Denn missed out on the intermediate championship last year but later garnered the division two league title. Consolation or what? Pat Baker's instantly recognisable crown on his head is highly appropriate for here is a footballer who parades his passion for his club like a king does his crown. Like many another at the Crosskeys-based club though, Pat found 2002 a painful experience. It was a year in which his pride and the pride of all belonging to the maroon and whites was badly dented. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the intermediate championship final hit the close-knit club right full-square in the solar plexus. But in the wake of that devastating defeat to Drumgoon, the words close and knit grew legs. They became the operative words in the Denn football club's lexicon come the autumn and winter of 2002. The Denn faithful - members like Pat Baker - unashamedly declare 2002 as being a annus horribilus. All comment that a cloud enveloped the past year following the Breffni Park nightmare. Pressed now, Baker confesses that even the winning of the ACFL Division Two title represented just the tiniest of silver linings on that cloud, a lining scarcely visible to only the most philosophical of local gaels. "To be honest, winning the league was absolutely no consolation for losing the intermediate final although it probably was a measure of reward for all the training we did during the year," the 31-year old club stalwart confesses. And without beating about the bush, the tigerish defender points out how the importance of the All County Football League has been diluted in recent times. "We proved ourselves the pick of the bunch in division two last year but the league has been downgraded, there's no doubt about that. "If the league was completed before the championship it would be a different story but it's not and once a team is beaten in the championship they're inclined to lose interest altogether." But Denn failed to throw in the towel after their involvement in the championship had been completed? "But we had a point to prove after losing the final. We had to pick ourselves up off the ground and prove that we weren't going to finish the year and be looked upon as a bunch of losers. We wanted to show that we were a better team than we showed against Drumgoon," Pat counters. And indeed attendances at training post-Drumgoon never slackened off. A lot of the panel members continued to train each week. Pat tells us that, on average, over 20 players attended the training sessions in Crosskeys in the weeks that followed that infamous championship exit. Training at Meath-based club Drumbaragh (for the benefit of the Dublin-based contingent) continued without any let-up. And the rewards duly flowed for the Denn dynamos - finally! Goals notched in the first and last minutes of the game worked the oracle for Denn as they marched into the division two final following a tremendously exciting 2-14 to 0-16 victory over a battling Ballymachugh side at Kilnaleck. The crucial majors afforded Denn the perfect leg-ups as they searched for for league honours and, in the process, left Ballymachugh playing a game of catch-up they never quite looked like getting to terms with. Ironically a fine Stephen Baxter point put the Ballyheelan-based lads in front within 40 seconds of the opening whistle. However, less than 30 seconds later Denn's John Smith banged the ball to the back of the net after a goalmouth scramble which immediately put Ballymachugh on the backfoot. Denn proceeded to consolidate their lead over the course of the next eight minutes with points from Kenneth Rothwell and Colin Kiernan but as the half gathered pace, Ballymachugh began to win a decent share of possession around the middle of the field and their forwards profited accordingly. The Denn defence came under considerable pressure from the 12th to the 19th minutes and points from James Kiernan, Stephen Baxter and Damian Galligan had Ballymachugh in the driving seat. In what was a fast and furious contest, points were exchanged with gay abandon. Brendan Sweeney and Niall Baxter scored two particularly fine points for Ballymachugh as Denn struggled somewhat to match their opponents' potency in front of goal. By half-time, Denn found themselves trailing by 1-6 to 0-11.The second half saw Denn improve quite noticeably in the aspects of passing and shooting and a string of points early in the second half by Thomas Farrelly, Colin Kiernan (top-scorer with 1-4) Kenneth Rothwell and Ronan Kiernan had Ballymachugh in some trouble. Denn eventually drew level when Fergal Brady pointed on the run in the 56th minute, leaving Ballymachugh desperately seeking a lifeline. But when Denn's Pauric McGovern followed up two minutes later to put his side in front, the writing was on the wall for Ballymachugh. And the issue was well and truly dusted just two minutes from the close of play. James Kiernan saw his close-in free screw wide of the Denn posts and in the follow-up, the maroon and whites raced up the field to goal through Colin Kiernan to rubber-stamp their passage into the final of the competition. "I think we showed that bit of extra hunger against Ballymachugh. After the early stages of the match, I think we had matters very much in hand and a couple of timely scores after half-time meant they had to chase the game in a big way. "We were expecting a really hard game against Ballymachugh because they're a young and up and coming team but I don't think we were really ever troubled over the hour," recalls the flying half-back