Slaughtneil selector John Joe Kearney accepted that Corofin were the better team in Croke Park yesterday but the Derry side's disappointment was compounded by the feeling that they 'under-performed'.

"Corofin got into top gear and we didn't compete with them," Kearney admitted to The Belfast Telegraph.

"We didn't win the battle in midfield, which is a very important sector. They won all the breaks. We had two clean catches in midfield and that is unusual for us.

"Fair play to Corofin. Well done to them."

He continued: "They played more or less as we thought they would - to be honest, we thought we could curtail better than we did. We didn't and there are no excuses.

"I think we under-performed. I didn't think the occasion would get to the players, but it looked a bit that way.

"Players that starred for us in other games, particularly our two wing-half-backs, never attacked the way they did on other days - all over the field, they were problems."

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