Final woe won't continue forever
November 30, 2009
For the third time in eight years, Dunsany left Pairc Tailteann as a dejected group after going down to a defeat in the Meath Junior Football Championship final as their
attempt to take the title for the first time fell short.
After the club was founded in 1963, Dunsany reached the JFC decider for the first time in 1972 but lost to Ballinabrackey in Trim. They had to wait a further 30 years before making their next final appearance in which Nobber dashed their hopes.
Two years later Ratoath proved too good for the men in red and white and in 2009 Longwood denied Dunsany the joy of celebrating with the Matthew Ginnity Cup with a six-point success.
Dunsany had Donegal-native Conor Boyle at the helm for the second year with Gay Kennedy and Bobby Swatman as his assistants.
Boyle's charges were drawn in the seven-team Group A along with the other eventual finalists, Longwood, as well as Bective, Curraha, Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Meath Hill and Summerhill.
'Dunsany open on a positive note' read a heading in one local newspaper following the opening 2-11 to 0-9 win over Bective at Walterstown. It was 1-9 to 0-3 at the break with Ger O'Neill netting the first goal near the break. Eoin Marsh added the second goal soon after the restart and O'Neill (1-2) and Mark Brennan (0-5) were the joint top scorers.
Summerhill's second string ran Dunsany to the minimum margin in the second round tussle at Kiltale which ended 3-7 to 2-9. Goals from Mark Brennan and Christopher Curtis boosted the eventual winners to a 2-4 to 1-3 interval lead and Brennan's second goal proved crucial.
In the third round clash with Donaghmore/Ashbourne, late points from Kieran Lawlor and Mark Brennan earned Dunsany a 1-11 to 2-8 draw. It was 1-7 to 1-4 in favour of the side in red and white at the break, Brennan having put over three points in the early stages and Sean Stephens netted their goal.
Dunsany maintained their unbeaten run with a slender 2-6 to 0-11 success over Curraha before defeating Meath Hill by five points, 1-10 to 0-8. That was followed by a 'trailer' for the final at Summerhill which Longwood won by 0-10 to 0-6 to claim the top spot in the group.
Dunsany had a close quarter-final at Bective in which they defeated Simonstown Gaels by 1-10 to 0-12, having been ahead by 1-6 to 0-7 at the break, Diarmuid O'Donoghue having grabbed the goal late in the first half. Mark Brennan contributed five points of the winning total.
Dunsany's semi-final was also a one-point game as they got the better of Moylagh on a 1-9 to 1-8 scoreline at Bohermeen. The north county side never led with a goal from Eoin Marsh on seven minutes giving Dunsany a 1-1 to 0-1 advantage. The lead was increased to 1-6 to 0-3 and it was 1-6 to 1-3 at the break.
Paul O'Donnell and Stephen Clynch were in good form at midfield with Ger O'Neill and Conor Brennan proving handfuls for the Moylagh rearguard. On the restart O'Donnell increased the lead before that was reduced to the minimum.
Dunsany went into the final as underdogs against opposition trying to bridge a 70-year gap for the club. However, they gave as good as they got for most of the hour during which the teams were on level terms six times.
The tag of underdogs seemed to suit Dunsany as they raced into a 0-2 to 0-0 lead despite playing against the breeze. It was 0-4 each at the break and there was cause for optimism, especially when substitute Barry O'Donnell fired over to leave the board reading 0-6 to 0-5.
Team captain Emmet Ferguson was showing up well at centre back with Paul O'Donnell and Stephen Clynch holding their own against Mickey Burke and John Cullinane at centre-field.
Dunsany had their only goal chance on 40 minutes when Ger O'Neill provided the opening for Charlie Keena but the shot did not carry enough power and was stopped by 'keeper Jarlath Cully.
It looked to be either side's game before Longwood went into a 0-8 to 0-7 lead on 55 minutes and then added 1-2.
The most experienced player on the Dunsany team this year was Donegal-native Paul O'Donnell, who helped Skryne to SFC successes in 1999 and 2004. After joining Dunsany in 2005, he had retired from playing last year before being persuaded to return to action in the summer of this year.
