Cushendall & Slaughtneil must replay Ulster Club SHC semi-final

Cushendall's Paddy McGill tries to fend off Slaughtneil's Se McGuigan at Owenbeg

Cushendall and Slaughtneil will replay their Ulster Club Hurling semi-final after they drew 3-17 to 0-26 after extra-time in an Owenbeg thriller.

Cushendall led 2-9 to 0-8 after half-time and a Shane McNaughton goal kept them 3-10 to 0-13 ahead.

But McNaughton's sending off helped spark a Slaughtneil comeback and they led by a point in injury-time before Neil McManus levelled at 3-12 to 0-21.

Slaughtneil led for most of extra-time but Cushendall forced the rematch.

With six of the Slaughtneil squad scheduled to play for the club's footballers in next weekend's Derry Senior Football Final against Ballinderry, the Ulster Council are likely to be forced to move the provincial decider from the planned date of 26 October.

Portaferry beat Lisbellaw 2-17 to 1-11 in the second semi-final at Clones.

However, the Clones clash had little of the excitement produced by the tremendous Owenbeg contest watched by a crowd of 3,159.

Cushendall's ability to poach goals appeared likely to ensure their final spot during most of normal time but brilliant point-taking by the likes of Gerald Bradley, skipper Gareth O'Kane and Brendan Rogers kept Slaughtneil nipping at their heels.

Donal McNaughton's early goal enabled Dall to lead 1-2 to 0-1 and after two Rogers points had helped Slaughtneil draw level, an Aidan McNaughton goal restored the Antrim side's lead at 2-2 to 0-5.

Two points apiece from Neil McManus and Eoghan Campbell extended Dall's advantage to 2-7 to 0-8 by half-time and the margin became seven after the resumption.

Slaughtneil responded brilliantly by notching five of the next six scores to cut Dall's lead to three but things appeared back to square one for the Derry champions when Shane McNaughton netted midway through the second half after a goalkeeping error.

Peter Canavan's Cavan Gaels defeated Kingscourt 0-16 to 0-15 in the Cavan Football Final

But McNaughton received a second yellow card shortly after his goal and Slaughtneil dominated the remainder of normal time as they eventually drew level with two minutes of normal time left before O'Kane gave them a dramatic lead.

The remaining three minutes of action produced three further scores with McManus winning a free and slotting it himself after Rogers had looked to have hit the Slaughtneil winner moments earlier.

Slaughtneil led 0-24 to 3-14 after the first period of extra-time and extended the margin to two after the resumption.

Cushendall responded with two scores to level the contest again and while Rogers put Slaughtneil ahead with three minutes remaining, the Antrim champions levelled to ensure the replay.

In the Cavan Football decider, Micheal Lyng's injury-time point earned Cavan Gaels a 13th title as they edged out Kingscourt 0-16 to 0-15 at Breffni Park.

Kingscourt led 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time after having centre half-back Padraic Faulkner sent off by referee Oliver O'Reily after only 12 minutes following a heavy challenge on Gaels defender Levi Murphy.

Six points from man of the match Seanie Johnston helped Gaels move two ahead with late in the game before Barry Reilly's ninth point and a Cian McArdle scored looked to have secured Kingscourt a replay.

But Lyng's fisted point in injury-time secured Gaels victory and referee O'Reilly needed to be escorted off the field after the final whistle as Kingscourt tempers flared.

SUNDAY'S GAA RESULTS

AIB Ulster Club Hurling Semi-Finals

Slaughtneil 0-26 3-17 Cushendall

Portaferry 2-17 1-11 Lisbellaw

Hotel Kilmore Cavan Senior Football Final

Cavan Gaels 0-16 0-15 Kingscourt