From agony to ecstasy
November 27, 2011Just 12 months later and Boardsmill returned to the intermediate final, but this time the entered the county decider as underdogs due to the fact that they were facing an experienced Rathmolyon side.
However, Boardsmill made amends in fine style and they now return to the senior ranks in 2012. The Royal County Yearbook takes a look at their year with the help of club secretary Caroline Loughran.
The defeat to Drumree was a bitter pill to swallow as a last minute goal broke the sky blues' hearts and consigned them to the second tier for another year.
Many clubs would baulk at the thoughts of challenging for honours after such a crushing blow, but they are made of stern stuff in Boardsmill and the pain of last year's defeat was used as the driving force for this year's campaign.
Once again former county hurler David Troy was at the helm and he was ably assisted by Thomas Murray, Gerry Jones and Tony Hannon in their roles as selectors.
Caroline admits that from early in the season it was evident that the players were eager to make up for the disappointment of losing last year's final.
"You could see the hunger to do well was there right from the start. The players had a good chat at the start of the year and everyone rowed in behind David and the selectors," admitted Caroline.
"It was devastating to lose the county final last year and no one wanted to go through that again this year, so the lads knuckled down and worked very hard."
Boardsmill were drawn in a tough group and were paired alongside Rathmolyon, Dunderry, Wolfe Tones, Kilmessan and Blackhall Gaels in a bid to make the knockout stages.
The first outing of the campaign was against Kilmessan's second string and Boardsmill made light work of their opponents as they recorded a comfortable 3-18 to 0-7 win.
They followed this up with a similar result (3-17 to 0-9) win over Blackhall Gaels as they looked to be cruising through the campaign. Nonetheless, the wheels came off when the faced championship favourites Rathmolyon in the third round of the championship.
The old saying 'goals win matches' was never so true as Rathmolyon found the back of the net on three occasions early on and despite a brave effort from Boardsmill, they left themselves with a mountain to climb as Martin Curran's charges held on for a 4-10 to 1-16 victory.
"The early goals really killed us against Rathmolyon, but even though we lost there was a feeling that if we met them again, we could beat them."
Boardsmill got their campaign back on track with a 6-8 to 2-8 win over Wolfe Tones and they made sure of a place in the knockout stages with a one-point (1-10 to 0-12) victory over Dunderry to advance to the quarterfinals.
Donaghmore Ashbourne were put to the sword (3-13 to 2-6) in the last eight and then Kildalkey's second string provided the opposition in the semi final.
Once again Boardsmill were in fine form as they easily accounted for Kildalkey to progress to the final for the second consecutive year.
"The lads were confident without being complacent for the final. They knew they could match Rathmolyon in all departments, but they also know that they would have to be at their best on the day."
The final itself was one of the games of the year in the county as both sides produced excellent displays to ensure that this was a scintillating match.
Boardsmill got 1-4 of their total from the 27th minute to the break when a handsome advantage of ten points (1-11 to 0-4) served them well in the second period when playing into the breeze.
The sides had been on level terms three times during the early exchanges but Rathmolyon did not register again in the first half after a converted free left them trailing by the minimum after 10 minutes.
A white flag effort by Cathal Flattery set their most productive spell in motion and Thomas Reilly and Thomas Leonard increased the lead.
Then Thomas Pratt struck for the goal on 29 minutes with a ground shot finding the net before Martin Conway completed the scoring for the first half.
Rathmolyon got the start they hoped for in the second period with Mickey Cole soloing in from the left corner and doing well to beat Stephen Masterson with a low drive.
The deficit was reduced to five points in the third quarter and Boardsmill's position looked perilous as the pre-match favourites piled on the pressure.
Three successive points, struck by Reilly (free), Stephen Gibbons and Pratt, helped to steady the 'Mill ship as they went into a 1-15 to 1-7 lead. In the last quarter they only added another converted Reilly free as Cole tagged on six points, but it was to be Boardsmill's day as they held on for a 1-16 to 1-13 victory.
"It was no more than the lads deserved after the effort they had put in. Right from the start of the game, they worked hard for each other and thankfully, they came out on top."
The club's second string reached the junior 'A' final, but went down to Navan O'Mahony's in the decider as it emerged as one of the best year's for the club in a long while.
"We would have a strong panel of players and there is a good few young lads coming through the ranks. There is a lot of work being done at underage level and we are bearing the fruits of that now.
"We have two pitches and it's nearly not enough at this stage with all the teams we have to cater for. From under-8 up we have teams for hurling, football, ladies football and camogie. We would have a small enough catchment area to choose from, but numbers are decent at most levels."
"We won the under-12 hurling shield, while we also won the under-15 camogie title when defeating Kilmessan in the final. The camogie club would also be very strong and we managed to stay up intermediate in our first year, which was what we set out to do."
Caroline feels that 2012 could be an even better campaign than this year's and she is confident that the senior hurlers can consolidate their place in the top flight.
"I do think we will be alright in the senior. There is a good mix of youth of experience in the squad, while there are more young lads coming through, so hopefully with a decent draw, we can do well."
For the record the Boardsmill team that captured the 2011 IHC title was: S Masterson; E Corrigan, N McLoughlin (0-1), G Whelan; N Weir, D Farrell, P Guy; B McLoughlin, R Hatton; M Conway (0-1), T Reilly (0-4, 2 frees), S Gibbons (0-3); J Pratt (1-1), C Flattery (0-3), T Leonard (0-3). Subs: E Cribbin for Gibbons (50), F Flattery for B McLoughlin (55), V Guy for Conway (60).
U15 camogie honours for the 'Mill
Boardsmill got off to a slow start against Kilmessan in this U15 League Final clash with Kilmessan hitting the back of the Boardsmill net with two goals and converting a point from play in the first 10 minutes.
However the 'Mill girls settled themselves and started what proved to be a fine display of camogie with superb performances from every girl on the field. It was a very fast paced game from start to finish with outstanding displays from midfield by Haidee Kelly and Leah Kelly.
Boardsmill picked up the pace in the second half and got some excellent scores from play and super strong defending by the backs kept Kilmessan scoreless in the second half.
It was a great win for Boardsmill with a final score of 8-6 to 2-1 and Captain Haidee Kelly lifting the cup to great cheers from the Boardsmill supporters.
Boardsmill: Rhiannon Hoey, Kealey Hannon, Maedbh Smith, Claudia Hoey, Hannah Tuite, Carolanna Foley, Niamh McEvoy, Haidee Kelly, Leah Kelly, Lauren Gaffney, Michela Stellini (2-2), Andrea Ward (3-2), Allanah Hannon (0-1), Susan Kealey (2-0), Toni Hannon (0-1). Panel: Nicola Furley, Danni O'Sullivan, Caroline McLaughlin (1-0), Georgia Malone, Lauren Kelly, Sarah Bagnall, Kate McEvoy, Sarah Dowling, Aoife Newman. Tweet
