In Slaughtneil's 13-point Ulster title win, Cormac O'Doherty - a self-proclaimed veteran of the side - contributed ten points, eight from frees, at the Box-It Athletic Grounds on Saturday evening.
Despite being the better team on paper, the Derry champions were only four points clear at half-time, which man of the match O'Doherty put down to missed chances.
"We knew what the battle of St John's was going to bring to us and the first half was just a real dogfight and we were probably four up at half-time and we missed a lot of chances," O'Doherty told RTÉ Sport.
The Maghera outfit kicked on in the second half. St John's battled well but were unable to break down Slaughtneil's defence.
Despite controlling the game, it took until midway through the second half before Slaughtneil pressed home their advantage, which O'Doherty attributed to multiple scorers "chipping in".
Focus now turns to their All-Ireland run, with a semi-final against Loughrea from Galway on 20 December the first step in claiming a first-ever final berth in the competition.
"I thought when it came to it in the second half we kicked on really well, different people chipping in with scores and it's a massive result tonight, another Ulster Championship, but we know we've got to go another level now in three weeks."
Cormac O'Doherty is awarded man of the match for his 10-point contribution to Slaughtneil's defence of their Ulster Club title.
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'That's the way we have always been brought up, playing hurling and football. It's just so special to play for our club and represent our club.' pic.twitter.com/R3AiiBgGlT
There may be some talk about Slaughtneil being an older team but O'Doherty hails young guns like Cathal Ó Mianáin and 19-year-old corner-back Fionn McEldowney for driving the team on to a sixth Ulster title.
"The young lads have been massive... last three or four years we've had one or two new players come in every year and it's just been brilliant, a breath of fresh air.
"You need those young boys coming in and driving the whole thing on and we're very lucky to have them... us old boys will hang about for a while yet, but it's great to see it."
The Derry club is synonymous with treating both codes equally, winning county and Ulster titles in both over the past decade, which O'Doherty explained is embedded in their upbringing in the club and pride in the jersey.
"That's the way we've always been brought up, playing hurling and football.
"It's just so special to play for a club and represent our club, and any chance you get to do that at such a special occasion on a special day, you get big days like this, there's other days it's maybe not as highlighted.
"It's that special feeling whenever you get to play for Slaughtneil, it just drives everyone on."
