Slaughtneil forward Brendan Rogers says the Derry champions needed to be at their best to beat Cushendall in a thrilling Ulster Club SHC semi-final on Saturday night.
The game at the Athletic Grounds went to extra-time before Slaughtneil secured a 1-36 to 3-25 victory.
“You know what you get with Cushendall – a battle every time, good hurling, it’s physical and you have to be at your best to beat them,” said Rogers, who was named man-of-the-match.
“We had a lot of scores. When you score 37 times and it’s still tight at the end of the game you know you’re in a battle and that’s full credit to Cushendall.”
Slaughtneil led by three points in the dying seconds but Neil McManus bagged his third goal to send the match into extra-time.
The Derry men held their nerve and moved clear to earn to a five-point success over the holders.
It was a victory which came after a series of disappointments at the hands of the Antrim team.
“For this group, maybe because we haven’t beaten Cushendall in the Ulster Championship – we’ve played them about four times and had extra-time twice.
“So I suppose for this group to get over that line was one we had to do and we only set our sights on winning the game.”