who won intermediate championship medals with Denn in 1988 and '90. In the league decider on December 8th at Kilnaleck, it was a case of the boys from the old brigade helping Denn ease the pain of their championship travails. Subsequently, five-star displays from veterans like Baker, Pascal Galligan, Tommy Smith and Donal Keogan were the cornerstones of a comfortable 1-16 to 0-9 victory over off-form Ballyhaise in what turned out to be a real dogged ACFL Division Two decider at Kilnaleck. Having impressed in accounting for Castlerahan in the semi-final, Ballyhaise were expected to at least push Denn to the limit last weekend but, instead, Baker and co. positively coasted past the winning post from a long way off. And while Denn's winning margin might have been a tad flattering there was no doubting their greater football nous in almost every facet of the contest. The winners-elect led from pillar to post and dictated the pace of the game throughout with their superior teamwork, marksmanship and spirit all-pervasive. Of course, the aforementioned natural-born leaders' workrate and incisive play coupled with rising under 21 star David Kiernan proved all-powerful in the face of an admittedly lukewarm Ballyhaise challenge. The game opened up at a lively pace and two converted frees by John Smith inside the opening four minutes propelled Denn into a lead they never truly looked like relinquishing. Ballyhaise were left chasing a game that was destined to run away from them even though they only trailed by the odd point in five after the opening 15 minutes. The opening quarter was as good as it got though for Denn's opponents. In the seven minutes that followed, the champions-elect strung together a series of moves and notched four points without reply to put Ballyhaise under obvious pressure. Thanks, in part, to points from Tommy Smith, Martin Cahill and a brace of frees by John Smith, Denn had that winning feeling from as early as the 24th minute when they enjoyed a 0-7 to 0-2 lead. Theirs was a lead that subsequently was never seriously threatened. In perfect conditions Denn veteran Tommy Smith slowly but surely began to lord it under the breaking ball from the Ballyhaise kick-outs. In addition, the number of times a Denn player nicked the ball from his Ballyhaise opponent was a particularly telling and morale-boosting aspect of Denn's play. Aided by a slight breeze and defending the town end of the pitch, Denn proceeded to secure a vice-like grip on the exchanges in the vital diamond area of the field and the points predictably flowed with Kenneth Rothwell, Donal Keogan and Rothwell again extending their side's lead. Trailing by 0-4 to 0-10 on the restart, Ballyhaise needed a goal to get back in the hunt. Instead, it was Denn who grabbed the only major recorded when, after barely 30 seconds into the second half, the alert Kenneth Rothwell pounced to punish sloppy Ballyhaise defensive work to duly find the net with a neat left-foot drive. Ballyhaise did their damnedest to stay in the match though and three points in as many minutes straight afterwards at least served to cancel out Rothwell's major. Fortunately for Denn, McCrudden's effort might have been a goal but after the ball had rebounded off the crossbar, the big full-forward could only manage to fist the ball over instead of under the bar. And as Ballyhaise tried to build up a real head of steam, goalscorer Rothwell put a halt to their gallop with a nice point in the 5th minute. Thereafter Denn were content to hold what they had, safe in the knowledge that Ballyhaise lacked the conviction or cutting edge to sufficiently eat into Denn's commanding lead. Ballyhaise were destined to fruitlessly chase the goal(s) that could have gotten them out of jail. In the 13th minute a fantastic save by Denn keeper Brian Boylan from point blank range summed up Denn's alertness and determination to seize the silverware. Amidst a series of stoppages for injuries, bookings etc, Stephen Smith pointed a free in the 14th minute to give Ballyhaise just a semblance of hope. However Denn were were never troubled thereafter and points from Fergal Brady and Tommy Smith ('45) edged them onto easy street. By that juncture, Denn had matters well and truly wrapped up. Fittingly, Denn had the last word when sub. Colin Kiernan fired over one of the best points of the match. "We had trained hard from January 15 to the first week of December so it was nice to have something to show for our efforts." "I think our superior fitness told against Ballyhaise." And the spirit in the camp at year's end? "The spirit in the squad was top-class right from the very start of the year and right on through 'till we won the league. "And over the course of the last three or four league games, morale and spirit among the lads got even better. "Hopefully the spirit will be the same in 2003 with but with some better results at the end of the day though!" The following are the players who succeeded in restoring morale and pride down Denn way by defeating Ballyhaise in the ACFL Division Two decider last December; Brian Boylan; Anthony McPhillips, Donnacha Brady, Martin Cahill (0-1); Pat Baker, David Kiernan, Philip Galligan; Pascal Galligan, Ronan Kiernan; Fergal Brady (0-1), Tommy Smith (0-3), Jerome Kiernan (0-1); John Smith (0-5, four frees), Donal Keogan (0-1), Kenneth Rothwell (1-3). Subs; Pauric McGovern for Donal Keogan; Colin Kiernan (0-1) for Fergal Brady; Paul Hyland for David Kiernan. Kevin Keogan for Martin Cahill. Tweet

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