Drumlane Sons of O'Connell used to be the poor relation of Cavan football. Not any more as their major minor victory in 2004 further testifies Drumlane's success story at underage level continues unabated! The cups they just keep a-coming. Needless to say clubs from around the county have been eyeing up the progress made by the Sons of O'Connell over the last half-dozen years with envious eyes. 2004 delivered yet more silverware for the west Cavan crew with victory in the Minor League Division Two competition. It was a long campaign, made even longer by its suspension for the duration of the leaving cert. examinations. And, as is Drumlane's wont, the O'Connells ensured the finale would be as dramatic as any final played in Kingspan/Breffni Park over the course of 2004. Played in the first week of July, the county decider between Drumlane and amalgamation side St. Finbarr's produced a level of quality football and competitiveness befitting what was a wonderful competition. For the west Cavan side, it was a glorious finale too with their success in coming from behind to nick the spoils at the death the stuff of fairytale climaxes. "We played in twelve such games and must have won at least seven of them in dramatic style so the nature of the win over St. Finbarr's didn't surprise me too much. "There's a never-say-die spirit among those players. "They've shown that time and time again. I think the final was a case of us playing from the first whistle to the last or so whereas maybe they didn't," Drumlane team mentor Paul Fitzpatrick explains. Predictably, Paul concedes that the clash with the Kill-Drung amalgam was "easily the toughest of the campaign." "We had lost to them in the first round. "They got through for three goals in that game and won by about four or five points." So what changed from between the first round and the final? "It wasn't a case of us making any changes in personnel. "We just seemed to improve in every game and as the weather got better and the pitches improved, so too did our performances, especially against the likes of Cormore Gaels and Killygarry. "It wasn't possible for us to have any challenge matches before the start of the league and we were fairly rusty in the early stages of the competition but the better conditions, all-round, brought out the best in the lads. And, as things transpired, the green and whites peaked at just the right time. Drumlane's 2-7 to 1-9 victory in the final was all the more sweet because nobody in the winners' camp could remember when a minor title was last won by the resurgent club. And, on the face of it, this coming year could see the club remaining on the winning track at minor level with a massive ten of last year's champions' line-out eligible to play in the competition in 2005. Most insiders in the Drumlane club though reckon that a great future lies ahead for all 23 of the club's 2004 minor panel. The fact that at least five of the squad made it onto Drumlane's intermediate championship squad in 2004 speaks volume for their potential. That said, there was no shortage of quality on board, they say, on the minor front last year and competition for places was distinctly healthy. Significantly since that self-same squad came together in 1998 at under 12 level when two cups were secured, all the players have retained their hunger, ambition and enthusiasm. Those attributes were manifest in the attitude at the players' meeting at the start of the year, says Paul who was joined in the Drumlane think-tank by Sean O'Dowd, Vincent Connolly and Martin Brady. "I think the fact that a lot of those players lost out in the under 16 semi-final in 2002 give an edge to their hunger and they were determined not to lose out again." They didn't. In skipping to their exciting, tension-filled win in the league decider, Drumlane showed all the determination in the world. They also showed a degree of skill, composure and resolve beyond their years to scuttle the hopes of the Kill-Drung combination. Victory in the final was the result of a real team effort by the green and whites but the killer blow was struck well into injury time by Stephen McCann. The opening quarter of the game was a tit-for-tat affair with neither side managing to gain anything close to a vive-like grip on the exchanges. It was obvious from very early on in the match that the issue was destined to go to the wire. Initially the game panned out to be a straight forward shoot-out between Drumlane's Shane Kelly and the Saints' Sean Gaffney with both players recording a hat-trick of points apiece. It was dogged stuff thereafter with both sets of players giving it their all and proving to all and sundry at headquarters that they were in the final on merit. Scores were at a premium in the first half though but by the end of the first moiety, the winners-elect found themselves trailing. This was partly because Saint Finbarr's managed to grab the opening goal of the game; that coming after 20 minutes. 'Finbarr's added a point a few minutes later but Drumlane posted notice of their intention to fight to the bitter end when Drumlane had the last score of the half with a fine point by Stephen McCann cutting Saint Finbarr's lead at the interval to three points, 1-4 to 0-4. The early part of the second half saw Drumlane remain under pressure somewhat and the concession of two points hinted at an uphill struggle for the champions-elect. However, to their eternal credit, Drumlane upped the ante and points rained in from Cian Bradley, Darren Kelly and Ciaran Maguire which served to leave just two points between the sides. However Drumlane were once again pegged back on their heels as Saint Finbarr's weighed in with three unanswered points to suddenly leave Drumlane five points adrift with only eight minutes left in ordinary time. Cue the dogged, determined and dynamic Drumlane. The lack of conviction and tentativeness which had marked so much of their play for three quarters of the game was suddenly discarded by the west Cavan youngsters. The Drumlane surge to the winning post was kick-started by an opportunist goal by Shane Kelly who fisted to the net after after a shot by John O'Dowd in the 25th minute came thundering back off the Saint Finbarr's crossbar. Drumlane remained fixed on going for the jugular; there was no way the Saints were going to be let off the hook. The momentum was all with Drumlane. Inevitably the chasing team pulled the fat out of the fire. But it wasn't until at least five minutes into injury time that Drumlane enacted their great escape clause. The golden goal was scored when Stephen McCann let fly with a rasping left foot shot which deceived four Saint Finbarr's defenders standing on the goal-line before ending up in the back of the net. The roars of the Drumlane supporters must surely have been heard in Milltown and surrounding areas. The west was once again awake. The Drumlane players who featured in the Division Two MFL final were as follows; Damien Kennedy; Stephen Connolly, Cormac Fitzpatrick, JP Kelly; Colin Reynolds, Dane O'Dowd, Declan Reilly; John O'Dowd, James Greene, Darren Kelly (0-1), Stephen McCann (0-1); Cian Bradley (0-1), Ciaran Maguire (0-1), Shane Kelly (1-3) Tweet

Most Read Stories