Sean McDermotts enjoyed a prolonged involvement in the 2004 Louth intermediate football championship, playing a total of seven matches in the competition. However, despite a gallant effort, the Mountrush men failed to make it through to the semi-finals. Ronan Valentine, whose return from long-term injury was a massive boost to the Green & Reds, reflects on a topsy-turvy season for all concerned. Two-thousand-and four was a mixed bag for Sean McDermotts GFC. In the intermediate championship, they acquitted themselves particularly well, progressing to the knockout stage before narrowly losing a quarter-final tie to Dreadnots in the first week of September. However, the protracted flirtation with the IFC caused the players to take one eye off the league and they suddenly found themselves caught up in a relegation dogfight. The Seans had been one of the better teams in the championship but their Division 2B form was patchy at best and, alarmingly, their very intermediate status came under grave threat. At the time of going to press, the relegation issue had yet to be resolved. With one round of games remaining in Division 2B, Dowdallshill were already demoted and they would be joined in junior football by one from three - St Nicholas, O'Raghallaighs or Sean McDermotts. Demotion to the bottom grade is the last thing any club wants, and Sean McDermotts are no different. Thus, at the end of a long, testing year, the men from Mountrush were being asked to dig deep to salvage their season. It was a big ask, as prior exertions had been plentiful. The Seans lost five of their opening eight league games, which left them floundering second-from-bottom of the Division 2B table. Pointless Dowdallshill had long since been relegated, but one other club would join them in biting the dust. In Seans' favour was the fact that the table was congested, with only three points separating the third- and seventh-placed teams. There was still everything to play for as the 2001 IFC finalists endeavoured to reproduce their championship form in the league. Victory over St Nicholas in their last game of the season would guarantee survival, but that crucial game had not yet been played when 'Wee County 2004' went to press. After a frustrating eighteen-month lay-off with the universally dreaded cruciate ligament injury, Ronan Valentine was restored to the Sean McDermotts' first team in the spring of 2004. The full forward returned to action in April and played all seven of the club's championship matches over the course of the year. The Seans were pitted in Group B of the 2004 Louth intermediate football championship. They received a Bye in the first round and opened their campaign with a narrow 1-8 to 0-8 defeat at the hands of Sean O'Mahonys at Tallanstown on May 27. Revenge would come in a play-off victory over the same opposition three months later… Seans recorded their first victory in the campaign at the expense of Na Piarsaigh, 1-12 to 0-11 at Knockbridge on June 25, and followed this up with a brave effort against Hunterstown Rovers on July 11. However, on that occasion, defeat was their lot, 2-9 to 1-10. Still, there was a chance that McDermotts could maintain their interest in the championship. And so it came to pass that victory over Dowdallshill (1-10 to 0-6) at Castlebellingham on July 17 kept their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage alive. Hunterstown finished top of the group with six points, which meant they qualified for a semi-final place. Behind them, Sean McDermotts, Sean O'Mahonys and Na Piarsaigh were all tied on four points apiece. The winners of a three-way play-off between these clubs would earn a quarter-final spot as group runners-up. Louth village was the venue when Peter Osborne's third-minute goal fired the Seans to a 1-10 to 0-11 victory over Na Piarsaigh on Friday August 20. Nine days later, at The Grove, the Green & Red confirmed their passage to the knockouts with a 3-7 to 1-7 defeat of Sean O'Mahonys. The revenge mission had been completed, thanks in no small measure to a hefty return of 1-5 from full forward Valentine. Ironically O'Mahonys went on to win the Division 2B league, while McDermotts became embroiled in a relegation dogfight. The quarter-final against eventual double winners Dreadnots was played at Dromiskin on Saturday September 4. It was the Seans' third competition eliminator in as many weekends and, unfortunately, they were found out on the day, despite a spirited second-half performance. Ultimately, however, they paid the price for conceding too much ground in the first half, slipping to a narrow 2-8 to 0-11 defeat. The dream of senior football was over for another year. But what a journey! Time now to switch attention to the league, where there was damage to be repaired… After a lengthy lay-off that forced him to miss the entire 2003 season, deadly Seans attacker Ronan Valentine was pleased just to be back playing football again in '04. The rustiness wasn't long abating and the full forward enjoyed an impressive campaign. The club's championship run was equally impressive, though their eventual elimination was a bitter blow, as Ronan (who posted seven points in the Dreadnots game) reveals: "Things went well for us in the championship and we were lucky enough to get into the three-way play-off. We did well in the two play-off matches and were confident going in against the Dreadnots. We certainly didn't fear them and felt we could make it through to the semi-final [wherein Seans would've played Naomh Fionnbarra, who beat them after a replay in the 2001 final]. "We were disappointed to lose the quarter-final because we had a good chance. It was a 50/50 game but we didn't play at all for the first 20 minutes and that's where the game was lost. We conceded two goals in the first half and were then chasing for the whole match. We managed to draw level in the second half [with only six minutes remaining] but couldn't get a point ahead. In the end, we left ourselves with too much to do…" Ronan lets the sentence tail off ruefully, the sense of disappointment still evident in his voice. Did the Seans' hectic schedule catch up with them? After all, the quarter-final was their third championship outing in 16 days - and their seventh of the season. "I'm not sure," Ronan replies. "We had played three weekends in a row, including the two play-offs, and maybe that was a factor. A couple of things went against us too - Kenneth Taaffe, who is a very influential player, broke his collarbone and Darren McEneaney picked up a suspension. This weakened the team at a time when we needed to be at full strength." Had winning the IFC been a stated objective at the start of the year? "Every team probably has it in the back of their minds and we definitely thought about it. We believed we could win it and hoped to go close. We gave it a good shot but the quarter-final was disappointing because we know now that it was a game we definitely could've won. "Having said that, we were the better team in the second half of an intermediate championship quarter-final and we're happy to have got that far…" Tony McGuinness from Knockbridge took charge of the team for the first time in '04, and Ronan Valentine was eager to get back into action. Regarding the dreaded injury and enforced absence, he notes: "After eighteen months on the sidelines it was great to get back playing in April. I'd done a lot of gym work and swimming over the winter before returning to training with the team. The lay-off was frustrating but, in fairness, what can you do about it except put your head down and get on with things? "The main aim was to get back for the championship. I managed to get a few league matches in first, which was ideal, and played all the championship games, so I was happy with that." There was no reaction to the injury and the good-as-new Valentine scored almost at will. Was he happy with his return on the scoreboard? "I got a few scores in every game and that was pleasing. I didn't expect it after being out of action for so long, so it was a welcome bonus." When they switched their attention to the league - and the unglamorous quest for preservation - Sean McDermotts were still in a pretty healthy state, despite languishing perilously close to the bottom of the 2B table. Says Ronan: "We were still getting 20 lads out training in mid-September and the lads were putting the effort in. At that point everything was geared towards staying up because slipping down to junior level would be a massive setback. It would've been a major blow after going so well in the championship." To what extent was the premier competition a distraction? "It probably did affect us, because there was a period where we didn't have any league games, so we lost touch. The championship and league are completely different. It's easy to get yourself motivated for a championship match, but the league is different. However, when you find yourself staring relegation in the face, you have to treat every game as an intermediate final." Sean McDermotts didn't get to an intermediate final in 2004. They made a gallant attempt, though, and gave us all plenty of entertainment along the way. With a return of 2-38 from seven games, Ronan Valentine was top scorer in the 2004 Louth intermediate football championship. His tally also exceeded that achieved by any player in either the senior or junior competitions. Tweet

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