Slaughtneil fell short in their attempt to reach a first All-Ireland Club Hurling final at the sixth attempt as Loughrea ran out comfortable 2-22 to 0-15 winners in Sunday’s semi-final at Parnell Park.
After five semi-final defeats over the past decade, Slaughtneil had hoped to break new ground after picking up a 13th straight Derry title and a sixth Ulster crown.
But Loughrea proved too strong, with superb Anthony Burns and Vince Morgan goals helping to propel the Galway champions into their first All-Ireland final since 2007.
Loughrea’s celebrations at full-time were somewhat tempered, however, after Cullen Killeen was shown a straight red card in injury time for what appeared to be an off-the-ball clash with Slaughtneil’s Brendan Rogers.
Killeen is now set to miss the final, which will see Loughrea face Ballygunner or St Martin’s on the weekend of 17/18 January.
More to follow.