Slaughtneil sticks together after more hurling heartbreak

There was no beating the traffic out of St Conleth's Park or finding a hostelry to drown your sorrows... at least not yet.

The people of Slaughtneil were there on the pitch attempting to offer words of comfort to sons, brothers, fathers, husbands, boyfriends, uncles, cousins, neighbours and friends.

Or in some cases, to partially misappropriate a Heaney phrase, "saying nothing" - just being there for them. Sticking together as a community as they always do.

For even a neutral with no skin in the game, the moments after a contest where Munster champions Sarsfields dashed Slaughtneil's All-Ireland Club Hurling ambitions on a wafer thin 0-18 to 0-17 margin were a tough watch.

Shane McGuigan inconsolable as he shed tears into the shoulders of his people, whether team-mates, family members or other Slaughtneil folk.

Free-taker Cormac O'Doherty trying to hold himself together as he stared down the pitch from just in front of the goalposts where moments earlier, captain Mark McGuigan had flashed a gilt-edged chance over the bar when goal would have snatched Slaughtneil victory.

Rogers smiled ruefully as family, friends and neighbours patted him on the back and offered their condolences after Slaughtneil's All-Ireland hopes on this particular day had expired following a fifth defeat in five attempts at the semi-finals stage.

Then it was time to face the microphones and try to find the right words.

Brendan Rogers felt the luck didn't go Slaughtneil's way in the All-Ireland semi-final but refused to blame referee James Owens for the Ulster champions' defeat

After starting with "it's difficult" he had to pull back for a couple of seconds in order to compose himself before starting again.

With his people all around him offering a comfort blanket, his first thought was of the Slaughtneil community.

"We're trying our best to bring things to a level within our own community and hopefully try and represent each other on the top stage.

"Some times you need luck. We've been unfortunate a few times and we weren't good in others and today was one of those days when we maybe thought we could have pushed on and it didn't quite go our way.

"We missed our own chances and maybe made mistakes that we normally don't make. The disappointing thing is we all know we had plenty in us and it just didn't all come together."

Recriminations over the missed chances... there were none.

"If they don't happen, we've the shoulders to deal with it and go on for the next time."

To more than a few observers in Newbridge and indeed others on their television screens, it appeared as though Slaughtneil hadn't received the "luck" when it came to a number of big decisions by referee James Owens.

Notably the Wexford whistler's decision not to red card Sarsfields forward Jack O'Connor early in the second half when he caught O'Doherty on the helmet with his hurley with an obvious late challenge after the Slaughtneil man had cleared the sliotar upfield.

O'Connor went on to notch two crucial points from play during the remainder of the contest

It didn't appear the only questionable refereeing call with Eoghan Murphy wrestling Rogers to the ground on a couple of occasions in the first half and Colm McCarthy appearing to catch Shane McGuigan off the ball in the opening period as well.

However, Rogers wasn't going to go there.

"I don't blame James for the result or what happened today. It was physical both ways and the players weren't really complaining about it so let it be."

For his part, O'Connor seemed to acknowledge that he had been fortunate to stay on the pitch.

Asked whether he feared that Owens was going to flash a red card, the Sarsfields man admitted to BBC Sport NI: "I was for a second.

"I was actually right in front of the Slaughtneil crowd and they were going mad, and I thought they might convince the ref to send me off but it was just a yellow in the end and I had to mind myself after that," added the Cork player who displayed the scars of battle with a deep gash down the middle of his nose.

"It's hard to put into words how tough a game that was. They went three or four up and we came back into it. It was so touch and go really but at the end of the day, we got on the lucky side of it.

"They are an exceptional team. Hurling wise, physically… we knew it was going to take everything to get a result out of this because they die on their boots no matter what."

'Young and ambitious group'

Slaughtneil craved victory and a cherished All-Ireland Final place rather than more kind words from relieved southern opponents.

But despite a defeat that at first glance seemed even more painful than the February 2018 semi-final loss against 13-man Na Piarsaigh, Brendan Rogers insisted that it was not the end of road for Slaughtneil's All-Ireland Hurling ambitions.

"This group is not going to lie down. The only thing I can take from this group is that they are very young and ambitious.

"I'm going to do my best to keep them going and they'll do their best to keep us going and that's what Slaughtneil is all about. Moving on through good and hard times.

"We will be back."

Who would doubt them.