Stellar year
December 31, 2010While a mere seven days in mid-October saw Drumlane's season go up in smoke, promotion up to Division One was certainly nothing to begrudge for Ollie Fay's team. An incredible ten league wins in-a-row saw the Sons of O'Connell make the potent leap, before they strode through the group stages of the championship and claimed memorable scalps against rivals Killeshandra and Bailieborough to reach a first intermediate decider for the club since 1974…After that it was simply a week to forget.
When Drumlane set out their stall for 2010, it started first and foremost with the appointment of former player Ollie Fay, who had ably assisted Noel Marron at the helm the year previous, as senior team manager. Fay received the full-backing of the club committee after his work with the team in '09 and would have a strong backroom team appointed to him in Sean O'Dowd, Seamus McConnell and Vincent Connolly.
Connolly explained that the objectives were straight forward when the management met with the players for the first training session of the year in late February.
"At the start of the year you're always hoping to do well in the championship and we were hoping to get promotion because we thought we should be near enough top, or in the top two or three anyway," stated Connolly, who has also been a driving-force behind the underage scene in the club.
"With Daryl McConnell back with us and Dane O'Dowd back from injury after last year, we thought we'd have what it would take. To get the commitment then was all that was needed and we got that no problem. We didn't go too hard at the start of the year, we sort of built it from far out I suppose, but we got great commitment and the lads themselves put it together. It was very easy to motivate them because they were just up for it."
Training sessions had been better-attended than the previous year, with Fay's drills upping the intensity and driving the players to push each other on. The opening few games of the ACFL Division Two demonstrated the effect it had on the team, as a tricky opener against Cavan Gaels at Terry Coyle Park saw the west Cavan side come away with a 0-14 to 1-7 victory, which was backed up by two more wins against neighbours Butlersbridge (2-10 to 1-8) and Bailieborough (1-13 to 0-13) to firmly hit the ground running.
Wins against Knockbride (1-9 to 0-8) and Cootehill (2-11 to 1-4) saw the belief begin to mount in the camp and a sixth win on the bounce at home to promotion rivals Drumgoon (0-8 to 0-7) meant that Ollie Fay's charges were sitting pretty at the summit of the table come the half-way point of the campaign.
"We were three or four games in and we realised that we were after getting on a bit of a winning-streak and after five or six games then we didn't want to lose a game," said Connolly.
"At the start, we weren't thinking of having a winning-streak. We were just trying to get enough points to secure our position first and then we realised after five or six games that we were on a bit of a roll and the lads got the bit between their teeth to make sure we wouldn't lose.
"To be honest, we were very rarely at full strength during the league. There were just different games where different players stepped up to the plate on different occasions and when you put them together now, you can look back at how we got promotion."
Connolly was bang on with that point. Barry Cunningham's performance against Cavan Gaels in the opening game, Darragh Seagrave's decisive goal in Bailieborough, needed inspiration from Daryl McConnell in Cootehill and the resolute defending of the likes of captain Robbie Smith, Neil McCann and JP Kelly in hard fought wins against Knockbride and Drumgoon were salient in Drumlane taking maximum points from their opening six games.
However, the trick was to keep the momentum going and they did so by scoring a huge 1-18 to 0-4 victory over Kill at O'Connell Park, where 17-year-old Gary Tubman announced his arrival as a senior player with an impressive 1-2 tally from play. Despite the manner of the win, the team kept grounded and would have no problems against Drung (0-14 to 0-6) or Shercock (0-10 to 0-5) to be just one game away from sealing their potent leap to the top tier.
With tough assignments against Drumalee and Ballyhaise to come, a trip to Killinkere was crucial for the Sons of O'Connell to take another win from. It would be a nail-biting affair for the visitors, who were fired-up from the very start and pulled five points clear in the opening quarter thanks to the frees of Barry Corrigan and points from Barry Cunningham and Fergal Brady to lead 0-7 to 0-2 at the interval. In the second-half Killinkere laboured to pull themselves within a point of levelling, but crucial points from Stephen McCann and Brady - allied with some resolute defending from the likes of John O'Dowd and Glenn Fitzpatrick - was enough for Drumlane to clinch a 0-9 to 0-8 win and confirm their place in Division One for 2011.
"It's always is nervy when there's something at stake or that much at stake, it's hard to play well," admitted Connolly. "We were confident of winning and Killinkere put it up to us and fair play to the lads they came through it in the end."
Minus the services of county duo Darren Murphy and Dane O'Dowd, the first blip in Drumlane's season would come in the form of a draw at home to Drumalee before a defeat to championship favourites Ballyhaise at Annalee Park.
