Despair for Ports in Ulster decider

4 December 2024

PORTAFERRY were left stunned when Sleacht Néill staged an unlikely comeback to snatch the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in Armagh on Sunday evening.

The Down champions were seven points ahead at the half-way point, but found themselves up against it in the second period and came undone as Néill’s Sé McGuigan and Shea Cassidy found the back of the net in quick succession.

Tom McGrattan’s late goal looked to have put the Ports back in the driving seat and perhaps it would have been enough but for a late flurry of points from the Derry champs.

Portaferry had it all their own way in the early stages of the match, racing to a four-point lead within the first four minutes, courtesy of Matt Conlan, Eoghan Sands, Niall Fitzsimmons and a McGrattan free.

Sleacht Néill knew they would have to work hard to reverse the early pressure of the County Down side and although Shane McGuigan replied, they saw their next three attempts fall short of the mark.

With their opponents wasting countless attacks, Portaferry were ruthless and Finn Turpin soon split the posts to give them an 0-5 to 0-1 lead.

However, they were left scratching their heads as Eoghan Sands’ pass presented Niall Milligin with a clear path to goal and with only the goalkeeper to beat, he was somehow denied at point-blank range.

Wasting a gilt-edged opportunity did not seem to affect Portaferry though, and they soon increased their lead through a McGrattan 65.

Jack Cassidy pulled one back for Néill, but any hope of an instant fight-back was quickly diluted when Turpin restored the Ports’ five-point advantage.

The two sides exchanged points throughout the remainder of the first half and yet, Portaferry drove home their advantage to take enter the break 0-13 to 0-6 in front.

Aside from their point-scoring prowess, they had Tom Murray to thank for their seemingly healthy half-time lead, having defied the odds with an impressive goal-line clearance.

A different Néill side came out in the second half and it did not take long for them to get up and running, finding two points from frees.

Portaferry responded and it was that man McGrattan who stepped up once again, converting a hat-trick of frees to create an eight-point buffer.

Although both teams went blow for blow once more, the Ports did enough to maintain their advantage at 0-18 to 0-10

However, the Down champs were left shell-shocked when McGuigan and Cassidy fired two goals home in as many minutes, leaving the deficit at just two points.

Daithi Sands and Jack Cassidy exchanged scores just after the goals but, with momentum now in favour of Sleacht Néill, they soon found another two points to draw level.

The Derry men had shown their resilience throughout and, less than a minute after levelling, they snatched the lead.

The game was far from settled though, and

there was yet another twist in the tail when McGrattan rippled the net to fire Portaferry back in front.

They may have had the belief that they had survived the scare of a fight-back but their opponents would have the final say.

Sleacht Néill hit five points in the final seven minutes to swipe the title from under the noses of Portaferry and crown themselves champions of Ulster.

Portaferry: P Smyth, D Mallon, T Murray, R Smyth, B Trainor, C Taggart, C Milligan, M Conlan, S Conlan, N Fitzsimmons, F Turpin, E Sands, D Sands, T McGrattan, N Milligin. Subs: C Savage, C Coleman, C Fay, P Doran.

Sleacht Néill: O O’Doherty, F McEldowney, P McNeil, C McAllister, R Ó Mianan, C Coyle, Shane McGuigan, J Cassidy, M McGrath, M McGuigan, Sé McGuigan, C O’Doherty, E Cassidy, B Rogers, S Cassidy.

Sub: G Bradley

Portaferry 1-19

Sleacht Néill 2-19

ULSTER CLUB SHC FINAL

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