Up and coming
December 31, 2010When Swanlinbar set out their stall from last January nothing but a junior championship triumph would do for John Joe Stewart and his players after the disappointment of 2009, which saw them pipped at the final hurdle by fellow junior giants Butlersbridge. This past season Swad almost made it look easy, as they collected ten wins in Division Three for promotion and landed the Sean Leddy Cup with minimal fuss against Munterconnacht in the decider at Kingspan Breffni Park.
It was a far cry from the year previous, when the team were out of sorts during their league campaign and watched the 'Bridge set the pace in the county final, but then again that was Stewart's first season to get to know his players and he was "missing the spine of the team for the final", as he puts it.
"This was my second year with the team," he plainly stated. "I took them over about four weeks before the league started in 2009 and I honestly didn't know anything about them. The chairman Greg McGovern asked me if I'd be interested and myself and a fella called Brian Treacy came in."
Before that Stewart had been just up the road, across the border in Fermanagh, managing Belcoo for an incredible 14 seasons and winning five intermediate championships, two Division Two leagues and a first ever Division One league title in the meantime. He also guided the club's minor footballers to their first county championship title, winning the league that same year. After managing Belcoo for three years in the top division, he decided to call it a day with his native club and Swanlinbar came knocking.
His first year with the team turned out as a learning curve with his players and although no silverware was achieved, Swad still reached the county final and were pipped to the title by a Butlersbridge side at full strength.
"We had a few bad injuries and were missing the spine of the team for the final in '09," explained Stewart. "John Cunningham and Gearoid McKiernan both got bad injuries in the quarter-final against Cavan Gaels, but to be honest we were probably beaten by a stronger team in the championship final.
"This year we got the base of the team sorted. We got a weight training programme going at the start of the year and all the players gave a good commitment to it. I knew we were leaking too many scores last year and I went my route and decided build from the back.
"The league was what we set out for and our target was to win ten matches, because we knew that 20 points would get us promotion, and we did that," he added.
Swad's scoring-prowess came to light in the opening rounds of the ACFL Division Three when they racked up an impressive 0-18 to take two valuable points with them on the long trek back home from Munterconnacht. The next day out and a resounding 3-19 to 1-3 victory at home to Kingscourt's second-string told its own story, as Stewart's charges began to build up a head of steam. Another comprehensive win over Corlough (2-19 to 1-5) followed and had Swad in the early hunt for a top three finish.
There were to be some bumps along the road as a one-point defeat to intermediate outfit Laragh United (0-14 to 0-13) and another to league-leaders Shannon Gaels (2-11 to 0-11) brought the team back to earth somewhat, before an inform Cornafean side stunned Swad at St Mary's Park to record a 1-13 to 0-11 win over the hosts.
On the plus side, those were the only three set-backs that Stewart's men were to suffer throughout their league campaign, as the close of June would see them rediscover their winning-touch to finish joint-second in the table with Cornafean, sealing their promotion to the second tier before the junior championship's throw-in.
Concentrations swiftly turned towards the championship, as Swad entered into stern a group which Stewart knew would be a tough assignment for his team.
He explained: "We were in a group with Shannon Gaels, Munterconnacht and Cornafean, so it meant that the top four teams from Division Three would be playing each other. Going by the way the league went, it was definitely a tough group but we were confident of getting out of it."
Minus the services of ace midfielder Gearoid McKiernan, who had jetted off to San Francisco for the summer, Swad took on Eugene Walsh's Shannon Gaels in their championship opener and were made fight to the very last minute to come away from Corlough with a 0-14 to 0-12 win over their neighbours.
A good start propelled the Blues into a four-point lead at the interval, but the Blacklion men came back at their opponents in the second-half with danger forwards Eamon O'Reilly and PP O'Hara narrowing Swad's lead down to one. In the end though it was the winners' ability to hold firm at the back through the likes of Michael Cunningham and Adrian McGoldrick and the scores of Mark Cunningham and Robbie Prior down the other end which clinched a crucial opening pair of points.
A win over Cornafean the following Saturday would move Swad into the last eight. Played in Ballyconnell, Swad completely raced out of the traps and stormed into a commanding 0-7 to nothing lead after 22 minutes, as Chris Curran, Kevin Brennan and Mark Cunningham led the charge. By half-time Swad were eight points to the good and once they fended off an early second-half surge from Cornafean, a 0-13 to 0-7 win sealed their quarter-final place.
A 2-16 to 0-9 defeat the next day out to Munterconnacht made little difference, as Swad's progression through the quarter-finals was already guaranteed and the team was now turning its attentions towards a showdown with Arva at Kingspan Breffni Park, where a place in the last four was at stake.
In the end, Swad were never troubled, even after the returning Gearoid McKiernan had his afternoon cut short just four minutes into this clash with a straight red card, as Stewart's team completely outclassed a disappointing Arva outfit. The lethal combo of Mark Cunningham and Robbie Prior proved Swad's opponents' undoing, as they accounted for 0-15 between them, with a second-half goal from Rory McBarron confirming a 1-18 to 0-6 win a semi-final against Mountnugent.
"We beat Arva very convincingly and the belief was really starting to grow by that stage and you could see it in the players," said the manager.
