A wonderful effort
December 30, 2009When 20-year-old Niall Conlon reflects upon the events of 2009, he'll have plenty to ponder. It was a busy, busy year for the O'Connells clubman. At club level, he was part of the side that ran away with the Division Two football league title and very nearly did likewise in the intermediate championship. O'Connells topped Group B with a perfect record from five games but were caught on the hop by champions-elect Naomh Malachi in their semi-final outing - their first defeat of the year in either league or championship. At county grade, Niall represented the Wee County at U21 level (he's eligible again in 2010) and was also part of the Louth side that famously won the Leinster junior football championship.
Thus, with club and county medals in his back pocket, it wasn't a bad season's work by any stretch of the imagination. However, the 1-13 to 2-8 IFC semi-final defeat to the Mals at Ardee in late September did put a bit of a dampener on things. Prior to that, O'Connells emerged as clear competition favourites with superb group victories over Na Piarsaigh, Roche Emmets, Hunterstown Rovers, Geraldines and St Nicholas to top Group B with maximum points and a convincing scoring difference of +44 (37 points better than second-place Na Piarsaigh, who went on to contest the final).
"We set out at the start of the year to win a league and championship," says Niall. "Unfortunately, it didn't go our way on the day of the semi-final. Maybe we were hyped up a bit too much in the run-up to that game, but for whatever reason we didn't play on the day. The best team won and we can't have any complaints, even though we were obviously disappointed with the way we played. We were happy to go out and clinch the league title the following weekend. Heads in the club had dropped, so that gave us a lift and now we're looking forward to doing better next year."
What went wrong in the semi-final? On previous form, O'Connells looked like bankers to progress to the intermediate decider? "We were on a good run and we were confident, but we didn't play as well as we thought we were going to. Our last competitive game had been a month before that, whereas the Malachis had a tough quarter-final against Hunterstown Rovers two weeks earlier and I think that helped them. We thought this would be the year when we went back up senior, which is where I honestly think we belong. But at least we'll be in the senior league next year and that should bring on us."
In hindsight, then, was it a disadvantage to top the group and then have to wait for a semi-final outing? After all, Mattock also took the longer route to win the SFC… "We set out to give our best in every game and not to lose any match. We had a tough group and we set our stall out to top it and go straight through to the semi-finals. It just didn't happen on the day - I wouldn't read any more into it than that. Og course, looking back, you'd rather lose five or six league games than a championship semi-final. It was disappointing to go so close and have it taken away on a day like that."
What can O'Connells learn from 2009? How can they take these experiences and put them to good use in the coming campaign(s)? "Playing in the senior league will certainly be to our advantage as we'll be up against better teams on a regular basis. We'll go the same way again in 2010 - we'll try to win every game - and hopefully we'll be back in a semi-final and then a final. Hopefully we won't throw it away this time."
Is time on their side or is there a danger this team could break up before an intermediate title is secured? "There are five or six who were still U21 this year and that is a big help. I wouldn't say any of the lads are old, but we do have a good blend of lads who have been there for seven or eight years and their experience is vital. As far as I'm aware, everybody is prepared to give it one more go next year, so it would be nice to win the IFC before anyone drops off the panel."
Niall Conlon has been on the O'Connells first team since 2006. That year, they got to the intermediate final but were beaten therein by Naomh Malachi ("That was playing on our minds ahead of this year's semi-final," he concedes). Then came two transitional years as new faces were blooded and the team took on a different persona. In 2007, O'Connells scraped through the group stages but were beaten by Dundalk Gaels in the quarter-finals; in 2008, they didn't raise a gallop at all and needed a play-off win over Young Irelands to preserve their middle-tier standing ("That was a learning year as we had five or six new players in the team," Niall explains).
Bearing in mind the struggles of '08, then last year must be viewed as a massive improvement. "We got Sean Flanagan and Kevin McGeough in and they made a huge difference. Suddenly, there was a real battle for places, especially in the forwards. Sean was also a big help at training due to his soccer experience with Dundalk." Paul Litchfield was manager, with Malachy McDonnell, Martin O'Hanrahan and Brendan Tuite as selectors.
As you can read elsewhere in this publication, Louth made history in 2009 by winning the Leinster junior football championship. O'Connells man Niall was thrilled to be part of that side: "Eamonn [McEneaney] rang me the week before the first game and asked if I'd like to be involved and I was happy to join the panel. I went along and didn't start the first games but just came on as a sub. But I did okay and got the start for the Leinster final, so I was over the moon. It was a big win for Louth and I'm hoping there's a lot more success to come. With a new manager coming in, hopefully there's something bigger and better there for Louth at senior level."
Would Niall like to be involved with the seniors in 2010? "I still have an U21 year left and I hope to make the U21 team. I'll concentrate on that. Of course, if a senior call-up came, I'd gladly take it - but I'm still young and I'm in no major hurry. I have plenty of time so I'll keep my head down and keep working on my game."
Though the championship semi-final defeat was bitterly disappointing, the year ended on a high note for O'Connells and they can take much heart from their overall level of performance as they prepare for the challenges ahead. "The Division Two league medal gave us a great lift, coming just a week after our championship exit," Niall concludes. "The club was down, but we turned it around and our second team also won the Division 4B league that week. We've achieved one of our goals by moving up to the senior league and hopefully we'll go up to the senor championship next year." Tweet
