Ulster Club Senior Hurling Championship semi-final: Slaughtneil (Derry) v Portaferry (Down) (Sunday, Corriggan Park, 1.30pm)
Mickey McShane says having just three teams competing for a provincial title is not ideal as Slaughtneil begin the defence of their Ulster Hurling crown against Portaferry at Corrigan Park on Sunday.
The Derry men are bidding for a third successive Ulster title and come up against a Portaferry side who missed out on a crack at Ulster glory when they last won the Down Championship in 2020.
The winners of Sunday’s clash in West Belfast will play Dunloy in the decider with the Antrim champions receiving a bye to the Ulster final.
That scenario might not help the Ulster Champions as they progress into the All-Ireland series, but McShane also feels that the winners of other Ulster counties aren’t ready to make the step up to senior grade just yet.
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“It is probably a bit disappointing for Dunloy - I know they would probably like to play a semi-final before going into a final,” said McShane.
“It is disappointing that there are only three senior teams in Ulster, but I think it is probably a fair assessment of where Ulster hurling is at.
“I don’t think any of the county champions from any of the other counties are ready to come up to that level yet.
“That’s the bar that has been set and I’m sure the Armagh, Tyrone and Donegal champions will want to work hard to get to that level.
“I’d love to see five, six or seven clubs involved in Ulster Senior hurling, but at the moment, the format is fair enough.”
The Slaughtneil manager has no qualms about being the team to beat and he feels his experienced panel are well used to having a target on their back.
They’ve mixed it with the likes of Ballyhale (2020) and Ballygunner (2022) in the All-Ireland semi-final, but they know their toughest challenges could come in the Ulster series.
“We never look past the next game. We never have and we never will,” stated McShane.
“Within Derry, we just concentrate on who the next opposition is.
“The semi-final against Ballinascreen, the final against Kevin Lynch’s. We got over those hurdles so now we are looking at Portaferry.
“We are very keen to retain the Ulster title. If we can win it this year, it would be three-in-a-row and it would be the first time we’ve done that.
“We know there’s a tough semi-final against Portaferry to come and, if we can negotiate that, we’ll have Dunloy in the final and another titanic battle with them.
“We’re just solely focused on Portaferry in Corrigan Park and we’ll try and make sure we’ll get our preparation right and we’ll be busting a gut to try and win another Ulster title.”
The Down champions won Ulster back in 2014 and were denied the chance to test themselves in Ulster when they won the county title in 2020.
They were pipped by Ballycran after extra-time last season, but gained their revenge in this year’s final, but Karol Keating’s men have suffered a huge blow ahead of their Ulster semi-final.
Down forward Eoghan Sands, who was part of the 2014 panel, has moved abroad since the county final win over Ballycran and his absence will be keenly felt at Corrigan Park.
Slaughtneil have had a long break since winning the Derry title at the end of September and McShane watched the Down decider and was impressed by what he saw.
“Portaferry will come into this game full of confidence,” added the Ballycastle native.
“They won the Antrim League this year, which is no mean feat. They won their first Down title since 2014 when they also won the Ulster Championship.
“We’re under no illusions as to how difficult this game is going to be. They play a super brand of hurling and they’ve a lot of very talented individuals.
“I was down and watched them in the Down final against Ballycran in horrendous conditions. I was impressed with them and I’m fully aware of what we have in front of us.”
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