One off day in a near perfect season
November 30, 2009serious business of the knockout stages came into play. By Paul Clarke.
But they hardly got time to draw breath once the winner take all action commenced, with Seneschalstown blowing them away in the first half of their quarter-final at Pairc Tailteann. The Yellow Furze men had beaten Duleek/Bellewstown in the last round of qualification games eight days earlier, while Skryne hadn't experienced championship action for slightly over three weeks.
And that clearly told in the opening period of their last eight meeting as Seneschalstown played with an intensity and passion which left their opponents struggling to cope. Damien Sheridan's team were 14 points ahead at one stage in that half and 13 clear at the interval. Put simply, there was never going to be any way back for Skryne, though they had cut the deficit to eight by the end.
It was a hugely disappointing way to end the championship for Skryne who had failed to emerge from a tough section in the 2008 championship when Trevor Giles took on the dual roles of player and manager. They were also relegated back to Division 2 of the A League last year, from where they had emerged in 2007, but they put that right this term by moving back up and defeated Trim in the final.
Liam Harnan, an All-Ireland medal winner with Meath in 1987 and 1988, took over the coaching duties for the 2009 campaign and inherited a panel containing a lot of young players, as well as more experienced men like Giles and Brian Smyth. However, that great servant of the club Mick O'Dowd wasn't part of the panel and it isn't easy to replace footballers of his caliber.
Skryne also weren't exactly blessed with good fortune on the injury front, with Aidan Tuite, David Ryan and Mark Battersby suffering the great dread of any player during the season.
They were drawn in group B of the championship along with Dunboyne, Blackhall Gaels, Walterstown and last year's intermediate winners St Ultan's and it was against the St Peter's men at Dunshaughlin that they got their bid for a first Keegan Cup since 2004 off to a flying start with a 0-19 to 1-8 victory.
Eleven players, including goalkeeper Paddy O'Rourke, contributed to Skryne's impressive points haul against a Dunboyne team which was weakened by the absence of Nigel Crawford, David Gallagher and Stephen McKenna. The men in blue registered more than half of their tally in the opening period to lead by 0-10 to 0-6 at the interval, but Stephen Moran scored a goal from a penalty on 41 minutes to revive Dunboyne's hopes.
They reduced the deficit to only two points (1-7 to 0-12) at the three-quarter stage, but Skryne upped the tempo again when their lead was threatened and hit the target with consistency to win by eight points. Felim O'Rourke was their leading marksman with six points, four of which came from frees.
Two well-taken goals by Brian Byrne in the first half were the difference between the teams when Skryne defeated Walterstown by 2-10 to 0-10 in the second round at Pairc Tailteann. But they were still only on level terms (2-2 to 0-8) at the change of ends after playing against the wind.
However, Skryne were very impressive in the second half and pushed ahead to lead by 2-7 to 0-8 within eight minutes of the restart after Felim O'Rourke (two frees), Mark Battersby, James Hegarty and Giles had tagged on points. The blacks had chances subsequently, but Paddy O'Rourke saved well from Alban Crosbie and Vinny Reilly cleared off the line as Skryne earned a deserved win.
It was back to Pairc Tailteann for a third round meeting with St Ultan's and another victory. This was a superb game and the Bohermeen/Martry combination looked highly impressive in the first half, during which a brilliantly worked goal from Gearoid Rennicks was a real feature. They led by three points on a number of occasions, but Skryne always responded with a score to prevent them from pushing clear.
St Ultan's led by 1-7 to 0-8 at the break, but Skryne were the better side in the second period when they limited them to just two further points. They had recovered sufficiently to be ahead by 0-13 to 1-8 at the three-quarter stage and Ultan's suffered a further blow when Declan Galligan was sent off four minutes from the end.
Injury time points from Felim O'Rourke (free) and Battersby pushed Skryne into the safety zone and after a third straight win they were through to the quarter-finals. A very solid defensive display in the second half must have pleased Harnan, while Aidan Tuite and David McGoldrick worked well at midfield and Battersby, Giles and James Hegarty, who scored five points, impressed in attack.
