That man was the difference.
Nemo Rangers corner forward Luke Connolly proved the difference as the Cork champions edged Slaughtneil in a titanic tussle in Portlaoise after extra-time.
Connolly’s swagger, pace and verve both on and off the ball caused problems for the Derry side’s rearguard from the first minute of normal to the last minute of extra-time.
Slaughtneil’s usually water-tight defence were unable to keep the enigmatic and elusive 23-year-old under tabs as he struck them for two goals and a number of crucial points in a really classy display.
His first goal summed him up best. The coolness personified, the cheekiness, the nerve, the X factor.
Luke Connolly rattles the net for Nemo! pic.twitter.com/T3Xzf4xurS
— The GAA (@officialgaa) February 24, 2018
He scored 1-4 in extra-time, and that would turn it for Ireland’s most successful club who went onto win by 2-19 to 1-14.
Nemo had that vibrance of youth, coming from Connolly, and the wily experience, coming from Tomás Ó Sé, and that deadly combination couldn’t be stopped.
39 years young, Tomás Ó Sé bombed up and down the field from his wing back position. He scored two points and played a crucial role in Connolly’s first goal. He lasted the 80 minutes, and looked like he could have kept going for more by the end of it.
Slaughtneil deserve huge credit for forcing this one to extra-time. Patsy Bradley showed nerves of steel to notch a late leveller with the last kick of the game.
After that, Nemo heads would have worried that Slaughtneil’s momentum and traditionally indomitable spirit might have carried through to extra-time. But they had no match for the fitness and hunger of the men in green and black.
Connolly’s second goal was just as impressive as his first.
Luke Connolly rattles the net for the second time, as Nemo increase their lead in Extra-Time! pic.twitter.com/iOglOSEllw
— The GAA (@officialgaa) February 24, 2018
Mickey Moran’s men living to rue their profligacy in the first half of normal time, where they were dominant but didn’t convert enough chances.
Nemo Rangers and Corofin will contest the final.
