Nearly 30 years on
November 30, 2009It was the same story in 2008, but then they could be considered very unfortunate not to have reached the business end of the championship. They drew with Moylagh in their last group match which left the sides tied in second place behind Moynalvey on seven points, but the men from the north-west of the county progressed because they had a slightly superior points difference. What made it particularly disappointing was the fact that the Hill had lost just one game in the competition and were out of the hunt.
Meath Hill's last appearance in the knockout stages of the championship was in 2007 when they finished second behind Dunboyne in their section, but then exited the competition at the quarter-final stage when losing by four points to Clann na nGael who went on to claim the title with a final victory over Moynalvey.
If Meath Hill had succeeded in bringing their consistency in this year's All-County A League into the championship they would undoubtedly have made a far greater impact. They finished well ahead of the pack in Division 4 and making the leap up to the stronger section may well benefit their development significantly into the future.
But while their league form was highly encouraging, they just didn't possess the same level of consistency when it came to the Junior Championship where a defeat suffered at the hands of Summerhill's second string in the fourth round proved particularly damaging to their prospects of making further progress.
Their other opponents in group A were Longwood, the fancy of many people to achieve outright success after bringing Moynalvey to extra-time at the semi-final hurdle last year, Curraha, Bective, almost perennial contenders Dunsany and Donaghmore/Ashbourne's second team which won the Junior B Championship last year.
Longwood and Dunsany, who had reached the knockout stages in 10 of the previous 11 years, appeared to be the most formidable teams in the section and it looked likely that Meath Hill would have to beat one of them if they were to entertain serious aspirations of making their way out of the group.
Pat Cassidy from Carrickmacross, who was previously with the Monaghan under-21s, acted as coach for the 2009 campaign and John Maguire was a selected.
They were idle when the championship action got under way in mid-April, but got off to a winning start on the last Sunday of that month when they scored a comfortable win over Donaghmore/Ashbourne on a 1-8 to 0-3 score line at Rathkenny. Meath Hill led by 0-6 to 0-0 at the interval and a second half goal from Barry Kieran, which followed a superb move, copper-fastened their position of authority. Mark Tully was a star of the show at right corner-forward.
The desired successful opening to the campaign had been achieved, but things were always going to get significantly tougher in the second round against a Longwood team which included former county player John Cullinane at midfield. It will be recalled that the former Drumree clubman scored a goal in Meath's 2001 All-Ireland semi-final demolition of Kerry.
Both teams registered six scores in the opening half at Martry, but disastrously for Meath Hill three of Longwood's were goals which really derailed their prospects of victory. The south Meath team, who were without Mickey Burke, led by double scores (3-3 to 0-6) at the change of ends and with the Hill adding only a point in the second period when they opted to go for goals the issue was never in doubt. It finished 3-7 to 0-7.
A third round assignment against Bective at Syddan presented an opportunity to bounce back to winning ways and a strong finish proved vital as Meath Hill won by 0-12 to 0-9. They trailed by 0-4 to 0-5 at the interval and the second half remained very tight until the Hill reeled off the last three points to achieve a hard earned success.
Boosted by that victory, Meath Hill must have fancied their chances of making it three wins from four championship outings when they travelled to Bective to meet Summerhill's second string who they had beaten by seven points in the group phase of the competition last year. But this was to prove a hugely disappointing occasion.
The sides were locked together on five points each at half-time, but Summerhill scored the only goal of the contest in the second period to win by 1-10 to 0-10 and deal a real hammer blow to Meath Hill's hopes of making it through to the knockout stages. A key moment came when a Paddy Owens piledriver hit the woodwork, but Summerhill deserved their victory.
Group A was dominated by Longwood and Dunsany and it must have been more in hope than confidence that Meath Hill headed to Martry for a fifth round meeting with Dunsany. A 0-8 to 1-10 defeat signalled the end of their qualification aspirations and their dream of a first junior title in 29 years.
They still had to face struggling Curraha in their final group match, but while their opponents were threatened with a relegation dogfight at the bottom of the section, Meath Hill at least looked safe from that awful prospect as they had secured four points thanks to their victories over Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Bective.
However, it still represented a very disappointing Junior Championship campaign which was in total contrast to their highly progressive form in Division 4 of the league.
Donnchadh Boyle is best known as a GAA writer with the Irish Independent, where he has worked for over two years after moving from the Meath Post following a short stint there, but he is also a member of the Meath Hill junior team, as is his brother Tadhg.
When Meath Hill won the Junior Championship in 1980 - their first success in the competition since 1942 - their father Sean and uncle Tony were both members of the victorious team which beat Moynalty in the final, so they are steeped in the Meath Hill tradition.
"We started training in the first week of January," said Donnchadh as he reviewed the year. "We set our sights on going well in the league and kept winning games, often by a point or two. We beat the likes of Kilmainham and Dunsany and drew with a strong Clann na nGael team which included Graham Geraghty and Shane McAnarney.
"We thought we were well set up for the championship and beat Donaghmore/Ashbourne in our first game. We were always in control, but a recurring theme had set in of struggling for scores. We got only 1-8 in that game and it was the same in the league where our scoring wasn't great either.
"We were still unbeaten in the league when we played Longwood in the championship. We gave away three goals in the first half. Every mistake that we made they punished us. Longwood didn't have Mickey Burke, but Rory Maguire was playing. I felt we could have got closer to them.
"After that we beat Bective in our next championship game in Syddan. We battled well in that match without getting much fluidity into our play. We battled through. The heart and desire was there, but we weren't scoring enough."
Then disaster struck for Meath Hill when they were shocked by Summerhill in the fourth round at Bective.
"We lost to Summerhill in the next round which was a big disappointment," Boyle added. "They dominated hugely around midfield. We just didn't perform in that game. It just didn't work out for us. It was inexplicable.
"But we were still in it at that stage. If we could beat Dunsany and assume that Longwood would beat them too, we could still get through. We had beaten Dunsany in the league, but they had the lads who play hurling back for the championship game.
"They were the better team on the day. We kicked only eight points and that was never going to be enough. Things just went pear shaped for us in a couple of games. It was disappointing not to get through to the quarter-finals."
Meath Hill clearly possess a tremendous desire to bridge that ever widening gap back to their last Junior Championship triumph almost three decades ago and while this year's competition brought further disappointment and frustration, they can take some consolation from their form in Division 4 of the league which was highly consistent.
Next year they will be playing in the higher section where the competition will be somewhat stiffer and that can work to their benefit as far as the championship is concerned. Addressing their scoring difficulties will obviously be a priority going into 2010 and if that part of their game can be improved on who knows what can be achieved.
Their progress will be watched with interest. Tweet