It was early September before Skryne completed their group campaign with a game against Blackhall Gaels at Dunshaughlin and a 0-11 to 1-6 victory secured top position in the section. A tally of 14 wides was a concern for Skryne who had Vinny Reilly red carded in the 48th minute after Blackhall had notched their goal through Sean Whelan.
Skryne led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the interval and were five points to the good by the 42nd minute. But within seven minutes the Kilcloon/Batterstown combination were on level terms (1-5 to 0-8) and with a numerical advantage after Reilly's departure they looked likely to go on and win. But the late introduction of John Quinn helped settle Skryne and they responded with three of the last four points to edge through.
Nobody could have predicted what happened in the first half of the quarter-final against Seneschalstown as goals from Brian Clarke and Mark Carey helped the 2007 champions to a commanding 2-9 to 0-1 advantage after 22 minutes. The lead stood at 2-10 to 0-3 at the interval and though Skryne added 1-7 in the second period, including a Kevin Mulvaney goal on 48 minutes, they were always fighting a losing battle. It finished 2-15 to 1-10.
The Skryne team in the quarter-final was: P O'Rourke; D Beaton, C Lenehan, M Jordan; M Mulvaney, A Carty, B Farrell; D McGoldrick (0-1), D Ryan; J Hegarty (0-1), T Giles (0-1), B Byrne; B Smyth, K Mulvaney (1-0), I Davis (0-5). Subs - A Tuite for Ryan, J Quinn for Farrell, C McManus (0-1) for M Mulveney, B Davis (0-1) for Smyth, J Looby for Carty.
Allan Carty has been playing senior football with Skryne since he was 17 and the son of club chairman Dermot was introduced as a substitute when they defeated Dunshaughlin in the 1999 SFC final. He was a corner-forward in 2004 when Simonstown were overcome in the final.
The 31 year-old was impressed with the impact made by this year's coach Liam Harnan.
"He was very good," Allan said. "Nobody really knew what to expect when he came in. He was very direct; everyone knew where they stood. Training was very good, it was different. We had new drills and it freshened things up. Liam talked to lads individually and collectively."
The group stages of the championship went very well for Skryne and, though injuries started to kick in, they must have been feeling very good about themselves.
"After winning all our games in the group we were confident going into the knockout stages, but we certainly weren't cocky," Allan added. "There was a good feeling. We were delighted to top the group after failing to qualify last year. The mood was very good in the camp; there were good vibes."
There then followed that lengthy gap between their last group match and the quarter-final, but did that have anything to do with what unfolded against Seneschalstown?
"It probably had something to do with it, but we played Sarsfields from Kildare and Mattock Rangers from Louth in challenge matches," Allan said. "We also played in the Feis Cup, but challenge games and Feis Cup games aren't the same as the championship. Seneschalstown were fired up after being close to going out. They picked up from where they left off against Duleek/Bellewstown."
Skryne had lost the highly talented Mark Battersby earlier in the campaign, Aidan Tuite injured his hamstring a few weeks before the quarter-final and wasn't ready to start against Seneschalstown, while David Ryan hurt his knee in that challenge against Mattock. He started the last eight showdown, but Allan acknowledged that it "backfired" because he was taken off, to be replaced by Tuite.
"We could never have imagined what happened against Seneschalstown," he added. "We just couldn't get going. Nothing went right for us. Half-time couldn't come quick enough. We had the better of the second half, but the game was gone. We were too far behind."
But Allan is looking forward to the future, especially with so many talented young players coming through.
"We had a lot of injuries this year," he said. "If we can keep everyone right we would have to be optimistic. We have great young talent with lads like Aidan Tuite, Mark Battersby, David Ryan, Ciaran Lenehan and Liam Tolan. In the next couple of years we should be there or thereabouts." Tweet
