Excellent first year in charge for TJ
November 30, 2009
TJ Reilly's passion for Meath hurling could never be questioned and it was very much in evidence during 2009 when the Royal County got back to where they belonged by winning the
Nicky Rackard Cup. By Paul Clarke.
The former Hurling Committee chairman took over the role of county senior team coach late last year, replacing John Andrews, and set about the task of attempting to revive their fortunes in the wake of relegation from Division 2 of the National League and demotion to the Rackard Cup due essentially to restructuring.
The Boardsmill clubman, who previously had a brief spell in charge a few years back when John Hunt stepped down, certainly has the credentials for the job. He was a key member of the Boardsmill team which took the Meath SHC by storm in the first half of the 1970s and played for the county for a number of years.
"I'm going to give this job the best shot I can and I'm looking forward to the challenge," Reilly said soon after his appointment. He was true to his word and with selectors Brendan Fitzsimons and Anthony Kirby he went on to achieve one of the two hoped for successes this year - victory in the Rackard Cup.
Managing inter-county teams can be a frustrating business at times and that was the case in the early days of Reilly's tenure as a combination of factors left him short several players. Injuries are often a problem and this year there was also Kilmessan's involvement in the All-Ireland Club IHC.
Consequently, he had to plan without a number of key players early on, but at least that provided the opportunity to try out others. Early elimination from the Kehoe Cup at the hands of Down at Pairc Tailteann wasn't a surprise in the circumstances and that was followed by a Kehoe Shield exit against Kildare at the same venue.
Bad weather conditions meant a delayed start to the National League Division 3A, but by the time Meath got their campaign under way the Kilmessan players were available and they beat Mayo by nine points in Ballina. Victories over Derry at Swatragh, Kildare in Navan and Armagh at Crossmaglen, as well as a home draw with Wicklow, helped them top the group and earned a place in the divisional final against Kildare at Breffni Park, Cavan.
It afforded Meath an ideal opportunity to get back to Division 2, but Kildare spoiled the party when winning by 2-18 to 1-18. Key moments in the game were the harsh decision to disallow Peter Durnin's 'goal' and the dismissal of Nicky Horan on 53 minutes which deprived them of a hugely experienced forward who had already contributed two points.
But Meath had endured a less than smooth run-up to the game because of a lengthy gap between their last group match and the final, during which the players were in action for their clubs. Fast forward several months and the situation was vastly different ahead of the Rackard Cup decider, and it showed in the overall quality of the Royal County performance as they won by 2-18 to 1-15.
While Reilly was justifiably delighted with that success, he certainly wasn't getting carried away.
"I wouldn't describe it as a year of great progress, but rather a steadying of the ship," he said. "We have levelled out, but to say that we are going forward at a great pace would be wrong. We have a group of players who put in great work. They realised that it was possible to get to the Nicky Rackard Cup final and put a big effort into trying to achieve it.
"They enjoyed the whole experience and topped it off by winning the competition. They have gone away very happy with their year and hopefully ready for another big effort next year. We are a happier bunch of lads and know it's possible to win games on a regular basic, get to Croke Park and win things."
Looking back to earlier in the campaign, Reilly acknowledged that the players were "desperately disappointed" to lose the National League final, but pointed to the below par preparation and the gap of approximately five weeks between their last group assignment and the decider.
"It was a disrupted preparation and the buzz went out of the team," he added. "You had six or eight lads missing from training because they were playing with their clubs. It was a scrappy approach before that league final.
"We just couldn't get them together the way we would have liked and it dropped off a lot. On the day of the final itself there was no provision made for the first game going to extra-time. We had our warm up done and then had to do it again. I know it was the same for Kildare, but it didn't help.
"On the field of play we lost our full-back Enda Fitzgerald after only 10 minutes which was a blow. We allowed Kildare to get a six-point start. We drew level on two or three occasions in the second half, but we also missed chances which was crucial.
"But a step at a time is probably the best thing. The challenge for whoever is there is to build a squad good enough to get up to Division 2 and hold their own in it. They would be playing the likes of Carlow, Westmeath and Kerry."
The Nicky Rackard Cup was the one Meath really wanted to win this year. Not alone did it provide some welcome silverware, but it also sent them back up to the Christy Ring Cup where, in reality, they should have been anyway.
"The Rackard Cup was the main priority for the year," Reilly acknowledged. "We were in it because of our results and because of the restructuring. It was up to us to organise and get out of it. We had easy wins against Sligo and Louth in our first two games, but it wasn't easy against Armagh.
"In the final we were without our best player Stephen Clynch due to suspension, but we got the better of London. Our approach to the Rackard Cup final was so different to the league final. The lads were buzzing. Challenge games and training went great and lads were fighting for places.
"Pat Williams' contribution was tremendous. He brought a different approach. Dinny Maher, Dinny Cahill and Paddy McCormack also helped out in a big way and George O'Connor from Wexford came up on the Tuesday night before the final.
"It was great to win it and they responded well when London came back at them. The most delightful thing about the final was the contribution of old hands Mickey Cole and Nicky Horan who contributed 2-4 between them. The experienced players did the job on the big day.
"Mickey Cole got injured in our very first challenge game of the year against Kilmessan. It took him three months to get back. He missed a lot of training. He was some man to come back after that. It was a marvellous recovery."
At the other end of the age scale was Dave Kirby who made a major impact in the final and who looks like a great prospect.
"Dave Kirby has had a lot of injuries," Reilly added. "He got injured in our first National League game against Mayo. But he came back well and was so good in the Rackard Cup final. We were lucky to get him back out for the second half because he had a dead leg, but his contribution was great."
Reilly, who was undecided about his future as county manager at the time of writing, is hopeful that good young players will continue to come through to strengthen the senior panel.
"A lot of good work has been done at minor level in the county," he said. "Hopefully, the fact that we have won and can win again will entice lads to give a commitment. We are on the road to the next step which is winning that division of the National League and consolidation."
Reilly acknowledged the great run enjoyed by Kilmessan after they had won the Meath SHC last year and believes that it will give the players involved added confidence going into the future. That, of course, would be to the benefit of the county panel which contains a very healthy sprinkling of Kilmessan players.
"Confidence is half the battle," he concluded.
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