Slaughtneil suffer more All-Ireland heartbreak

Slaughtneil's hopes of reaching a first All-Ireland Club Hurling final at the fifth attempt were dashed as they suffered an agonising 0-18 to 0-17 defeat by Munster champions Sarsfields.

With the Cork side 0-18 to 0-16 ahead deep into injury-time in Newbridge, the Ulster champions had a glorious last-gasp chance to snatch victory but captain Mark McGuigan blasted the ball over the bar from a central position just outside the small square.

After the final whistle, Slaughtneil's pain was summed up by the sight of an inconsolable Shane McGuigan after the Robert Emmet's outfit had yet again fallen short at the penultimate stage of the competition.

The Cork club led 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time after Slaughtneil had been two up after the first quarter only to have a bad patch as free-taker Cormac O'Doherty missed a trio of placed balls.

Sarsfields looked fortunate to still have a full complement of 15 players at the break with Eoghan Murphy having tangled with the outstanding Brendan Rogers on a number of occasions and Colm McCarthy appearing to catch Shane McGuigan with a high stick.

Slaughtneil came out fired up after the break as a long-range Meehaul McGrath score helped them moved 0-12 to 0-9 ahead after 42 minutes.

During that period of Slaughtneil superiority, Sarsfields again benefited from a hugely controversial call by referee James Owens, who deemed that Jack O'Connor's late stick into O'Doherty's helmet was only worthy of a yellow card.

O'Connor went on to notch two of Sarsfields' remaining points with Munster Final supersub Shane O'Regan again making an impact with two scores.

Sarsfields led 0-15 to 0-13 after 57 minutes only for two O'Doherty frees to level the contest as the game reached injury-time.

However, points from Aaron Myers and Liam Healy restored a two-point advantage for the Cork side and while Shane McGuigan replied, Cathal McCarthy doubled Sarsfields' lead once more before Mark McGuigan's last-gasp goal chance.

Sarsfields led 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time in Newbridge

Sarsfields started the brighter with Colm McCarthy going for goal in the opening seconds, only to be denied by Slaughtneil goalkeeper Oisin O'Doherty, but two Daniel Hogan frees helped the Cork side to a 0-3 to 0-1 lead.

However, Slaughtneil responded with four straight scores as Eoghan Murphy's battle with Rogers quickly became integral to the contest.

Cormac O'Doherty's radar was working early on as he hit four of Slaughtneil's opening five points but after O'Connor responded for Sarsfields, the Ulster champions' free-taker missed two placed balls - which if converted - would have put three between the teams.

As if often the case, the let-offs seemed to breathe energy into the Munster champions as two Hogan frees, another O'Connor point and a fine effort by wing-back Bryan Murphy had Sarsfields 0-8 to 0-5 ahead by the 25th minute.

To add to Slaughtneil's frustration, Colm McCarthy looked fortunate to avoid the ultimate sanction for an off-the-ball stick towards Shane McGuigan's face, with the incident clearly not spotted by the match officials.

O'Doherty bravely took on the responsibility to get Slaughtneil scoring again from a 65 before a Shane McGuigan effort from play - after more ball-winning brilliance from full-forward Rogers in his own defence - left the minimum between the sides at the interval.

Shane McGuigan immediately levelled for play after the resumption and while Myers restored Sarsfields' lead, Rogers yielded another parity-restoring free for O'Doherty which began a run of four straight Slaughtneil scores as a further successful placed ball from the free-taker was followed by efforts from Eamon Cassidy and McGrath.

As was the case during the first half, Slaughtneil's period of dominance included the controversial refereeing call involving O'Connor with the Cork inter-county player clearly catching O'Doherty late on the helmet with his stick following the Derry man's clearance upfield.

Despite a response from substitute O'Regan, a long-range Ruairi O Mianain effort again put three between the teams but O'Connor's two points from play helped Sarsfields put together a run of four straight scores as O'Regan's second point moved them 0-14 to 0-13 ahead with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

A Cathal McCarthy point doubled Sarsfields' lead after 57 minutes only for O'Doherty two frees to have the sides level as the contest reached the four minutes of added time.

McCarthy's sensational score on the run from near the sideline added to the earlier added-time points from Myers and Healy, with Shane McGuigan's having responded for Slaughtneil as Sarsfields led 0-18 to 0-16 with only seconds remaining.

But then came the game's ultimately pivotal moment as a frantic passage of pinball in the Sarsfield square saw the ball break to Slaughtneil skipper McGuigan, who lofted the sliotar over the bar when the net seemed certain to bulge.