Ballyhale Shamrocks 2-24 Slaughtneil 2-19

What a game of hurling.

It had it all, the All-Ireland senior club semi-final between Ballyhale Shamrocks and Slaughtneil in Newry, and by the end of it, there were so many heroes to look up to and so many amazing moments to look back on. This was club hurling at its phenomenal, enthralling and breathtaking best and you wouldn't see the likes of it anywhere. Incredible scores were reeled off like they were going out of fashion, some of the passing from the likes of TJ Reid, Cormac O'Doherty and the brilliant Brian Cassidy would drop jaws. Brendan Rogers is a one-man rolls royce and TJ Reid's battle with Shane McGuigan was honest, hard and worth the entrance fee alone. And what about Colin Fennelly. The Ballyhale full forward is beyond superlatives at this stage and while TJ's majesty, wizardry and all-round genius kept the Kilkenny champs in the game at all times, it was Fennelly, the bulging and unstoppable full forward who won it for them. Himself and TJ Reid on the one club team? That should be illegal. Slaughtneil started well in Newry with the inspirational competitor Chrissy McKaigue getting the Derry crowd roaring early on. McKaigue is as good a hurler as he is a footballer, and that's saying something. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1213824245467353094 Then Brian Cassidy came into his own and he's as skilful a hurler as you'll see anywhere. All flicks, tricks and dainty moves, Ballyhale couldn't keep tabs on him. They were defending stoutly, to the Derry men's credit but Ballyhale always find a way and that's why they're the most successful team in the land. Of course, it was TJ who had the key, the wondrous wizard beating a few men before finding the danger-man. Nobody can stop Colin Fennelly. Slaughtneil wouldn't die easy though. Brendan Rogers plays full back for the Derry footballers but by God he's one hell of a forward with a hurl in hand. He galloped down the wing on countless occasions and the Slaughtneil crowd know what happens from there. His first half point was borderline superhuman. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1213829647508615170 One point in it at half-time, this was a game. Ballyhale are champions for a reason though. Whereas a lesser team might have been stunned by the 10/1 underdogs' fire and skill, Henry Shefflin's team kept their composure. Brian Cody tapped over a few scores while Ronan Corcoran and Darren Mullen came into it. It was all about TJ and the younger Fennelly though. Some of TJ's frees were from the other end of Newry but he somehow kept them on target. Slaughtneil had one more kick in them, the brilliant Rogers making a mockery of those 10/1 odds when he caught a puck-out and hit the roof of the net to reduce the deficit to a single point with just minutes left. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1213843673785552898 But then Colin Fennelly did what he does. It's hard to figure out how a mere human could be so strong. He's impossible to stop. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1213845052960759809