Drumalee may have been down over the last couple of decades and more at adult level but they were never out. In 2002, the Lilywhites posted notice that they have a group of players on board now who have the tenacity as well as the talent to be successful. Kevin Carney reports. It was clear to those au fait with Drumalee's adult football set-up that youth needed to be given its head in 2002. It was time to blood the young, up-and-coming talent, most gaels at the club's coalface concurred. And as things transpired the fact that two pieces of silverware at adult level were garnered by the end of the year mean that the off-the-field tactics duly employed were proven to be truly spot-on! "The team-management did what we thought was best for the club and it was great that things worked out the way we had hoped they would. Winning the Division Three title was especially satisfying because the last time the club's first team won anything at adult level was a long time ago and a lot of people were truly surprised that the reserves did so well with their only defeat all year being the match against Drung," team-selector Peter Donohoe points out. 2002 was an exceptionally positive year for Drumalee and the taste of victory was all the sweeter as the best wine was left 'till last i.e. the months of November and December. November saw the club's adult section garner the headlines in the local media with the faces of the Reserve League Division Two players lighting up Terry Coyle after their gritty 2-11 to 1-6 victory over a much more experienced Denn outfit. The victory for Drumalee's second string had its foundation in a brilliant second half display. Earlier a converted penalty by Finbar Donohoe had helped steer the would-be winners into a 1-6 to 1-4 half-time lead. Thereafter the opening minutes of the second half proved decisive as Drumalee registered an unanswered 1-2 tally, the goal coming from the boot of Darragh Gaffney which left Denn trailing by 1-4 to 2-8. Drumalee proceeded to exert a vice-like grip on the exchanges thereafter with Denn only succeeding in adding two more points to their tally while further points by Kevin Donohoe, Bernard Young and Finbar Donohoe put the icing on the cake for the Lilywhites. It was a polished and very capable win for Drumalee with many of the youngsters on the team displaying a degree of maturity and composure way beyond their years. "Looking back on it, it would be fair to say that the title win by the reserves was a real breakthrough for the club 'cause it was the first adult title win in 28 years and gave all the players in the club a real morale boost. " It was all the more important to have that title win under our belt because we had a very poor record of fielding second teams over the years. It was a great victory. There was a good mix of youth and experience in the team and they proved themselves the fitter and more determined team on the day," Peter enthuses. Certainly for the first time in quite a number of years, the achievements of the adult footballers in the club outshone the young guns' displays. While mindful of course that the minors had won the division one league, the Drumalee faithful didn't mind admitting that all bets were on the minor championship being claimed. In this regard, the success of the club in winning the ACFL Division Three title and the Reserve League Division Two title sure represented the proverbial silver lining. And wasn't the think-tank crew of Ger O'Shaughnessy, Peter Donohoe, Michael Lyons and Martin Sexton only too delighted! Hats off then to those who did the Drumalee club proud in the Reserve League decider; John Woods; Sean Lee, Colin McCaffrey, Noel Lynch; Kevin Donohoe (0-1), Daire Donohoe, Tony McCaffrey; Bernard Young (0-2), Shane Donohoe (0-1); Francis Cleary, Finbar Donohoe (1-3), Adrian Dempsey; Darragh Gaffney (1-1), Michael Brennan (0-1), Kevin Downey (0-2). Subs; Declan Flood for Colin McCaffrey; Damien Donohoe for Adrian Dempsey; Micheal Fitzpatrick for Kevin Downey; Thomas Young for Kevin Donohoe; Gerard Reilly for Francis Cleary. And so to the club's ACFL Division Two triumph. Like any long, drawn-out league campaign, Drumalee had quite a fews downs, but more ups thankfully over the course of their passage through to the league decider. The final was fixed for December 8th at Drumgoon. Kill Shamrocks would provide the opposition and what a cracker the meeting(s) turned out to be! The sides couldn't be separated after the first meeting; 1-10 apiece being the order of the day. Drumalee had more reason than Kill to be kicking themselves at the final whistle though as they found themselves seven points ahead with just 12 minutes left to play. Earlier Drumalee had got off to the proverbial 'flyer' when Jonathan Higgins received a pass from Mickey Lee in the 12th minute and blasted the ball to the net. That goal, helped by some excellent points from such as Shane Donohoe, Darragh Gaffney and Lee himself, plus brilliant support play by such as Kevin Donohoe and Jonathan Higgins, set Drumalee up for a tidy 1-6 to 0-3 interval lead. And when Mickey Lee fired over a superb point in the 12th minute of the second half to catapult Drumalee into a 1-9 to 0-5 lead, it looked curtains for Kill. Gradually though, Drumalee lost their way and a late goal by their county star Pierce McKenna helped Kill salvage a desperately exciting draw. So what did the Drumalee backroom member make of it all? "Of course we were disappointed not to have held out and won it at the first time of asking but getting to the final was progress in itself