Survival of the fittest
November 30, 2009in the top flight before an appeal made things complicated. By Paul Clarke.
The 2006 intermediate champions were drawn in the so called 'group of death' in last year's Keegan Cup race and finished bottom after suffering defeats against champions to be Navan O'Mahonys, eventual beaten finalists Summerhill, 2007 winners Seneschalstown, 2006 victors Wolfe Tones and Skryne, who had been champions in 2004.
In their very worst nightmares Rathkenny couldn't have imagined the draw being so cruel to them, but when they did end up with one chance to secure their survival in senior football they got the win that really mattered. Kilmainhamwood had been teetering on the brink of the drop for a number of years and after they had lost to Walterstown in an initial play-off, they came face to face with Eamonn O'Brien's team in the relegation showdown.
With their hard-earned place in the top flight of Meath football threatened, Rathkenny responded just as their supporters would have wished and a strong second half performance enabled them to win comprehensively by 2-12 to 0-3. To put it mildly, it was a relief.
By the time the 2009 campaign got under way O'Brien was Meath senior manager and Donal Curtis was one of his selectors. Former Navan O'Mahonys' player Peter O'Toole, who was a county minor selector when the All-Ireland final was reached in 2002, took over, but he was later replaced by Vincent Lenehan, with Dermot Smith taking on the coaching duties.
This time Rathkenny were drawn in a championship section which again included Summerhill and Wolfe Tones, as well as Dunshaughlin and Trim and the first round meeting with the Trim men appeared to offer them the greatest chance of getting a couple of points in the bag which would ease the threat of another fight for survival.
But it certainly didn't work out that way as Trim inflicted a 0-16 to 0-5 defeat at Simonstown to get the alarm bells ringing in the month of April. Rathkenny were poor, but they managed to stay in touch in the opening period before the team in red took a complete stranglehold on proceedings after the change of ends.
In fairness to Rathkenny, they fielded an understrength team, but there were no signs of the heavy loss to come when they led for the only time (0-2 to 0-1) after six minutes thanks to a Richie Timmons free and another point from Darren Barron. Barry Carolan also split the uprights in the first half, but Trim led by 0-5 to 0-3 at the interval.
Rathkenny added only two points to their tally in the second half and the town side were home and as good as hosed by the end of the third quarter when they held a commanding 0-11 to 0-3 advantage. There was no way back for Rathkenny and they were 11 points adrift when the final whistle sounded.
They turned in a brave and much improved performance in the second round against Dunshaughlin at Simonstown, but were overpowered in the last quarter. Both teams squandered opportunities in a poor opening half and Rathkenny leaked a goal to Conor Staunton early in the second quarter.
That helped Dunshaughlin to push ahead, but Richie Timmons replied with a goal for Rathkenny which helped them to trail by only 1-3 to 1-5 at the break. Timmons closed the gap to the minimum with a pointed free early in the second half, but Dunshaughlin started to get moving in earnest and aided by a Niall Kelly goal they moved ahead by 2-7 to 1-4.
Barry Carolan hit back with Rathkenny's second goal, but Dunshaughlin's subsequent accuracy helped them to push clear again for an eight-point (2-12 to 2-4) victory.
Another defeat followed in the third round when Wolfe Tones upped their game in the second half at Pairc Tailteann to win by 0-15 to 0-5 and book their ticket to the knockout stages. Scores were few and far between in the first half, at the end of which Tones led by 0-3 to 0-2, with Rathkenny regretting a 24th minute penalty miss when Sean Power saved from Richie Timmons.
Rathkenny added only three points to their tally in the second period and with Tones steadily finding their form and tagging on a dozen, the result was never in any doubt. With no points in the bag from three outings Rathkenny were in big trouble and the prospect of a meeting with Summerhill in their last group assignment didn't exactly tempt optimism.
They conceded the opening two points at Simonstown, but battled back to edge ahead with three scores from Darren Barron. Summerhill were ahead by 0-7 to 0-3 at the interval and, helped by a Stephen Kennedy goal, they put the issue beyond doubt by opening up a 1-11 to 0-5 lead. Rathkenny never stopped battling, but last year's runners-up ran out comfortable winners by 1-14 to 0-8.
Rathkenny knew they had two chances to avoid the drop back to intermediate football, but they avoided a visit to the 'last chance saloon' when beating Walterstown in sensational fashion in the play-off at Seneschalstown. Both teams had finished pointless in their group and the reward for a first victory for either of them was huge.
The sides were level (0-4 each) at the interval in normal time, by which stage Walterstown were down to 14 players following the dismissal of Alan Reynolds. Rathkenny edged clear by 0-8 to 0-5 by the start of the fourth quarter, but with substitute Charles McCarthy a big influence the blacks came back to draw (0-10 apiece). Barron looked to have given Rathkenny victory, but McCarthy foiled them with a late equaliser from a long range free.
Walterstown were back to 15 players for extra-time, but it was Rathkenny who held a slight advantage (0-12 to 0-11) at the break. The score which proved invaluable came well into the second half of additional time when substitute Thomas Rowan goaled and when Owen Elliott added a point, Rathkenny looked safe with a four-point lead.
There was still time for Sean Callaghan to pull a point back for Walterstown, but when the final whistle sounded Rathkenny were still a senior club, winning by 1-13 to 0-13. Of course a Walterstown appeal against the extra-time period threw the cat among the pigeons and at the time of going to print we are still none the wiser as to what the eventual outcome will be.
Goal hero Rowan has been playing football with Rathkenny at various levels since he was six and is a veteran of the team at 36. The Stackallen native played at corner-forward in the 2006 intermediate final.
"It was a huge relief to win the playoff," he said. "I want to retire as a senior player! It was particularly important for the young lads. Staying at senior level keeps the interest alive and it will help the young players develop.
"We wanted to do it in the first play-off game. It was a relief to get the goal, though it was a complete fluke. It was a nice feeling because we knew then that we were going to stay in the Senior Championship. Donal Curtis was so important in getting us through. His experience was vital."
The championship ended on a positive note for Rathkenny, but the group campaign was a big struggle.
"Small clubs like ours tend to struggle when they have injuries," he added. "We had plenty of them. John Donegan ended up playing at full-forward because he couldn't play at midfield. We need him out around the middle of the field.
"James Macken came back from Australia, but he missed the first two games. Donal Keogan is only 18. He was on the Meath minor panel this year and is a very promising player. James and Donal coming in helped us and there was an improvement as the championship went on. The spirit was good and there was a bit of a pattern to our football. To be straight about it, the other teams in our group were just better than us, simple as that."
Rowan is optimistic about the future for Rathkenny and is placing his faith in youth, expressing the opinion that it might just be time for some of the older brigade to call it a day.
"I'm 36 now," he said. "It's time to get rid of lads like myself and Mickey Reid! Next year the key will be for the young players to push on to the next level and to keep free of injuries. Brian Lenehan, who is Vincent's son, came on against Walterstown and scored two points from frees. They were very important scores. If lads like Brian and Donal (Keogan) can step forward it will be a huge help."
The Rathkenny team in the relegation play-off was: J Martin; M Macken, J Macken, M Brien; D Keogan, P Courtney, D Donegan; B Meade (0-1), R Curtis (0-1); D Barron (0-5), D Curtis (0-1), I Lenehan; R Timmons (0-1), J Donegan (0-1), O Elliott (0-1). Subs - B Lenehan (0-2) for Timmons, T Rowan (1-0) for I Lenehan. Tweet
