Mighty Mattock strike again!
December 30, 2009Having lost the 2008 county final to Newtown Blues, Mattock went into the new campaign determined to set the record straight. Strangely, not many mentioned them as potential champions at the start of the year. This in spite of the fact that the men from Collon have appeared in more SFC finals than anyone else since the turn of the millennium and had taken the Joe Ward to south Louth twice already in the 'noughties.
Just as well titles are won on the pitch and not in newspapers or on message boards!
In '09, Mattock confirmed their status as the best team in the Wee County with a thoroughly superb SFC success. The determination in the clubhouse was insatiable; the big-match experience in the team vital. On county final day, Kit Henry's side produced a near-perfect exhibition of killer football. From their first ten shots at the posts they amassed an unassailable 2-8. This frightening statistic tells its own story. Poor Cooley had no chance!
The 2009 Louth SFC final was staged in Clan Na Gael Park on Sunday October 4. Cooley were once more bidding to bridge the gap back to their last title in 1990, while Mattock aimed to bounce back from the disappointment of losing the '08 decider by claiming an incredible third crown of the decade. It was the Collon men who reigned supreme, with a level of performance that simply couldn't be denied.
It was the last senior final of the decade. St Patricks and Newtown Blues had already taken three each … could Mattock (who were on two) equal that feat? Cooley had topped their group to go straight through to the semi-finals, wherein they disposed of Glyde Rangers. Mattock had finished second in the same group, disposing of Newtown Blues along the way.
They beat Glyde in their Group A opener at Ardee on May 1 (1-9 to 2-5) and continued on their way with a 2-12 to 0-11 victory over Naomh Mairtin at the county grounds three weekends later. Then came a 0-16 to 1-3 pasting against Cooley at Haggardstown on July 24 - a timely kick up the backside if ever Mattock needed one and an embarrassing result which no doubt acted as a severe motivating tool in the run-up to the county final against the peninsula club. The Blues also beat Mattock - 1-12 to 1-8 in Drogheda on August 16 - and at this stage they had work to do to get back on course. The run of two successive defeats was halted by a 1-18 to 3-5 thumping of St Brides at Ardee in the last round on August 30 and this was enough to secure passage through to the business end of the senior championship.
Mattock and Cooley shared top place in the group with 6 points each from a possible 10. But it was Cooley who progressed straight to the last four by virtue of a vastly superior scoring average. In an extremely congested section, the Collon outfit finished just a point ahead of Glyde, the Blues and the Mairtins, with the latter two bowing out on scoring differences. St Marys provided the opposition at the quarter-final stage and Mattock recorded a routine derby win in the county grounds on September 5, 0-11 to 0-5.
This set up an absolutely epic semi-final meeting with St Patricks, who had emerged from the preliminary phase with a 100% record. A thrilling encounter was predicted and the two teams failed to disappoint as Mattock carved out a sensational 2-11 to 1-12 success in Dowdallshill on September 13. Mark Brennan's 59th-minute goal provided a stunning denouement as Mattock completed a sensational comeback, having trailed by 1-2 to no score after nine minutes. The winners led by one at the break (0-7 to 1-3) thanks to three successive minors from Brennan and the Reid brothers and another unanswered run of 0-4 from Christy Grimes (2), Shane Grimes and Brennan.
Robbie Brennan goaled on 39 minutes. Then, after going 16 minutes without a score in the second half, Mattock sprang to life with a David Reid free from 13 metres followed by another Reid free which brought the gap down to the minimum by the 57th minute. Padraig Bannon made a vital goal-line clearance and started the last-minute move that culminated in captain Brennan's killer goal.
Three weeks later, the Collon men completed a notable peninsula double when toppling Cooley in the final on an overwhelming 3-12 to 0-11 scoreline. There could be no denying the authenticity of the new Louth senior football champions!
Before a ball had been kicked in the 2009 Louth SFC, Mattock were rated as 9/2 third favourites to claim the Joe Ward Cup. The bookmakers had defending champions Newtown Blues at 3/1 and listed St Patricks as competition favourites at a slightly shorter 11/4. As champions of 2002 and 2005, the Collon club had reached the '08 decider and still had a chance to capture a third title of the decade - the same number as the Blues and Pats.
Mattock were in the Group of Death - including all four of the 2008 semi-finalists - and vice-captain David Reid conceded that it would be far from straightforward to progress. However, he pledged a big effort from the Collon outfit as the big throw-in loomed: "I suppose our form has been a bit indifferent so far this season but we've probably yet to have a full group of players together either. We'll give it our best shot this year - like every other year - and hopefully it'll prove good enough."
It did. At Clan Na Gael Park in early October, Mattock's performance in the county final was simply devastating. It was fitting that the last senior decider of the decade should bear witness to one of the most potent displays; fitting too that Mattock - who emerged as a true force since the turn of the millennium - should garner a third Joe Ward. They deserve to be hailed as one of the top sides in the county during the past ten years - perhaps the best of all. The number of county final appearances suggests they were consistently better than anybody else.
Going into the game, most neutrals and 'experts' (I use the word lightly) tipped the peninsula representatives to end their 19-year wait for glory. In hindsight, that was a strange prediction considering that Mattock had proven themselves as true winners in both 2002 and '05 and had also reached the final in '08. They possessed greater pedigree; had no millstone around their necks; and had been invigorated by the arrival of new manager Kit Henry.