we felt. We saw our achievement in getting that far as proof that the team was developing and maturing as a unit," team-selector Peter Donohoe admitted. Surely though it must have been difficult to raise morale among the troops after the first set-to? "It was, without a doubt but I personally was quite confident that the lads had it in them to win the replay. "Although seven of the team were still minors, I felt that they were gritty and determined enough to pull it off." And so to the replay the following weekend on a grey and bitingly cold afternoon at Terry Coyle Park. Thankfully though the fare served up was far from colourless and the exchanges full-blooded enough to generate a warm glow among the small but vocal attendance. Unlike the drawn game a week previous, Drumalee never really looked like affording Kill the get-out clause which saved the Shamrocks' bacon last time out. This time around, Drumalee demonstrated a level of consistency and resolve about their play which proved more than potent enough to secure for the club its first premier adult football title in all of 33 years. There were many elements incorporated in Drumalee's winning formula but the fact that the winners-elect succeeded in preventing Kill from bagging a goal for the second game running was one of the main reasons for the Lilywhites' victory in the end. Once again the play was fiercely contested, the vital diamond area of the field more often than not resembling Grafton Street on December 8th. In this respect, the young Drumalee players really came of age, matching reasonable force with reasonable force when called upon to do so while all the time demonstrating the sort of ambition and determination which is the hallmark of champions galore. "There was certainly nowhere to hide. Our lads, including our subs, had to stand up and be counted and they did just that. We dug in when we had to and weren't afraid to mix it with some controlled aggression when it was called for," Peter recalls. It was a fiercely-fought contest all through but of all the moments which appeared to spur Drumalee to even greater efforts, Mickey Lee's clinically-finished goal in the 7th minute was arguably the greatest and the most crucial moment for it provided the springboard for the would-be champions to go on and force the pace for the rest of the game. Once Lee struck gold, Kill found themselves playing a game of catch-up which, in the face of a determined opposition that had the bit between their teeth from the word go, they found beyond them on the day. In addition to their goal, a veritable purple spell between the 39th and 45th minutes during which time Drumalee notched three unanswered points emerged as a watershed also. Drumalee seemed able to hit back almost every time Kill threatened to gain parity. And the winners-elect seemed to engineer their scores in a less laboured fashion than Kill. Even the introduction of county star Pierce McKenna in the 23rd minute failed to ignite the Shamrocks' cause sufficiently. "We had done our homework following the drawn game. There was a decision made to switch things around a bit once he (McKenna) came on and it worked out well for us. The pieces of the jigsaw fell into place as far as we were concerned," Peter remembers. On the day, both sides gave it everything they had and the entertainment value hit the high notes accordingly. As such the play swung from end to end with monotonous regularity. The scoring was equally divided too with Drumalee pair Finbar Donohoe and Darragh Gaffney popping over frees in textbook fashion in the last few minutes of the first half to leave Kill trailing by 0-6 to 1-6 at the interval. Though the football continued to be of the pendulum variety as the second half got underway, the excitement and atmosphere generated by the small but vocal attendance was wholly suitable given the significance of the occasion. Now aided by the breeze and defending the dressing-room end of the field, Drumalee needed a good start to the second half and duly got it with a point from Lee giving Drumalee a further lift. Thereafter three points in a row between the 9th and 15th minutes left Kill facing into a six point deficit. Kill tried everything they could to recover lost ground but they neither found the room, scope or time on the ball to inflict sufficient damage on their opponents thereafter. Drumalee's charge for the finishing line would not be arrested as the players worked overtime at holding onto their hard-earned lead. And despite some testing pressure from Kill in the dying minutes, Drumalee stayed the distance in admirable fashion to ease home 1-11 to 0-10 victors. At long last a significant title was heading Drumalee's way and, specifically, to the club's recently replenished trophy cabinet. So what of 2003? "Our minors were unlucky last year with regard to the championship but they will be in the running again in 2003. On the adult front, I am hopeful that the club will compete well in division two and give the intermediate championship a real go of it," the ever-popular Peter forecasts. For the record the all-conquering Drumalee division two league final (replay) line-out was as follows; John Woods; Sean Lee, Colin McCaffrey, Noel Lynch; Kevin Donohoe, Declan Flood, Tony McCaffrey (0-1); Jonathan Higgins, Bernard Young (0-1); Francis Cleary, Finbar Donohoe (0-5, four frees), Dara Donohoe; Dara Gaffney (0-2, one free), Mickey Lee (1-3), Shane Donohoe. Subs; Declan Tighe for Dara Donohoe; Michael Brennan for Francis Cleary. Tweet

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