Slaughtneil confident of challenging for Championship

Karl McKaigue is one of the younger stars on the Slaughtneil team

SLAUGHTNEIL’S Tain Club Hurling Division Two league title victory is another step towards their goal of winning the Derry hurling championship.

Last Saturday, the Robert Emmet’s club beat Antrim side Glen Rovers, 2-17 to 3-5 at Casement Park.

Reaching a final so early in the season suggests that their team is eager for success. Manager Mickey Glover is in his second term in charge of the team, but explained that the Tain League trophy is not their only target.

“Or main aim is going on to win the Derry Championship, and the county have done us a great service by drawing us against Kevin Lynch’s in the quarter-final.

“If you want to win then you have to be prepared to play the best and it is going to be fantastic to compete with a team like Kevin Lynch’s.”

Slaughtneil last won the Championship in 2000, two years before Glover joined the club, having hurled for Belfast side St Paul’s.

Kevin Lynch’s are the kingpins in Derry though, having won seven of the last nine titles.
So far this season, Slaughtneil have stole a march on the Dungiven side. After two rounds in the league, Mickey Glover’s side are at the summit of division one, two points ahead of Lavey and Kevin Lynch’s.

Slaughtneil have beaten Ballinascreen and Swatragh so far, and this weekend they clash with Lavey.

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published Thursday May 3. Buy your copy now, in your local newsagent or online, by clicking the subscribe button on this page