"Personally, I thought the Ballyhaise game was a game where we learned a lot because the both of us were promoted and it was just a bit of a work-out, really," said Connolly.
"We were a few players short and we were thinking that Ballyhaise were going to be a team threatening in the championship big time. We got a good look at them and we found out a good bit about our own team that day too."
It wasn't long before Drumlane re-discovered their winning-touch, as wins against Ballymachugh, Knockbride and Drung saw them coast through the group stages of the IFC and into a quarter-final showdown with competition rivals Killeshandra. The two teams met on a wet September night in Bawnboy and would have to do battle again eight days later at Kingspan Breffni Park.
"We were going well at that stage," explained Connolly. "We'd done well at the start of second-half in the first game against Killeshandra and I think a bit of complacency let us down. We lost our way a bit and suddenly we were in trouble.
Killeshandra came back strong, and they're a good strong team, and at the end of the day we were lucky to get a draw out of it after the first day.
"There was a lot at stake and it was a local derby. Maybe, at the end of the day, it took a good bit out of our lads because it was a tough, tense affair with a big build up to it. I thought we were the better team and we played the better football in the replay and we just squeezed past by a point, which was a great win at the time. On reflection now though, it was extra games that we probably didn't need."
In the replay, it was Drumlane's brilliant final quarter display which proved the difference as they rattled off three points without reply to come from behind and storm into a lead which they held until the long whistle. Killeshandra made the perfect start when they blasted in an early close-range goal, but Drumlane recovered well and struck over three unanswered points through Barry Corrigan and Barry Cunningham, but it was the town side which went in at the break with a 1-2 to 0-4 lead after two Shane Murphy frees.
The Leaguers added two more white flags to their tally just minutes into the resumption, but a spirited Drumlane upped the ante and through the scores of Dane O'Dowd, who along with brother John was excellent, Corrigan and JP Kelly they drew level. Limited up front, Killeshandra had no response and Ollie Fay's men grafted in the closing stages to earn a free which Corrigan coolly stroked and last-gasp interceptions from Stephen McCann and John O'Dowd towards the very end sealed Drumlane's place in the last four.
A semi-final clash with Bailieborough would prove no easier as Drumlane were let off the hook with a 1-7 apiece draw when a chance in the dying stages drifted just wide for the Shamrocks, after the green and whites had been on top for large portions of the game.
In the replay at Mullahoran, an unwavering second-half display, which was contributed to by scores from Gareth Corrigan, Barry Corrigan, Dane O'Dowd and Daryl McConnell, along with a brilliant late save from Darren Murphy in goal, was the difference in a 0-9 to 0-5 win which sent Bailieborough packing and led Drumlane to a long-awaited intermediate championship decider.
As expected, the buzz around the parish in the build up to the October 10 showdown with Drumalee was superb, with another final to come against Knockbride after defeating Drumgoon in the Division Two semi-final in Ballyconnell back in August. A historic intermediate league and championship double was finally on the cards for the Sons of O'Connell.
In the end though, the concession of a 10th minute goal and the experience of a Drumalee side playing in their third IFC final in five years proved too much for Drumlane to overcome and their championship hopes would go by the wayside on a 1-11 to 0-8 score-line.
The Drumlane side which lined-out that day was as follows: Darren Murphy; Robbie Smith, John O'Dowd, Neil McCann; Fergal Brady, Glenn Fitzpatrick, JP Kelly; Dane O'Dowd, Daryl McConnell; Gareth Corrigan, Barry Corrigan, John Fitzpatrick; Gary Tubman, Stephen McCann, Barry Cunningham. Subs: Paul Kelly, Ciaran O'Reilly, Shane Kelly.
"We were confident going into the final and probably we were favourites in a lot of books," Connolly stated on the final.
"Things were going well, the fellas were up for it and we felt we had the team right and we had everything done. In the dressing-room we thought we had it right, but I suppose the experience of Drumalee had caught us out. They hit the ground running and in the first ten minutes they got the early scores that derailed us and we never got back into it. There's no quams about it, I think we just didn't turn up on the day."
The following day the club endured a tragedy with the passing of Charlene Brady - sister of centre-forward Fergal - which put plenty into perspective.
The following Sunday, Drumlane lined-out for the Division Two final against Knockbride in Redhills and were harshly denied the title by the narrow margin of a point (1-9 to 0-11).
"We had a tragic week in that we had a young death within the club and it was tough going into it," said Connolly.
"The venue didn't suit us for a start and we didn't play well. We made a lot of mistakes."
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