Promised Land reached
November 27, 2011There's an old saying in GAA that league and championship are two different things. Well, in 2011 Shercock were another club with proud tradition which proved the point, as relegation from Division Two of the ACFL would not derail or discourage their successful bid for a first Cavan JFC triumph in 32 long years.
Under the guidance of club stalwart Jodie Clarke, who also oversaw the team's fortunes in 2010, Shercock had a new look about them when they entered the championship fray this past season and while 'the experts' were tipping the likes of Shannon Gaels and Munterconnacht to scoop the Sean Leddy Cup come October, Clarke's super-fit and eager side came from under the radar to land the coveted trophy.
"It was Jodie Clarke's second year in charge of the team and he had his brother Sean Clarke and Philip McEntee in along with him and Danny Cox, Mickey McEntee and Michael McCluskey were also lending a helping hand," explained Pierce McDermott, who served his third year as chairman in a historic season for the club.
"There main objective was to win the junior championship, plain and simple. It had been 27 years since we'd won a championship final and at the start of the year they said they wanted to get back to another final and try and maintain our status in Division Two of the league as well."
Clarke would have to start 2011 minus the services of five of his starting team which lost out to Mountnugent in the year's previous JFC quarter-final, but the additions of county minor stars Brian Sankey and Killian Clarke would be more than a welcome boost to the team as the season unravelled.
After rigorous training sessions in the winter months, Shercock would be primed for thier first competitive outing of the year when they travelled to would-be relegation rivals Butlersbridge for their ACFL Division Two opener on March 27, when a close battle ended in a 1-5 to 0-8 draw. The following weekend, Clarke's charges hosted Cavan Gaels at O'Hagan Park and demonstrated their credentials for silverware with a 2-8 to 1-6 win over the fancied Cavan town outfit.
While defeat away to Cootehill (0-12 to 0-5) followed, Shercock would preserve their strong home record with a sizzling performance against Cornafean which saw them score a 2-12 to 1-5 victory over their junior championship rivals.
"We won our first few games in the league and after that two of our county minors had to stay off the panel and I think that really affected us," McDermott said. "After that were losing games to the likes of Denn and Drung by a point or two and they were vital points that we could have been getting. Unfortunately, we didn't stay safe in the end but it didn't dampen the mood in the camp too much because the players still had the championship to try and redeem themselves."
As it turned out, Shercock would only go on to gain a single point for the remainder of their league campaign, but come July they had their sights firmly set on a tilt at the junior championship, as they entered into a group which contained Mountnugent, Shannon Gaels and Kildallan.
Up first was a clash with Mountnugent, where Clarke's men would be keen to gain revenge for their quarter-final defeat of the previous year, and after a sterling performance they came through on 1-13 to 0-8 score-line. A narrow 1-13 to 0-15 defeat to a Shannon Gaels side in red-hot form would follow, but when Shercock met the challenge of Ballyconnell First Ulsters at Mac McGrath Park in Redhills they would have minimal fuss in seeing off the west Cavan side by 3-7 to 0-9 to seal their place in the knock-out stages and join the last eight in the race for the Sean Leddy Cup.
The quarter-final draw would throw up a tough test against Cornafean, which Shercock would pass with flying colours as they booked their place in the last four with a 1-12 to 0-7 win over the Reds thanks to a splendid final quarter display.
"That day against Cornafean it was a close game which went all the way up until the last 10 minutes and then we just started to pull away," McDermott recalled.
"Fitness was really a huge thing for us this year. The training that Jodie done left no stoned unturned and it really showed with the way we were killing off games, like we did against Cornafean. Every player had great commitment and we had big numbers at training throughout the year, so we were well prepared going into the business end of the championship."
The win would set-up a semi-final showdown with Arva at Kingspan Breffni Park, where Shercock were fancied by many to edge a battle, and a battle was exactly what ensued as both teams went all out in their bid for a long awaited county final appearance.
An Ollie Ward penalty had Shercock in the driving-seat at half-time, but in the second-half Arva upped the ante after firing in a goal of their own within 40 seconds of the restart. John McEnroe hit back with a point for Shercock, but Arva moved into a two-point lead towards the closing stages to leave their opponents' championship hopes hanging by a thread. Paddy McPhillips grabbed a sorely needed point before Michael O'Reilly swung over a sublime score in the fourth minute of injury-time to save a replay for Shercock.
The chairman cited O'Reilly's "fantastic point" as one of the defining moments in Shercock's season, as they went on to win the replay after extra-time, where again fitness level played a crucial part, and move into their first junior football championship final in over a decade. McDermott stated that the mood of the players heading into the October 8th decider was a calm one.
"Jodie kept a low-profile with the players," he said. "There was plenty of hype around the town alright, but the players were focused and were training under lights up in Meath Hill in the couple of nights leading up to the final.
"Munterconnacht would have been favourites. They beat a Shannon Gaels side that a lot of people had fancied to go all the way in the semi-finals, and they were also just beaten in the final by Swanlinbar last year, so everyone was tipping them as the favourites. We were going into the game quietly confident. We felt we were improving with each game and we thought that there would be one big game in us and thankfully it came that day in Breffni Park."