From the throw-in, Mattock tore their opponents to shreds, effectively ending the contest inside the opening acts. For drama, one would have to look elsewhere; for ruthlessness and efficiency, this was the place to be.
The winners had the ball in the net inside four minutes and had compiled an unassailable 2-8 to 0-3 advantage by the 25th minute. There was no way back from there as Cooley's dreams were pulled asunder by an avalanche of determination.
The Reid brothers were clearly men on a mission and their work and pace in the half forward line left the pre-match favourites chasing shadows throughout. Mattock won all the individual battles; claimed all the 50:50 balls; had more hunger and desire than Cooley. It was really a non-contest. Rarely have we witnessed a more one-sided county final in the modern era. And let us remember that this was a decent Cooley side - a team with eyes set on their own piece of history. All in all: a truly brilliant Mattock effort.
Cooley didn't even manage a score from play until the fifth minute of the second half, such was the relentless pressure they came under. Over the course of the match, the losers registered just three scores from open play. With the Mattock half back lines dominant, Cooley were completely snuffed out of the game. With no possession, they were in a hopeless position.
The evergreen Christy Grimes delivered a virtuoso Man of the Match display from centre back, orchestrating proceedings like a general on the battle field, pulling the strings and dictating matters with considerable class. David Reid ran 40 yards to set his brother Adrian up for that opening goal in the fourth minute. Ryan Lenaghan had opened the scoring in the third minute and Reid drilled the ball home 60 seconds later.
Cooley closed within the minimum by the ninth minute thanks to a trio of frees but Mattock then took the bull by the horns with a decisive scoring blitz of 1-7 without reply. David Reid and captain Mark Brennan dissected the posts and Brennan's midfield foil Daniel Bannon found the range with a brace of sublime points from distance. Lenaghan added a point when Cooley custodian Neil Gallagher performed heroics to divert his fisted goalbound effort over the bar, but the not-to-be-denied No.15 had the ball in the net within seconds after great approach work from Grimes and Niall Callan. Siblings David and Adrian Reid added the other points as the winners assumed a massive 2-8 to 0-3 lead.
Brian White pulled back another free before Mattock hit their first wide of the match! Grimes clipped over a free and there was an eerie sense of inevitability about the half-time scoreline: Mattock Rangers 2-9, Cooley Kickhams 0-4. The damage had been done. All Mattock had to do now was hold their own in the second half, and they did that comfortably, adding 1-3 to their tally while conceding just seven points. All this despite losing influential captain Mark Brennan to injury at the interval…
Cooley briefly threatened a revival of sorts with the first four points after the restart, bringing the gap down to seven points, 2-9 to 0-8. Leneghan and David Reid pointed and a third Mattock goal materialised on 53 minutes when Keith Brennan provided the ammunition for David Reid, who netted at the second time of asking. County man Brian White hit three late Cooley points - bringing his personal tally to a respectable 0-9 - but it was the winners who had the last say with a point from hard-working full forward Robbie Brennan.
When the final whistle sounded, the celebrations began in earnest. Then the statistics started to fly around the place: this was the biggest winning margin on county final day since the Clans beat the Gaels in the replayed 1992 decider. It was also just the fifth time on record (from 124 finals) that a team registered a score in excess of 20 points - the biggest winning tally in a SFC final since 1953!
It all went horribly wrong for Mattock when they were annihilated by Portlaoise in the first round of the Leinster club championship at the Gaelic Grounds on October 25, but one can only assume that the Louth champions - who'd got to the provincial final at their first attempt seven years earlier - didn't treat the Leinster club championship as a matter of life and death. Otherwise, serious questions would have to be asked about the quality of Louth club football.
As it was, there could be absolutely no denying the thorough quality on show at 'The Clans' on October 4 2009 as mighty Mattock Rangers culled their third Louth senior football championship with the following personnel on duty: Mike Englishby; Thomas Murphy, David Brennan, Padraig Bannon; Sean Gilsenan, Christy Grimes (0-1), Daire Englishby; Mark Brennan (0-1), Daniel Bannon (0-2); David Reid (1-3), Adrian Reid (1-1), Niall Callan; Shane Grimes, Robbie Brennan (0-1), Ryan Lenaghan (1-3). Subs: Keith Brennan, Donal Geraghty, Darren Brennan, Earnan Roche, Tom O'Reilly.
After the title had been secured, winning manager Kit Henry was a happy camper, having led Mattock to glory at the first attempt: "It couldn't have gone any better," said the Meath man. "I couldn't have wrote the script if I had wanted to. It was my first year in charge and I've a senior championship now. After we were beaten against Cooley earlier on in the third round, we did our homework. We battled hard. We had tough, physical games against St Brides in the final group game and the St Marys game, but against the Pats we had the homework done there again. We didn't deviate away from the plan. We stuck to the gameplan to get the quick start against Cooley and we did that. It was great scoring early on but we've worked hard since we beat the Pats. We've done a hard three weeks and I'm delighted for the people of Collon, especially Gus, Noddy, Butcher and all the boys who did tremendous work."
A great deal of effort went into Mattock's third SFC success, making October 4 2009 - and the year as a whole - a proud and poignant occasion for Collon people past and present. Tweet
