SLAUGHTNEIL have won the right to play in the Ulster Senior Hurling Final after an instant classic of a game against Ruairí Óg, Cushendall.
Back-to-back Antrim senior champions Cushendall came back right at the death to bring the game to extra time.
Former Antrim star Neil McManus has been, again, instrumental for his club, scoring 3-9, including a fortunate, yet inspired long-range goal to send the game into extra-time.
The game was an end-to-end classic and the perfect advert for Ulster hurling to the rest of the country to show how much better the standard of competition has gotten in the province.
Slaughtneil ran off with it in the start before McManus took the game by the scruff of the neck and brought his teammates back level.
The Derry side managed to outrun and outlast their opponents in the last 15 minutes of normal time, Neil McManus magic aside.
Extra-time seemed to be one-way traffic, with the Robbies managing to end up with a five-point cushion by the end of the game.
Cushendall, who showed why they are still one of the dominant forces in Ulster hurling, are the most successful hurling side in the north and were the reigning Ulster champions before this loss, winning the Four Seasons Cup a record 12 times, with their first coming in 1981.
Follow along for live updates as these two heavyweights clash for the right to play Down champions Portaferry for the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship in two weeks.
