Super Slaughtneil secure 14th successive Derry title with victory over Kevin Lynch's

Slaughtneil 0-20, Kevin Lynch's 1-14

Slaughtneil over came the first half dismissal of Brendan Rogers to claim a 14th successive Derry Senior Hurling title thanks to a hard earned three point victory over Kevin Lynch's at Find Insurance Owenbeg on Sunday.

The reigning champions went into the final without Ruairi O Mianain, Fionn McEldowney and Eamon Cassidy and when Rogers' was shown a red card for interfering with John Mullan's face guard five minutes before the break, it left the door ajar for a Kevin Lynch's team who produced their best display against the Emmet's in recent years.

Yet, it always felt like Davy McCloskey's men needed the goal that arrived just too late. Slaughtneil were four up when referee Tarlach Conway sent Rogers off but three points would be as close as Lynch's ever brought it back to with Tiarnan McHugh's goal not hitting the net until five minutes into injury time.

Not that this final was ever one way traffic. Lynch's were excellent for long periods and pushed Slaughtneil as hard anyone has since the Dungiven men did in the 2014 final. Slaughtneil won that final by 2-11 to 2-09 and the eventual three point margin of victory here was second closest during Slaughtneil's current reign. The frustration for Lynch's is that they had engineered themselves an opportunity here and it will feel like one they let slip. The positive though is it feels like a championship which had become a stroll looks like it stands on the edge of renewed rivalry between the two great clubs.

But the Fr. Collins Cup remains in Slaughtneil and Cormac O'Doherty was a large part of the reason why. Sitting in front of his defence, the county captain was simply superb, both in breaking up Lynch's attack and providing a platform for Slaughtneil's forward play.

Paul McNeil too was superb. The full-back picked up the dangerous McHugh and negated the influence of one of Lynch's biggest pre-game threats, through McHugh will wonder why more ball didn't come his way, especially in the closing stages. Cahal O'Mianain was another to Slaughtneil stand-out, covering a vast amount of ground and picking up a serious amount of ball.

Yet if you're looking for the game-changer, look no further than the Slaughtneil bench. Paul McCormick's team won by three points in the end, the same contribution that the Slaughtneil boss got off his bench thanks to points from Jerome McGuigan, Peter McCullagh and PJ Glover. The ability to introduce that sort of quality remains Slaughtneil's ace card.

Slaughtneil started the game as they had finished the previous 13 county finals - in front – after Shea Cassidy fired over a first minute free before the first of Richie Mullan's five first half points - all from placed balls - had the game level inside 90 seconds.

With O'Doherty imperious in his sweeping role, Slaughtneil looked to be falling into a predictably dominant display as two further scores from Cassidy, one a free, and a Rogers point had the champions 0-4 to 0-1 ahead by the sixth minute. But Lynch's were staying in touch, thanks largely to the free-taking of Mullan, despite Conor Coyle and O'Doherty (2f) taking the Emmet's lead to 0-7 to 0-2 with 12 minutes gone.

Mullan's '65 was then cancelled out by Rogers' second to maintain Slaughtneil's five point lead but the dual star's afternoon was about to take a turn for the worse with that controversial red card five minutes before the break.

Before that though, Kevin Lynch's did enough to suggest this wasn't about to be the Slaughtneil stroll we'd seen in so many recent finals. Richie Mullan's free was followed in the 17th minute by the Dungiven side's first from play as Darragh McGilligan shot over.

Shea Cassidy had seen a shout for a penalty waved away but Conor Coyle's second still had the champions still in control at 0-9 to 0-5 when the game's big controversy arrived, Rogers deemed to have interfered with John Mullan's face guard with play at the opposite end of the pitch.

Slaughtneil's response was impressive and it was Gerald Bradley who stepped up to settle the champions. Corey O'Reilly initially reduced the deficit to three but Bradley's crucial brace meant that even when Lynch's finished the half with scores from Mullan ('65) and Odhran McKeever, the three point gap was still intact.

And it was four within minutes of the restart thanks to a Shea Cassidy free which set the tone for a second half in which Slaughtneil would always find a response to each Lynch's surge. A scoreline that consistently swung from three to five points saw numerous key moments, Chrissy McKaigue keeping alive a lost cause for Shane McGuigan to push the lead out to six at 0-14 to 0-8 on 36 minutes. It was the biggest gap of the match.

Lynch's response was three scores in a row from Darragh McGilligan, Mullan ('65) and McKeever before Conor Coyle superb ball set up McCullagh for his score. The Lynch's had it back to three once more at 0-16 to 0-13 and were building momentum when O'Doherty's superb pressure forced a turnover off Emmet Og McKeever from which he then hit a huge free from inside his own half. Those moments were key.

Lynch's never stopped asking the questions but when Jerome McGuigan produced a sublime score, followed by one from Shane McGuigan and another by PJ Glover, it was the cushion Slaughtneil needed, even with McHugh's late goal causing a few nerves to fray in the stands.

And with their Derry title defended, thoughts will now turn to Ulster and the defence of their provincial crown.

Slaughtneil scorers: Shea Cassidy 0-4 (3f), Brendan Rogers 0-2, Conor Coyle 0-2, Cormac O'Doherty 0-3, (3f), Gerald Bradley 0-2, Se McGuigan 0-1, Shane McGuigan 0-3, Peter McCullagh 0-1, Jerome McGuigan 0-1, PJ Glover 0-1.

Kevin Lynch's scorers: Richie Mullan 0-7 (4f, 3 '65), Tiearnan McHugh 1-0, Darragh McGilligan 0-2, Corey O'Reilly 0-1, Emmet Og McKeever 0-1, Odhran McKeever 0-1, Niall Ferris 0-1, Conor Kelly 0-1.

Slaughtneil: Oisin O’Doherty; Conor McAllister, Paul McNeill, Deaglan McNamee; Cahal McKaigue, Cathal Ó Mianáin, Conor Coyle; Shane McGuigan, Gerald Bradley; Mark McGuigan, Sé McGuigan, Cormac O’Doherty; B Rogers, Chrissy McKaigue, Shéa Cassidy (Subs) Meehaul McGrath for M McGuigan, HT; Peter McCullagh for G Bradley, 44mins; Eunan Boylan for Cahal McKaigue (inj), 50mins; Jerome McGuigan for C McKaigue, 57mins; PJ Glove for Se McGuigan, 57mins; Felix Glover for Shea Cassidy (blood sub) 60-62mins;

Kevin Lynch's: Sean Kelly; Jack Dunne, John Mullan, Eoin McKeever; O McElhinney, Mark Craig, Emmet Og McKeever; Richie Mullan, Corey O’Reilly; Darragh McGilligan, Thomas Brady, KB Mullan; Padraig O’Kane, Cormac Og McCloskey, Tiarnan McHugh. (Subs) Odhran McKeever for P O'Kane, 19mins; Daithi McCloskey for T Brady, HT; Niall Ferris for C Og McCloskey, 40mins; Niall McGonigle for KB Mullan, 46mins; Conor Klly for O McElhinney, 57mins; Paddy Kelly for E McKeever (inj), 63mins.

Referee: Tarlach Conway