Dowdallshill regroup
December 31, 2010Over the past ten years, the St Brigid's Park club have been consistently among the top teams in the Junior grade and although they have a number of trophies to show for their efforts, many at the club are hungry for more success.
After just two wins in the Division 3 League in 2009 and the failure to make any real challenge in the Junior Championship, Dowdallshill went into the year knowing that things could only get better. Although they didn't manage to land either of the main targets of the league or championship, according to Gerry McShane, they achieved their objective of raising their performance level and were competitive throughout the year.
"Last season was definitely one to forget so at the start of this year we were determined to raise our game and do ourselves justice on the field of play. For most of the season we were down at the bottom of league and that wasn't a very enjoyable experience. Pat Conlon came in as manager and after a good pre-season, we were looking forward to the new campaign.
"In many ways it was a good season for us as we got to the knock-out stages of the Kevin Mullen Shield and the Junior Championship, while we were among the top teams in the league throughout the season.
"Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, we fell short and just couldn't make the breakthrough to win a trophy," explained Gerry.
Although the Hill lost their first game of the season when Lannleire left St Brigid's Park with both points from a Kevin Mullen Shield encounter, the Dundalk side soon found their form and went on a seven game winning run in the competition to put themselves firmly in contention.
Over the course of the 12 rounds, Dowdallshill were only to lose once more - to Glen Emmets - and that was at a time when they had already secured their place in the knock-out stages.
However, the Mullen Shield challenge ended in disappointment when the Dundalk men lost out in the semi-final to St Fechins on a 3-14 to 1-8 scoreline in June.
Despite that setback, McShane felt there was enough in the early season form to suggest that their season could get better, but again it didn't work out for the team.
"Our form has been reasonably consistent particularly in the league, where we only dropped five points all year and were unbeaten at home. After starting with wins over Stabannon and Westerns we faced a tough challenge away to St Fechins which we ultimately lost by 1-11 to 1-8. They proved over the past two years that they are a very good side and I think we were a bit unlucky that day as we were denied a goal by the crossbar that would have put us four points up, but they went down field and hit the net which completely turned the game.
"After that we drew with Glen Emmets which meant that we were still very much in contention coming to the end of the season. We needed to beat Naomh Fionnbarra in Togher in our second last game to have a hope of winning the league, but again we were in a strong position only to let it slip near the end.
"Overall, it wasn't a bad achievement to finish joint third when you consider the strength of teams such as St Fechins and Glen Emmets. We only dropped five points over the campaign and in many other years that would have been enough to get promotion," added Gerry.
While a place in the play-offs was reward for Dowdallshill's league efforts, Gerry points out that like many other teams, the real focus was on mounting a challenge in the Junior Championship.
"Everybody sets out at the start of the year to win the championship and that was one of our big targets also. When it came to the summer we were reasonably optimistic as the displays in the Mullen Shield and league provided a good basis going into the championship.
"We were drawn in a group with St Fechins and John Mitchels so we were confident that we would be able to make it through to the knock-out stages and then take if from there.
"We beat John Mitchels in the first round and that was enough to put us through even before we played St Fechins. That game ended in a draw but it was one that we felt we really should have won.
"As a result of finishing runners-up in the group, we faced Glen Emmets in the quarter-final. We knew it wasn't going to be easy but we felt that if would could get near our best, we had the ability to go through.
"Unfortunately, it was just one of those days where things didn't go right for us and it ended up in a very disappointing performance that saw us go out. We lost two key players, Peter Hughes and Damien Fanning, to injury inside five minutes and although we had the advantage of the wind, we missed a couple of goal chances that would have put us on top.
"However, you have to give credit to Glen Emmets as they came in with a good game plan and it worked for them, but we were very disappointed that we didn't give a good account of ourselves," explained Gerry.
Although it didn't work out for the St Brigid's Park club this year in terms of the championship, Gerry reveals that they will regroup for the 2011 season optimistic that they can continue to make an impression, and with a bit of luck on their side, challenge for the top honours.
"Pat Conlon came in this year and did a very good job in his first season with the club, so hopefully he will stay on and try to build on those performances.
"One of the things that worked against us this year is that we are working off a small squad so when we pick up a few injuries it is hard to replace players. We didn't have a lot of luck in that regard this year as the likes of Paul Gill, Donal Sheridan, Ciaran O'Callaghan and myself were missing at crucial times this year so that didn't help our cause.
"Hopefully, we can regroup next year and if we get a clear run from injuries and perhaps bring in one or two new players then we will start off knowing that we can give it another good go and hopefully we will bring some more silverware back to the club," added McShane. Tweet
