A year of near misses ends on a high
December 30, 2009Sean McDermotts weren't exactly steeped in luck in 2009. Their early-season run in the Kevin Mullen Shield seemed to set the tone. The Mountrush men were determined to make a mark in the subsidiary competition but, after giving a good account of themselves, were extremely unfortunate to lose to Naomh Fionnbarra after a replay at the semi-final stage. A trophy there would have been worth its weight in gold in terms of confidence and team morale.
The league was a bit of a non-event and the Seans struggled all year to make any impression against the comparative big-hitters in Division Two, finishing second-from-bottom, which - under the latest new format to rear its head - meant a relegation/promotion play-off against Division Three runners-up Lannleire at Darver on Friday night, November 6.
The result would determine whether the season could be considered a success or a failure. Defeat would mean McDermotts had taken a step backwards in '09; victory would mean they had held their own. As it turned out, they produced a determined performance to rescue their season - and confirm their Division Two standing - with a 4-6 to 0-9 victory.
While they never really got going in the league all year, the championship was much more encouraging and the Seans pushed hard to make an instant return to intermediate action. Pitted in Group A of the junior football championship, they finished third place, with seven points from a possible ten. This was enough to secure a quarter-final berth and McDermotts powered purposefully through to the last four, before once more coming unstuck after a replay, losing narrowly to eventual champions St Mochtas. Frustrating, to put it mildly...
They opened their account with a 1-7 to 0-7 win over champions-elect St Mochtas at Knockbridge on May 5 and drew their next outing against Lannleire at Darver on May 23. Back at Darver on June 13 and a thumping derby victory over Westerns was recorded: 3-10 to 3-4. After defeat to Glen Emmets, Sean McDermotts rounded off their group campaign with an emphatic 2-14 to 0-6 defeat of Annaghminnon Rovers in Louth village on July 23. The business end beckoned…
At Ardee on August 15, Stabannon Parnells were tamed at the quarter-final stage, 2-10 to 0-3. The Mountrush men were now within two hours of an instant return to the middle grade. The original semi-final against the Mochtas took place on August 29 and ended level, 0-12 to 1-9. The sides returned to Tallanstown the following weekend and this time the Louth village men eked out a 2-10 to 2-7 success, before going on to win the final. While no team should feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to luck, it has to be said that the Seans could well have captured silverware in '09 had they got a rub of the green at vital times. But, they say you make your own fortune and ultimately they missed the boat narrowly.
Looking back on the year as a whole, selector Brian Duff says the last game of the year was arguably the most significant: "Staying up was vital. We knew at the end of the day that if we managed to stay up then we were no worse off than we had been the previous year. We were either going to go into 2010 as we were, or in a worse position, so that play-off game against Lannleire had a big bearing on our season as a whole and thankfully we finished on a high."
League aside, Brian felt the team gave a good account of themselves: "We had a good run in the championship and probably should have beaten Mochtas the first day when we went six points up after 20 minutes but let them back into it. But the lads did well. There was a good attitude from the players from the very start and a good effort went in, with 25 to 30 lads at training every night, which was very good compared to the previous year.
"When they were relegated to junior at the end of 2008, they thought this would be their best chance to win promotion. The first year down is the best time to strike back. They put in a great effort all year but unfortunately couldn't quite make it to the final. In the semi-final replay, the best team won on the day. We were short one or two lads, but could make no excuses as the Mochtas deserved to go through."
How annoying is it that there was no silverware in the clubhouse at the end of the season despite a huge effort from everybody in the club? Even in the Kevin Mullen Shield semi-final, there was a controversy about the final scoreline in the drawn game, more than a suggestion that Sean McDermotts had actually won by a point… "We should have won the drawn game anyway and it should never have come down to that. If we'd won the competition outright, or even just reached the final, I think it would have been massive. It would have given us a great lift and injected some confidence into the team going into the league.
"As it was, we didn't have a good run at all in the league. We held our own in Division Two last year but this time things went against us in a couple of games and points seemed to slip through our fingers. We went three months without our club captain, who was suspended, and he was then injured as well after coming back. At times, injuries and suspensions went against us, but we did have plenty of depth in the squad to cope with that this year and that's a positive sign for the future.
"If we can keep the same numbers and the same attitude next year, then we won't be too far off."
Former Clan na Gael and Louth player Gerry Curran was over the team in '09, with Brian Duff and Derek Walsh as selectors. Brian is a former St Marys clubman who has been affiliated to the Seans for six years now, while Derek has been a McDermotts clubman all his life.
Looking forward to the challenges lying ahead, Brian is quietly optimistic: "If the same effort is put in again - and maybe even a bit extra - and if we can stay injury-free for most of the year, then I think we can go even better next year. We're still in Division Two and that will stand to us. We weren't too far away in 2009, so hopefully we can do it next time." Tweet
