Minors lead the way
December 30, 2009Just three years after making the break from the formidable Mellifont Rovers axis with Mattock Rangers and Hunterstown Rovers, the Tullyallen club's decision was fully vindicated on a memorable night in Darver.
After coming through their Division 2A league campaign unbeaten, Robert Murray and Aidan Monahan's side dispatched St Bride's in the semi-final, before edging out Dundalk Young Irelands in a thrilling decider.
After making a sluggish start Emmets exploded to life midway through the first-half with the brilliant Daniel Grimes inspiring his side to a 0-6 to 0-4 half-time lead.
By the end of the third quarter, the Glens were still two ahead and they made what proved to be a winning spurt with Damien Grimes netting an all-important goal.
To their credit Young Irelands staged a brave comeback and closed the gap to the minimum with a goal of their own in stoppage time, but it wasn't enough to deny Emmets their moment of glory.
"It was one of the best finals you'll ever see at any level and it was a great achievement by the lads," enthuses Robert Murray, recalling his side's big night.
"We only went out on our own in 2006 so this was out first title."
For a small rural club it was indeed a marvellous achievement and bodes well for the future - a future that Murray is very well placed to assess.
The experienced defender was forced to sit out most of the last two seasons with Emmets' seniors due to a cruciate ligament injury, but has had no problem keeping busy. As well as the minors, he also looks after the club's under-14 and under-16 panels.
And while there was no silverware secured, both teams showed plenty of promise.
With Gerry Cassidy assisting Robert, the 14s finished just outside the top four in the league and went on to contest the Division 2B semi-final.
There they overcame St Bride's away from home to book a final date with Wolfe Tones in Darver, but after leading by eight points with five minutes remaining, Emmets somehow let their opponents back in for a last-gasp victory.
"It was tough on the lads," Robert recalls. "But it's all a learning experience and we had two players from the under-14 panel on the Louth development squad - David Connolly and Conor Cusack."
Unfortunately, Emmets also drew Wolfe Tones in the first round of the 'B' championship and came out second best once more, while their season ultimately ended in disappointment, with another final defeat - this time against Na Piarsaigh in the shield competition.
It was a case of so close, but yet so far for the under-16s too. Robert, Kevin Hilliard and Leo Ryan guided the team through their league campaign unbeaten before suffering their one and only defeat in the semi-final against Naomh Malachi. Na Piarsaigh proved too strong in the first round of the championship.
As if looking after three underage teams wasn't enough, Robert was also involved with the Glen Emmets ladies team this season along with Noel Noone and Danny White.
With a young panel that is only on the go three years, the team exceeded expectations to reach the Division 3 league final where they came out second best against Naomh Fionnbarra.
However, despite the defeat, David insists that getting to the decider was a 'massive' achievement for his fledgling side and believes a big breakthrough will come sooner rather than later.
And while all the signs at underage level point to a bright future in Tullyallen, Emmets seniors very nearly made their own big breakthrough in 2009.
The green and red have been knocking on the door in the Junior Championship for quite a few years now and they were once again there or thereabouts under new manager, Brian Carroll.
The former St Mary's player and Louth ladies manager took over a team already boasting a nice blend of youth and experience, with the talented Mark Noone spearheading an attack with bags of scoring ability.
In fact, Noone led the championship scoring charts for a number of weeks as Emmets won all bar one of their Group A matches.
After four games they still boasted a 100% record in what was an extremely tough section.
They eased into the campaign with two big wins over Westerns and Annaghminnon Rovers.
The former were dispatched with a minimum of fuss in Ardee on a 2-13 to 0-6 scoreline as Noone helped himself to a fine tally of 2-4.
The Glens weren't quite as impressive next time out against a more formidable Annaghminnon outfit, who despite only registering 2-2 over the hour, were still very much in with shout with ten minutes remaining.
However, a late Eamon Taaffe goal gave the scoreline a bit more gloss from Emmets point of view as they sat top of the Group A table with a two from two record.
But with 2008 championship runners-up Lannleire up next, followed by this year's favourites, Sean McDermotts and eventual champs St Mochta's, Emmets still had their work cut out to reach the knockout stages.
Lannleire also boasted an unbeaten record before the sides met in Round 3 at the Gaelic Grounds.
However, it was Emmets who hit the ground running, opening a four point lead after fifteen minutes before retiring with a 0-5 to 0-2 half-time lead.
They pulled further clear after the break, but Lannleire showed their mettle to close the gap to the minimum, before five points in as many minutes settled the issue in Glens' favour, 0-13 to 0-7.
Six points was the difference again next time out as Emmets continued their impressive form against Sean McDermotts.
In a tight game, the Tullyallen men led by a single point at the break, 0-5 to 0-4, but a blistering start to the second period put Brian Carroll's side firmly in the ascendency. Noone and Eamon Mullen opened a three point gap with a point apiece before veteran attacker Joey Carolan blasted to the net after just ten minutes and Emmets never looked back thereafter, eventually recording a 1-11 to 0-8 victory.
That win meant Emmets were already through to the knockout stages before meeting St Mochta's in the last round, but top spot and direct route to the semi-finals was at stake in Pairc Mhuire.
However, with their opponents in greater need of the points, Emmets succumbed to a disappointing 2-11 to 0-8 defeat as Mochta's pipped them to a last four berth.
So it was off to the quarter-finals for Emmets, but they did get to the semis the long way around with a convincing 1-16 to 0-7 win over St Kevin's.
Glens led by double scores at the break, 0-8 to 0-4, and pushed home their superiority after the break as Carolan found the net again to rubber-stamp a fine victory and set up a semi-final showdown with high-flying St Fechin's.
The Termonfeckin men came through Group B undefeated, but trailed by two at half-time (1-3 to 0-4) as Noone hit the back of the net after just three minutes.
After that first-half showing Emmets would have been fancied to go on and book their place in the decider, but the supremely accurate Ronan Holcroft had other ideas, racking up a personal tally of 10 points as Fechin's recovered well to record a 1-13 to 2-6 victory.
After their championship exit, Emmets still had an outside chance of promotion to Division 2 of the league, but eventual champions, Dundalk Young Irelands, put paid to those hopes at the end of September.
It was a disappointing end to a campaign that promised so much for so long, but with the underage conveyer belt at Cusack Park churning out a growing number of hot prospects each year, it will surely only be a matter of time before Mr Bellew does make that trip out to Tullyallen….watch this space! Tweet
