D/B can beat anybody on their day
November 27, 2010After all, the amalgamation had teetered on the brink of elimination from the top flight last year, only to be spared a relegation play-off because of the change of format introduced after the Walterstown-Rathkenny saga. But for a team which might well have ended up playing intermediate football this term, Duleek/Bellewstown certainly made a dramatic impression in the higher grade.
They didn't manage to advance beyond the quarter-final stage, but what they achieved in the second half of the group campaign will have done a power of good to their self-belief. They picked up only one point from their first two games and looked more likely to be relegation candidates again, rather than contenders for a place in the knockout stages.
That's where their year really took off in the most sensational way. Firstly, they defeated a Summerhill team which went into the championship as the fancy of some to achieve outright success and then it got even more extraordinary when they pounced with a late goal to beat title favourites Navan O'Mahonys.
From the highs of those successes followed the disappointment of a quarter-final defeat suffered at the hands of the other surprise packets of the competition Rathkenny, but what Duleek/Bellewstown achieved in the 2010 championship can still be treasured by all involved with the club.
They ended last year by contesting the A League Division 1 final where they lost to Wolfe Tones and commenced the 2010 league with a comfortable 2-11 to 1-6 win over Skryne. That was followed by defeats to Dunboyne (1-10 to 1-12) and Donaghmore/Ashbourne (1-3 to 1-7) and the departure of coach Christy Moore.
But by the time the championship started Colm Nally had climbed back into the hot seat. When the draws were made and Duleek/Bellewstown came out in group C along with O'Mahonys and Summerhill nobody could realistically have fancied them to reach the knockout stages.
The section also included Donaghmore/Ashbourne who, with a full panel of fit players to choose from, were capable of mounting a serious challenge, and last year's impressive intermediate winners Oldcastle. Nally's team had a bye in the first round and opened their campaign against Donaghmore/Ashbourne at Donore.
Duleek/Bellewstown turned in a gutsy performance, but the only goal of the contest went to Donaghmore/Ashbourne from a penalty and that was decisive in a 1-9 to 0-9 victory.
Donaghmore/Ashbourne started well and scored the first three points, but Duleek/Bellewstown recovered well and two points from Mark Collins (a free and a '45') and further efforts from Darren Mills, Paudge Howard and John Flood left them ahead by 0-5 to 0-3.
The advantage stood at 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval, but two Collins points from frees pushed Duleek/Bellewstown three clear early in the second period. They failed to maintain their dominance as Donaghmore/Ashbourne took over to move into the lead and it took a great save from Ricky Nolan to prevent Kevin Lanigan from scoring a goal.
Donaghmore/Ashbourne led by a point entering the last quarter, but Flood levelled things up from a free. It was then that the winners upped the tempo and when Nolan fouled David Morgan, Andrew Tormey netted from a penalty to leave the score at 1-8 to 0-8. Tormey added a free and with Duleek/Bellewstown needing a goal all they could manage was a Collins pointed free in injury time.
When a draw (1-7 each) followed against Oldcastle at Pairc Tailteann the possibility of emerging from the group looked remote, especially with such tough assignments still to come. It might have been worse because it took an injury time point from Tony Cunningham to earn a share of the spoils.
Stephen Nolan scored a goal for Duleek/Bellewstown after 22 minutes, but they were only level (1-2 to 0-5) at the break after Collins (free) and Cunningham had notched the points.
Collins scored Duleek/Bellewstown's only point of the third quarter as Oldcastle edged into a 0-7 to 1-3 lead and a Paddy Gilsenan goal left last year's intermediate champions clear by 1-7 to 1-3 with 10 minutes remaining. But the east Meath outfit battled back and substitute Brian Moore, Flood, Mills and Cunningham got the last four points to force a draw.
Few could have predicted anything other than a relegation struggle after that, but how Duleek/Bellewstown turned things around. It started with a 1-15 to 2-8 victory over Summerhill at Dunshaughlin, a result which ended the 'Hill's hopes of figuring in the knockout action.
Collins demonstrated in this match what a great talent he is as he contributed 10 points, seven from placed balls, but it was Summerhill who made the more productive opening when they pushed into a 1-2 to 0-1 lead on six minutes after Brian Ennis had netted.
However, Duleek/Bellewstown battled back and were ahead by 0-9 to 1-5 at the break, with Collins scoring six first half points and Flood, Kevin McCann and Mills also on target.
Collins (two) and Flood stretched the lead to 0-12 to 1-5 early in the second period and as Summerhill battled to keep their championship hopes alive they reduced the deficit to two points and would have netted only for Ricky Nolan's great save to deny Paul Larkin.
The match was in the melting pot and it was Duleek/Bellewtown who found most when Cunningham's delivery was fetched by Daniel Martin who goaled to make it 1-13 to 1-8.
Stephen Kennedy scored a late goal from a penalty for the 'Hill, but it made no difference and Duleek/Bellewstown had pulled off a great victory, Unfortunately, Casey Dunne was sent off late in the game.
If that was a shock, what happened at Skryne was an even bigger one as O'Mahonys were sent packing from the championship and Duleek/Bellewstown completed a remarkable recovery in their group campaign to progress. This was a dramatic success as Peter Curran goaled four minutes into injury time to earn a 1-9 to 0-10 victory which sent shockwaves through the county.
O'Mahonys looked set for the expected win when they led by 0-8 to 0-4 at the interval, but they kicked nine damaging wides in the second half and also lost Kevin Reilly with an injury. To make things worse, they had Barry Regan sent off in the closing stages, but none of that could take away from a great victory for Duleek/Bellewstown.
