A whisker away
November 27, 2011This past season was one in which the semi-final hurdle of the Cavan senior football championship proved just too high for the footballers of Shannon Gaels.
Under the guidance of Eugene Walsh, the Blacklion men had moved well enough in the league during the April, May, June and July months to maintain their status in Division Two, after achieving promotion in 2010, and from late July onwards their championship campaign in the bottom section took off.
The objective for the club at the start of the season was a straightforward one - stay in Division Two of the All County Football League and get back into their first Junior Football Championship decider since 2007, when they came up short against a strong Killeshandra side which are now pushing hard for intermediate honours having operated in Division One for the past two seasons.
With rich talents such as PP O'Hara, Nevin O'Donnell and Jason McLoughlin having firmly made their breakthrough on the senior side, Shannon Gaels felt that 2011 was the perfect year for a firm push towards the first Sean Leddy Cup for the club since 1989. Operating out of Division Two in the league provided the perfect platform, so there could be no excuses as long as the commitment backed up the bid.
Walsh would put his players through the hard slog throughout February and March as they prepared for life in Division Two, where tough tests against intermediate champions Drumalee, former SFC finalists Denn and traditional giants Crosserlough awaited them if they were to maintain their place in the second tier in 2012.
Incidentally, Walsh's team would be one of the first out in 2011 when they met the challenge of Cavan Gaels at Terry Coyle Park on March 26, where a tough opening challenge would be endured and a narrow 2-11 to 1-12 defeat suffered. The following weekend saw Cootehill make the long trip to Blacklion and come away with a 5-11 to 3-4 victory, leaving the hosts pointless from two games.
It was far from the ideal start, but Walsh's men would be primed and ready when league and championship favourites Crosserlough came to visit, as Shannon Gaels scored an impressive 2-8 to 0-12 win over the Kilnaleck men to get the ball rolling for their season. Defeat to Denn (0-13 to 1-5) in Crosskeys followed, but a thrilling 4-7 to 0-18 win over Drumalee at home would be followed by a 2-12 to 2-9 defeat to would-be intermediate champions Drumgoon to bring to end a tough string of games for the battling Blacklion men.
Defeats to Kill (1-13 to 2-7) and Cornafean (4-14 to 0-13) followed, before a draws against Drung (0-10 to 0-10) and Killinkere (1-15 to 2-12) raised their points tally and a priceless 0-15 to 0-11 victory over Knockbride in Canningstown practically confirmed safety heading towards the championship. Defeat to former championship rivals Swanlinbar (1-10 to 0-10) didn't help the Gaels' cause, but hard fought win over Shercock (1-13 to 2-5) and a struggling Bailieborough (0-8 to 0-6) guaranteed that the Blacklion outfit would be applying their trade in Division Two for 2012.
The league campaign had been packed with plenty of ups and downs for Walsh's team, but by the end of July their sights were firmly set on a championship campaign which would be defining from their own perspective. Shannon Gaels would enter into a stern group which contained Shercock, Ballyconnell First Ulsters and Mountnugent, with the latter being thrown up as the first test for Walsh's charges on July 24 at Packie Devlin Park in Killeshandra.
The westerners would make a decent start to the game to lead by 0-7 to 0-4 at the halfway stage, before producing a splendid second-half performance which would blow their opponents away as a PP O'Hara goal would be backed up by some wonderful scores from Nevin O'Donnell and Niall Walsh to crush a Mountnugent side, which were side minus the services of David Givney, by 1-17 to 0-8 to put one foot in the quarter-finals.
The following weekend would give Walsh's team the chance to seal their place in the last eight with a game remaining in the group when they made the short trip to Corlough for a west Cavan derby with Ballyconnell First Ulsters.
After a shaky start, which saw the First Ulsters enjoy their best spell of the game with the opening two scores, Shannon Gaels assumed control of a one-sided affair once Enda McHugh's eight minute goal hit the back of the Ballyconnell net as the points of Eamonn Reilly and Niall Walsh helped to build up a 1-7 to 0-4 lead. Resolute defending from Stephen McGrath, Jason McLoughlin and Ollie Nolan would keep the Ballyconnell attack scoreless throughout the entire second-half as three Nevin O'Donnell points ensured victory for the men in black and amber.
Shannon Gaels (JFC v Ballyconnell): Shane McGovern; Aaron O'Hara, Stephen McGrath, Stephen McManus; Kenneth McNiff, Jason McLoughlin, Ollie Nolan; Enda McHugh (1-0), Michael Griffin; PP O'Hara (0-1, 1f), Kevin McGovern, Ronan McCaffrey; Niall Walsh (0-2), Eamon Reilly (0-3, 1f), Nevin O'Donnell (0-4). Dub: Daniel McCann.
