'Bracks hope to make 2010 a happy 25th anniversary
November 30, 2009
Ballinabrackey went across the border to find a manager who might help steer them to the Junior Football Championship title in 2009, but they met with further disappointment when they failed to reach the knockout stages for the sixth successive year. By Paul Clarke.
Former Offaly player Pascal Kelleghan was at the helm this year, the Rhode player taking over from Chris Kennedy and Colm Brazil who occupied the managerial roles last season, and when Ballinabrackey made a hugely encouraging start to the championship by winning their first three matches he must have started to believe that anything was possible.
But subsequent defeats in their two remaining group games meant they missed out on a ticket to the business end of the title race and a chance to add to their previous junior crowns won in 1926, 1972, 1977 and 1985.
Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of Ballinabrackey's last triumph in the junior grade. Last year they were hit by injuries to key players Trevor Bannon and Kevin Darby and won only two of their five group assignments which left them out of the reckoning for a place in the quarter-finals.
With players of the calibre of Meath senior defender Chris O'Connor and minor player of the last two years Damien Carroll in their ranks they must have been hopeful of enjoying a more progressive campaign this term. Getting a high profile figure like Kelleghan on board must have boosted morale and alongside him on the sideline were selectors Darren Bannon, Aidan Dalton and Christy Cooney.
Ballinabrackey's form in Division 4 of the All-County A League was mixed on the run-up to the Junior Championship. They held Bective scoreless in the second half of their first round meeting, winning comprehensively at home by 0-12 to 0-3, but this was followed by a defeat away to Clann na nGael on a 0-5 to 0-8 score line.
A trip to Dunsany in the third round brought the desired outcome in the shape of a 1-5 to 0-5 victory, but they suffered a heavy defeat next time out when they welcomed Kilmainham to Ballinabrackey, losing by 0-9 to 3-11.
But the big one is the championship and Ballinabrackey were drawn in group B which also included Kilmainham, last year's relegated intermediate side Ballivor and three second string teams in Dunboyne, Wolfe Tones and Gaeil Colmcille. It had the appearances of a section from which they had a realistic chance of emerging.
The sun shone brightly when Ballinabrackey got their campaign off to a flying start at Dunshaughlin on the third Sunday of April. A 15-point victory over Dunboyne (3-14 to 1-5) sent them straight to the top of the group on points difference and they could hardly have asked for a more encouraging opening.
Weather conditions were vastly different for the second round meeting with Gaeil Colmcille at a wet Kildalkey, but it didn't bother Kelleghan's team as they hit the Kells men with four goals and won by 10 points this time (4-6 to 1-5). Things were always likely to get a lot more demanding next time out when they faced 2006 runners-up Kilmainham at Dunderry, but the great run continued.
Kilmainham had beaten them by 11 points in that earlier league meeting, but this time Ballinabrackey gained revenge in very decisive fashion. It was an indication of their solid defensive performance that they limited the Kells parish side to only seven points and they were all scored by former Meath minor player Mickey Newman.
Ballinabrackey were in a very strong position at the change of ends when they led by 2-3 to 0-2 and were ahead by 3-6 to 0-7 when the final whistle sounded. Everything was going so well in the championship and people were beginning to wonder if they were going to be serious contenders for an overdue title.
The fact that they were finding the net with such regularity had to be viewed as a significant boost at that stage. They had scored four goals against Gaeil Colmcille and three against both Dunboyne and Kilmainham and with the maximum haul of six points in the bag a place in the knockout stages looked very much on the cards.
However, that's where the good news ended for Ballinabrackey in the championship of 2009 and instead of building on that tremendous start they capitulated. Wolfe Tones' second string know how to win games and they put a dent in 'Brackey's ambitions when the sides met in the fourth round at Dunsany where a 0-8 to 0-5 victory kept their own qualification hopes alive.
It all meant that Ballinabrackey, who wasted too many chances in that match, would face a crunch assignment against Ballivor in the last round of qualification games at Longwood. The prize for the winner was huge - qualification for the quarter-finals and the realisation that the dream of glory lived on. But there was to be no dream outcome for Kelleghan's team, just misery.
Ten months after they had lost the Intermediate Championship relegation decider to Oldcastle, Ballivor got through to the knockout stages of the junior grade thanks to a minimum margin (2-9 to 1-11) victory. It was painful for Ballinabrackey who were out of the reckoning after earlier showing such promise.
Ballivor opened up a 2-3 to 0-5 half-time advantage, but Ballinabrackey rallied very well and drew level at 1-10 to 2-7. The match was in the melting pot and as the excitement intensified it was Ballivor who scored two of the three remaining points to shade the verdict. They, in turn, had their own disappointment to contend with when they lost a quarter-final to Moylagh by a solitary point.
When all was said and done in group B, Kilmainham and Ballivor had filled the two qualification positions on eight points after they had both won four games and lost one. The teams to just miss out were Ballinabrackey and Wolfe Tones who won three times and lost twice for a points total of six. Kilmainham also bit the dust at the last eight stage when they were beaten by keen rivals Drumbaragh.
Neville Brazil is one of Ballinabrackey's more experienced players, yet he is only 27. He has been playing adult football with the club for over a decade and is a son of Colm Brazil who was centre-back on the Meath team which lost to a powerful Down side in the 1977 All-Ireland Minor Championship final, having earlier beaten Dublin in the Leinster decider.
"We were flying in the early stages of the championship and won our first three games against Dunboyne, Gaeil Colmcille and Kilmainham," said Neville as he looked back on the 2009 campaign. "That was a very good win over Kilmainham. We were feeling very good at that stage. We thought we would do well enough and at least get through to the knockout stages.
"I don't know what happened against Wolfe Tones. We had an off day and beat ourselves really. We didn't show up in the first half. But we were all over them in the second half and couldn't score. We had 13 or 14 wides in that game. On another day you would get a lot of them."
That defeat was followed by the savage disappointment of losing their last group game against Ballivor and the realisation that their championship hopes had been dashed for another year.
"I scored a point near the end of the Ballivor game, but it was disallowed for a square ball," Neville added. "We were beaten by a point. It was very disappointing."
A few weeks after that sickening loss Neville was still struggling to come to terms with it, but he was also looking to the future with a degree of confidence, happier in the knowledge that this Ballinabrackey panel contains a lot of talented young players.
"Ray Kearney was injured for the games against Wolfe Tones and Ballivor," he said. "He played, but he wasn't himself. I still feel sick, but we have a young team. I'm only 27, yet I would be looked on as one of the older lads. This is a young team which is gelling together. It's all about gaining experience. We weren't hammered in any of our games this year and that has to be a good thing."
Neville was impressed with Kelleghan and would like to see him there in 2010 when Ballinabrackey hope to make further progress in the championship and perhaps even bridge the ever lengthening gap back to their last success in the grade.
"Pascal was very good," he said. "He made a very good impression. Hopefully, he will stay with us. Next year is the 25th anniversary of the last time the club won the junior title, so 2010 would be a good time to do it."
Ballinabrackey possess the talent to do much better and with players of the calibre of O'Connor, Carroll, Danny Quinn and Nicky Judge, to name but a few, they will be expected to make a bold bid for championship honours over the next few years.
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