They outscored O'Mahonys by 1-5 to 0-2 in that second period, but still looked likely to lose until that dramatic finale. Cunningham sent in a delivery, Karl McDonnell gained possession in a crowded goalmouth and kicked forward, before Curran found the net with a shot that took a deflection. Curran also contributed three points to the win, Collins and Flood got two each and Mills and Howard notched the others.
It seemed extraordinary, but O'Mahonys were out of the championship and Duleek/Bellewstown, who had picked up only a point from their first two matches, were through to a quarter-final against Rathkenny.
However, that's where the championship journey ended as Rathkenny continued their remarkable run with a 1-11 to 0-11 victory after extra-time at Pairc Tailteann. The first half was very poor, but Rathkenny finished it well with a goal from Richie Timmons and a Damien McBride point to lead by 1-4 to 0-5 at the break.
The teams shared four points in the third quarter, with Flood and Curran on the mark for Duleek/Bellewstown, and another Curran score reduced the deficit to the minimum. They had Micheal Dowling sent off eight minutes from the end and when Rathkenny increased their lead to two points the writing appeared to be on the wall.
But, to their credit, Duleek/Bellewstown battled back and points from Curran and Collins forced extra-time as it finished 0-10 to 1-7. It was back to 15 a-side for the additional 20 minutes and as Rathkenny kicked a succession of wides, Eanna Byrne edged Duleek/Bellewstown ahead with a point, but Dermot Smith's men were level at the short interval thanks to a Timmons point.
The second period of extra-time was a big disappointment for Duleek/Bellewstown as they failed to score and Rathkenny got points courtesy of Brian Meade (two) and Timmons to secure a semi-final place.
Tony Cunningham was a key player for Duleek/Bellewstown this year and he felt the change of manager before the championship wasn't a major issue. "It was seamless because Colm (Nally) was there last year," he said. "He hit the ground running."
When the championship action started Duleek/Bellewstown made a disappointing opening.
"We always have close games with Donaghmore/Ashbourne," Tony added. "They had lost their first championship game to Summerhill, whereas we had a bye. I felt they were up to championship pace more in the last 15 minutes and pulled away.
"The Oldcastle game was one where we were lucky to get out with a draw. We scored the last four points. If we had lost that one we would have been staring down the barrel. After that we knew we had to look at ourselves. We had to change how we approached it tactically. We were running too much and needed to kick the ball more.
"At the start of the year we felt we needed to have points on the board going into the Summerhill and O'Mahonys' games, but we had only one. But we didn't feel any pressure because they were games people didn't expect us to win.
"We played our best football of the year against Summerhill and we were going well in the league at the time too. It was essentially a straight knockout game. Whoever lost was out. It was a great feeling to win and it gave us confidence. There was a great buzz after that game."
It got even better for Duleek/Bellewstown when they pulled off a massive shock by defeating O'Mahonys.
"We managed to stay with O'Mahonys and didn't let them get away," Tony said. "It was a low-scoring game and both teams missed a lot of chances. Crucially, we didn't concede a goal. If you allow O'Mahonys to get a run on you they can do a lot of damage. In the second quarter they seemed to be getting away, but we stayed with them and kept the deficit down
"It was an incredible finish. You could kick the ball into the square 100 times and not get a goal. It was the last kick of the game and the final whistle went. There was a feeling of euphoria. We went a bit mad.
"We weren't expected to get out of the group, but when you get to a quarter-final it's 50/50. We had come out of two tough games. We weren't expected to beat Summerhill or O'Mahonys, but some people expected us to beat Rathkenny. There was a different mindset. But they had topped their group for a reason.
"We started well, but didn't take enough of our chances early on. Rathkenny defend very well and make it difficult for you to score. The goal was the crucial score. Just before half-time is a bad time to concede a goal. It meant we were behind at half-time instead of ahead.
"We didn't score a point from play in the second half and had Mick Dowling sent off, but we still could have won it in normal time. When we did finally get the equaliser we thought we could push on with 15 players again, but we didn't. But you must give credit to Rathkenny. They came out after conceding the equaliser and did enough to win."
It was a disappointing end to the championship, but Duleek/Bellewstown have much to be proud of and much to look forward to.
"There is a massive amount of optimism in the club," Tony added. "We lost players this year, but the lads who came in did very well, like John Flood from Bellewstown and Daniel Martin. Kevin McCann came on a lot this year. Five of our six starting forwards this year were under-21 and two of the backs are under-21.
"Mick Dowling and Paudge Howard are only 23. There's good balance there, but we must build on this year. The target is to push on from here. We are an established senior championship team now and know we can beat any team on our day."
Minors clinch title
The Duleek/Bellewstown minors completed an impressive campaign by defeating Clonard in the MFC Division 3 final at Trim.
Midfielders Brian Moore and Robbie Clarke were key players and contributed 1-8 between them, but overall it took a solid team performance to clinch the title. Moore's well-taken goal helped Duleek/Bellewstown to a 1-4 to 0-5 half-time lead, Clonard closed the gap to the minimum, but the combination pushed five clear.
Clonard replied with a goal to stay in contention, but Duleek/Bellewstown notched the last four points to win by 1-15 to 1-9. Clarke's tally of seven points was enormously important, as was Moore's 1-1, while there were impressive defensive displays from Blaine Curley and Jason Brannigan.
Duleek/Bellewstown - K Brannigan; J Murphy, B Curley; S Kennedy, J Brannigan, S Dunne; B Moore (1-1), R Clarke (0-7); R Hamilton (0-1), J McDonnell (0-1), A Burke (0-1); S O'Neill (0-2), S Watters (0-1). Subs - D Carney (0-1) for Hamilton, C Flynn for Watters, G Curran for McDonnell. Tweet