With their quarter-final place confirmed, Shannon Gaels entered their toughest test to date of the campaign on August 6 when they met the challenge of Jodie Clarke's Shercock. It was a test in which they would pass with flying colours as another Enda McHugh goal would prove crucial in securing a 1-13 to 0-5 win at Kingspan Breffni Park and maintaining Shannon Gaels' unbeaten record in the championship.
On a hot run of form heading into the knock-out stages, the quarter-final draw would throw up another derby clash for Walsh's men as a showdown with Corlough awaited at St Mary's Park in Swanlinbar. Shannon Gaels' start to the game was strong as they surged 0-3 to nothing in front via the points of Eamonn Reilly, Niall Walsh and Eamonn Reilly, before a devastating 12-minute spell all but killed off Corlough's challenge as PP O'Hara, Jason McLoughlin, Nevin O'Donnell and Stephen McGrath all landed points. Moments later O'Hara set-up Niall Walsh to blast to the Corlough net and send the Gaels in with an unassailable 1-10 to 0-2 half-time lead. The second-half saw both teams register 0-4 each which would be more than enough for the Blacklion side to take their place in semi-finals.
The draw for the last four would set-up an intriguing clash at Kingspan Breffni Park with beaten 2010 finalists Munterconnacht, who themselves were in impressive form heading into the business end of the championship.
In a game which only saw six scorers over the entire hour, veteran John McCabe had 'the Munchies' off the mark inside two minutes with a slick turn and shot which landed between the uprights. Niall Walsh posted the reply for Shannon Gaels through a well-struck free, but it was Jame Cole's charges that were edging things in the opening stages as they continued to find McCabe's runs inside, with two more points from the corner-forward outweighing another Walsh free.
Walsh dragged a goal chance for the Gaels just wide in the 19th minute, which let their opponents off the hook, and they would be made pay for the missed opportunity in the next meaningful attack. After nabbing possession ahead of his marker along the right flank, a deadly burst of speed from Sean Nolan saw the wing-forward rip through the Blacklion outfit's defence and bury a devastating finish beyond Shane McGovern to the net.
Shannon Gaels responded with a Daniel O'Hara point two minutes later and they would be gifted a goal five minutes before the break when a long ball into the Munterconnacht square was fumbled in the full-back line and sat up perfectly for poacher Enda McHugh to lash home and square the sides, but a fine score from Darragh Carroll would edge the east Cavan side back in front just before half-time, with the score-board reading 1-4 to 1-3.
Walsh's side that would have the first say of the resumption when Eamonn Reilly beat marker Peter Cullen to possession, turned and split the posts.
After that a 12-minute scoring drought ensued, as both sides grafted hard but produced very little, before a Carroll free put 'the Munchies' noses back in front approaching the closing quarter. The score looked to swing the momentum back Munterconnacht's way, but they were sucker-punched right on the third quarter mark when Walsh fetched a high ball on the edge of the square and offloaded to Eamonn Reilly in front of the posts from where the experienced full-forward made no mistake in rifling to the roof of James Baugh's net.
Carroll hit back with a point and the westerners responded with a white flag from Enda McHugh as they looked to have one foot in the final. However, Munterconnacht simply wouldn't give in and it was midfielder Danny Nolan that would ignite them when he's sizzling run through the centre saw him ghost past two Gaels defenders before being axed down in the square and earning his side a penalty with 55 minutes on the clock.
Under a mountain of pressure, Carroll kept his kick low and the ball slid underneath Shane McGovern's dive to the back of the net to hand back Cole's men the initiative. The Gaels threw men forward in desperate search of an equaliser, but Munterconnacht's defence held out and would catch their opponents on the break to find Carroll unmarked down the other end for the full-forward's fourth point. In six minutes of injury-time Shannon Gaels couldn't find a third goal to win them the game and instead had to settle for a Walsh free which left them a point short in an agonising 2-7 to 2-6 defeat which again denied them a county final place, concluding their season in disappointing fashion.
Shannon Gaels (JFC semi-final v Munterconnacht): Shane McGovern; Aaron O'Hara, Peader Fitzpatrick, Stephen McManus; Johnny Corrigan, Jason McLoughlin, Stephen McGrath; Enda McHugh (1-1), Ollie Nolan; Paul McGovern, PP O'Hara, Daniel O'Hara; Niall Walsh (0-3, 3f), Eamon Reilly (1-1), Nevin O'Donnell. Subs: Ronan McCaffrey for N O'Donnell (44mins), Kenny McNiff for S McManus (59mins), Nevin O'Donnell for P McGovern (60mins). Tweet
