers."

For sure, Slaughtneil played the better hurling, aided in no small part by the red card awarded to Dunloy's Nigel Elliott after two bookings within five minutes of each other at the start of the second half, but they also brought a ravenous work-rate, got their match-ups perfect and just swamped the Antrim champions.

By the eighth minute they had four wides and their first score and the never let up.

Five consecutive scores in the middle third of the first half opened up a gap and even when Dunloy cut it to two by half time, the Derrymen added another brace once play resumed.

The killer blow came when Paul Shiels hauled Cormac O'Doherty down in desperation and referee Aidan Ferguson awarded a penalty. O'Doherty dusted himself down and took it himself, bouncing the shot beyond Dunloy goalkeeper Ryan Elliott.

As Dunloy grew ever more frantic, Slaughtneil garnished the victory with the last four points of the game to leave it in no doubt whatsoever that their claims to superiority cannot be challenged.

And they are not done yet.

Scorers for Slaughtneil: C O'Doherty 1-4 (1-0 pen, 4fs), B Rogers 0-3, J McGuigan 0-2, M McGuigan, Sé McGuigan, B Cassidy, M McGrath 0-1 each.

Scorers for Dunloy: C Cunning 0-7 (6fs), O'Neill, R Molloy, S Elliott 0-1 each.

SLAUGHTNEIL: O O'Doherty; K McKaigue, S Cassidy, C McKenna; Shane McGuigan, S Ó Caiside, M McGrath; G Bradley, C McKaigue; M McGuigan, C O'Doherty, B Rogers; Sé McGuigan, J McGuigan, B Cassidy

Subs: C McAllister for Cormac McKenna (46), Conor McKenna for J McGuigan (58), G O'Kane for Sé McGuigan (60+5).

DUNLOY: R Elliott; P Duffin, C McKinley, C Kinsella; E Smyth, R McGarry, K McKeague; P Shiels, K Molloy; N Elliott, N McKeague, R Molloy; E O'Neill, C Cunning, K Molloy

Subs: G McTaggart for O'Neill (44), S Elliott for N McKeague (51), C Brogan for R Molloy (57).

REFEREE: Aiden Ferguson (Fermanagh).