"Two years ago we didn't qualify for the knockout stages, then Conor Boyle, who lives in Kilmessan, came into to take charge of the team, we got to the semi-final stage last year and even though it is disappointing for the club to lose another final, progress has been made.
"The players put in a great effort again this year, some lads shed a few pound in weight. We have a number of dual players with the hurling training in Kilmessan on Mondays and Wednesdays and the football training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"There were some players who trained four nights some weeks, that's huge commitment. Also there were guys who wouldn't train at all some weeks! We were lucky that we hadn't many problems with injuries this year.
"Also Stephen Clynch and Ger O'Neill were on the Meath hurling team and they had to try to serve three teams. They tried to get to the football training as often as they could, it was hard on them but we were delighted to have them.
"The group was tight enough and apart from the draw with Donaghmore/Ashbourne, we won all our games before meeting Longwood in the last round. That game didn't mean a lot as both teams had already qualified and they beat us by four points.
"Our quarter-final and semi-final games were very close and after scraping past Simonstown by just a point we had similar margin to spare over Moylagh. We had good starts in both games and we stayed in front.
"Going into the final, we felt we were good enough to win. We stayed with them for most of the game but we missed a few chances of points and they were to prove costly. When they scored the goal there was no way back for us.
"They got their purple patch at the end and they deserved to their win. The three men with inter-county experience (Mickey Burke, Rory Maguire and John Cullinane) probably swung it in favour of Longwood but I think they were flattered by the six-point margin.
"While the Dunsany players were disappointed at missing out on the title, we were even more disappointed that we didn't win it for the older club members who have been let down on a few occasions down the year.
"There is a great community spirit in Dunsany and with such a good underage structure in the club, the future looks bright. Hopefully the elusive junior championship can be soon won," said Paul O'Donnell.
The veteran midfielder, who will be 34 in January 2010, is a school teacher in Kilmessan and helps out with underage teams. He has indicated that he will not continue playing. Dunsany will, no doubt, continue banging at the intermediate door and such perseverance deserve to be rewarded sooner rather than later.
The Dunsany team and scorers in the 2009 JFC final: Niall Flynn; Paddy McGovern, Paul Kennedy, Richard Donnelly; Ciaran Lawlor (0-2, frees), Donie Clynch; Paul O'Donnell, Stephen Clynch; Charlie Keena (0-1), Mark Brennan (0-2, frees), Diarmuid O'Donoghue; Ger O'Neill (0-1), Conor Brennan, Eoin Marsh. Subs - Brendan O'Donnell (0-1) for O'Donoghue, Alan Hogan for Keena, Alan Duffy for C Brennan.
While frustration was again the end product for Dunsany's junior team in 2009, there was outright success in the Under 15 FL Division 2, gained with a 2-10 to 0-12 victory over Na Fianna in the final played at Trim in September.
After successes at under 10, 12, 13 and 14 levels, this group of players had to work hard in order to defeat Na Fianna, who led by 0-7 to 0-5 at half-time. However, Dunsany grabbed the advantage immediately after the restart when Ruairi O Coileain palmed a centre from Seanie Doyle into the net.
With Declan Smyth impressing at centrefield, Dunsany were on top and points from O Coileain (two) and Cleary increased their lead. Na Fianna battled back to get on level terms in injury-time and make for an exciting finish.
Cathal Burke made some crucial saves for Dunsany and substitute Shane Burke netted the second goal to leave four points in it at the final whistle. Nathan Pleavin and captain Paddy Dunne were others to impress for the winners.
The Dunsany Under 15 FL Division 2 winning team and scorers:
C Burke; R Montague, T Rogers; J Costello, P Cleary (0-1), P Dunne; D Smyth, J Harlin; P Fox, R O Coileain (1-5), N Pleavin (0-2); N Thynne, S Doyle (0-2). Subs - F Keating for Costello, S Walsh (1-0) for Thynne.
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