In a thrilling decider, Clarke's admirable team were inspired by an outstanding display from team captain John McEnroe, who contributed 0-5 from play from centre-forward, but it was undoubtedly the team's all round performance that saw them to a 1-10 to 1-7 victory at Kingspan Breffni Park.
The game itself would be delayed by nine minutes after an early clash between Munterconnacht's John McCabe and Shercock's Ciaran Lennon, which saw both players having to be withdraw, and when the match resumed Munterconnacht had edged matters, but it was the winners that landed the first major blow when Stephen Donnery hit the net on the quarter hour mark, before a Darragh Carroll penalty cancelled-out the effort and saw Shercock's lead trimmed down to one by the interval.
In the second-half, Clarke's team raced through the gears and through the points of their brilliant skipper and substitute Ciaran McGinley, along with some resolute defending by the likes of Colin Clerkin, Liam Og O'Reilly and 18-year-old Brian Sankey, they secured their first Sean Leddy Cup success since 1979.
Shercock (JFC final v Munterconnacht): Colin Courtney; Colin Clerkin, Liam Og O'Reilly, Ciaran Lennon; Daniel Clarke, Brian Sankey, Dean O'Reilly; Michael O'Reilly, Sean Magee; Paddy McPhillips (0-2), John McEnroe (0-5), Stephen Donnery (1-0); Damien McIntyre, Killian Clarke (0-2), Ollie Ward. Subs: Shane Clarke for C Lennon (11 mins, inj), Ciaran McGinley (0-1) for O Ward (44 mins), Declan McIntyre for Damien McIntyre (46 mins), Raymond Clarke for P McPhillips (58mins), Shane McPhillips for Donnery (59 mins).
"It was one of the better games in Breffni Park this year - a good, hard-hitting, tight match," McDermott commented on the final.
"There was a fierce hit in the first five minutes between John McCabe and Ciaran Lennon which left both players having to go to hospital. Watching it, it was like two trains meeting head on, but thank God they've both recovered from it.
"On the day, I think again that we finished the fitter team and we probably should have been up by more towards the end because we kicked a lot of wides. But were just delighted to get the win and it was just wonderful afterwards. There was about 1,000 people out on the street in Shercock to greet the players that night and it means everything to the club. We hadn't got to a final since 1984 and emigration hit us big time. Now the club is in a good place with our pitch never looking as well, with a brand new stand for our supporters, so the future is very bright for the club."
O'Raghallaigh Gaels are county minor champions
In September, Kingscourt/ Shercock amalgamation O'Raghallaigh Gaels delivered the Cavan minor football championship title when they overcame the challenge of Cavan Gaels by 0-13 to 1-4 with a outstanding second-half performance at Kingspan Breffni Park.
Having saw off St Josephs and Eire Og Celtics comfortable to book their place in the decider, O'Raghallaigh Gaels came head-to-head with the Cavan town side at Cavan GAA headquarters, where Padraic Sheridan had the Blues off the mark after three minutes with a fine point, before Cian McArdle cancelled-out the effort with a close range free and Aaron Browne had O'Raghallaigh Gaels into their first lead on nine minutes when he spilt the uprights from his centre-forward position.
Oisin Sheridan grabbed the next score for the Cavan town side, but they wouldn't score again for the remainder of the half as their opponents' defence, backboned by Colin Clerkin and Brian Sankey held firm, as McArdle's second accurate free put the amalgamated side back in front. Cavan Gaels squandered a goal chance on the eve of half-time, when Andrew Graham's soft shot was heroically cleared off the line by Padraic Faulkner, which left the score-line reading 0-3 to 0-2 in O'Raghallaigh Gaels' favour at the halfway stage.
The Kingscourt/Shercock combo resumed matters well by notching scores through Owen Duffy and Ryan Carey, before a Coyle free helped to stem the tide for Martin Dunne's charges. They could have found the net afterwards when Killian Clarke's shot was tipped over by Ritchie Murphy in the Cavan Gaels goal, but they would still manage to open up a five-point gap when efforts from McArdle (free) and Browne flew over. A Paul Graham score helped to lift the trailers' spirits and they hunted for another score when Graham carried possession from midfield and his cunning pass found Coyle's unmarked run, and when the number 11 accepted the pass he made no mistake in burying in a low finish to make it a one-point game.
The next score was crucial and as things unravelled it was O'Raghallaigh Gaels that would go on to grab four without reply, as McArdle and super substitute Ryan Clerkin, who raised three white flags, demonstrated their scoring prowess with the pressure on to secure the title.
O'Raghallaigh Gaels (MFC final v Cavan Gaels): Shay Rooney; Rory Sheridan, Eoin Lynch, Owen Duffy (0-1); Padraig Faulkner, Brian Sankey, Colin Clerkin; Joe Dillon, James Farrelly; David Harpur, Aaron Browne (0-2), Niall Clerkin; Ryan Carey (0-1), Killian Clarke (0-1), Cian McArdle (0-5, 4f). Subs: Jack Sheehan for D Harpur (43 mins), Ryan Clerkin (0-3) for J Farrelly (47 mins), Paul Sloane for R Sheridan (60 mins). Tweet
