SLAUGHTNEIL CELEBRATED GLORY in the Ulster senior club hurling final today as they ran out seven-point victors over Down’s Ballycran.
It finished 1-14 to 0-10 in favour of Slaughtneil at Corrigan Park in Belfast and the Derry champions will now take on the winners of January’s Munster final between Ballygunner and Kilmallock, at the All-Ireland semi-final stage.
They have now lifted four of the last five Ulster senior hurling titles, leading 0-9 to 0-6 at the interval of today’s game. The critical score arrived in the second half against their Down opponents with Brendan Rodgers bagging the only goal of the game. Cormac O’Doherty shot 0-7 for the winners.
In intermediate football in Munster, it will be a meeting of Clare’s Corofin and Kerry’s Na Gaeil in the decider in January.
Corofin saw off Cork’s Newmarket by 1-14 to 0-11 in their semi-final today in Mallow, while Na Gaeil enjoyed a successful trip to Tipperary by winning 1-10 to 0-9 against Drom & Inch.
Clare champions Corofin were grateful to 0-5 from attacker Robin Mounsey, while Diarmuid Cahill struck the only goal of the game late on and county senior Jamie Malone was also in action.
No Clare club has won the Munster intermediate football championships, Banner outfits losing seven finals, including Corofin themselves back in 2006.
Darragh Carmody struck 1-7 for Na Gaeil, the 2020 All-Ireland junior champions, as they triumphed in Templetuohy. Kerry senior Diarmuid O’Connor was unavailable for Na Gaeil but they could call on county panellists in Jack and Andrew Barry, and Stefan Okunbor, while hurling star Seamus Callanan featured from Drom & Inch.
In junior football in Ulster there was glory for Cavan’s Denn by 3-8 to 0-10 against Donegal outfit Downings in the final in Clones today.
While in Leinster, Offaly’s Clonbullogue defeated Kilkenny’s O’Loughlin Gaels in the junior semi-final this morning by 3-16 to 0-6 and will now take on Kildare’s Kilcullen in the final in the New Year.