"We were down to 14 men early on in that game after Gearoid got sent off, but lads like Mark Cunningham and Robbie Prior really stepped up to the mark to make sure we'd go through. We were glad to reach the semi-finals, because quarter-finals can often be tricky for strong teams coming through and we were confident going in against Mountnugent."
Played on a miserable night at Kingspan Breffni Park, it was three well-timed goals that made all the difference for Swanlinbar as they advanced to their second consecutive Cavan JFC final at Mountnugent's expense. Once again it was Swad's full-forward line that done all the damage, with Mark Cunningham, Kevin Brennan and Robbie Prior combining for 3-5 of their team's tally.
Cunningham's early goal kept Swad in front in the opening quarter before a brilliant three-man move from the St Mary's side ended in Prior finishing to the net and sent the would-be winners in at the break with a 2-2 to 0-4 advantage. Stewart's team soaked up the pressure from David Givney and co in the second-half and with ten minutes to go struck their third goal to ensure a 3-6 to 0-9 victory and coast into the competition's decider for the second year running.
As it had been the previous year, the excitement in Swanlinbar was huge in the built up the final and the general feeling was that they could go all the way, according to Stewart.
"There was big excitement around the parish and I knew they'd take a lot of beating if they played to their potential," he said.
"It was a good competitive final, with a good standard of football. I enjoyed it and when a team scores 16 points in a final they should win it and thankfully we did. The general spine of the team had been good all year long and it showed by the end of the season."
The Swanlinbar crowd flocked to Kingspan Breffni Park on October 3rd to cheer on their team against Munterconnacht. Kitted in their red away strip, Swad moved into their first lead in the game after nine minutes when Kevin Brennan lashed over after coming out to centre-field to retrieve possession. The westerners then put their foot in the throttle as scores from Mark Cunningham, Christopher Curran, Rory McBarron and 'Man of the Match' Gearoid McKiernan demonstrated a gulf in accuracy and sent Swad in at half-time with a 0-10 to 0-5 lead to boast.
Not willing to throw in the towel, the Munchies resumed brilliantly and struck a quick 1-1 to bring the difference down to one but, crucially, Swad never panicked as scores from McKiernan and Robbie Prior had them back three points to the good soon after.
It deflated Munterconnacht, who would only go on to register two more points in the game, while Swad hit two more through Prior and another Cunningham which was enough to ensure that team captain John Cunningham would be climbing the steps to lift the Sean Leddy Cup.
Swanlinbar (Cavan JFC final v Munterconnacht): Gavin Leydon; Thomas O'Brien, Michael Cunningham, Paul Prior; Damien Leydon, Gearoid McKiernan (0-3), Padraig Leydon (0-1); Michael Curran, John Cunningham; Christopher Curran (0-1), Paul McGovern, Rory McBarron (0-1); Mark Cunningham (0-4, 3f), Kevin Brennan (0-1), Robbie Prior (0-5, 3f).
Two weeks later and Stewart's side completed the junior double in fine style by seeing off the same opposition at the same venue with an emphatic 3-19 to 2-4 victory to claim the Division Three title, with Mark Cunningham (2) and Gearoid McKiernan the goal-scorers.
"I'd say Munterconnacht were very disjointed after losing the junior final and the way our players approached it was that they wouldn't get a better chance to win the junior double," said Stewart.
"Basically, it was game over at half-time after we'd got the two goals and great credit must go to the lads for the way they approached the game two weeks after winning the championship."
Great credit must go to the players and the management team of John Joe Stewart, Brian Treacy, Kevin Prior and Sean Gilheany for the effort put in during an unforgettable year for the club.
The real question now is if Swad can make their mark in the intermediate ranks. Stewart, who has yet to decide on his future with the club, is a firm believer that with a fully committed squad the St Mary's club can prosper in the second tier, with or without him at the helm.
"I reckon Swad will do well in Division Two," he stated. "They have a lot of big physical lads and lads that can take scores. The first aim for them will be to stay in Division Two and there's people in the parish that believe they are well capable of winning that intermediate championship. If the players can committee themselves again next year there's no reason why they can't."
Dernacrieve take U14 title after replay
In late September, Dernacrieve Gaels' Under 14 footballers ensured that some silverware was coming to the club when they defeated Knockbride convincingly after a replay in the Roinn B Championship final.
The west Cavan amalgamation will have felt unlucky not to have come away with victory from the first meeting between these two sides, as a late goal from Aodhan Steele undone all their good work and snatched a second chance for Knockbride to claim the title.
However, no one would have been left in doubt over who was the strongest team when the two sides met again a week later on September 28th and Dernacrieve clinched a resounding 2-14 to 1-4 victory to take the crown.
The Dernacrieve Gaels team that were unlucky to be held to a draw the first day lined out as follows: Cian McBrien, Conor Gilheaney, Kyle Doonan, Cathal O'Sullivan, Conor McGoldrick (0-1), Keelan McCaffrey, John Joe McGovern (0-1), Sean McGovern (1-1), Brian Leonard (0-2), Brian Deering (0-1), Brian Cassidy (0-3), Darren McTeggart (0-5, 5f). Sub: Noel Maguire.
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