League win eases IFC final loss
November 27, 2011The Kells men have suffered their share of upsets since they were demoted from the senior ranks in the autumn of 2004, losing big games when they had the prize of a place in the intermediate decider within range, but this year they lost just once in the qualification phase, topped their section and then edged out north Meath rivals Ballinlough in a semi-final.
But there was more heartbreak on the big day when they played like champions for one third of the decider against Moynalvey, before the south county team took over and earned a two-point success. Watching John Donoghue raise the Mattie McDonnell Cup was painful, but to their credit the players regrouped and enjoyed a league final triumph over neighbours Kilmainham in mid-October.
Former Ballinlough and Meath player Jody Devine took over as coach this year, replacing Benny Reddy, and along with selectors Tom Shine and Paul Murray they oversaw a campaign in which their team performed with tremendous consistency. They remained unbeaten throughout the league and their only championship losses came against Syddan in the second round of group games and, of course, the final to a very talented Moynalvey side.
Group B of the IFC had a strong north county flavour. Apart from Gaeil Colmcille it also included Carnaross, the team which eliminated them at the quarter-final stage in 2010, Syddan, St Michael's and Dunderry, who were strengthened by the arrival of Darren Fay from Trim.
Ahead of the start of the championship Gaeil Colmcille had opened their league schedule with a victory over Kilmainham at Grangegodden where three injury time points secured a 0-7 to 0-6 victory. That was followed by an away draw (1-9 each) against Clann na nGael - the only point they dropped from 11 outings - and a 1-16 to 0-8 home win over Cortown.
That run set them up nicely for the championship opener against Dunderry at Bohermeen where they showed definite signs of their potential. They registered 1-8 from play in a 1-11 to 0-10 victory and looked particularly lively in the opening stages when they opened up a 0-5 to 0-0 lead after just nine minutes.
Martin Barrett, a young man who appears to possess more energy than the national grid, had put them ahead after only 10 seconds and the skill and accuracy of Brian Hanlon helped them to push clear. But their only other first half score was a well-worked Alan Hickey point and Dunderry cut the deficit to 0-4 to 0-6 at the interval.
Barry Callaghan's team was level within three minutes of the restart, but Gaeil Colmcille responded commendably to the challenge and, boosted by a 40th minute goal from the highly talented Danny McGovern, they were in front by 1-10 to 0-6 at the three-quarter stage.
Dunderry reduced the gap again as Gaeil Colmcille indulged in too much fouling, but Justin Carry-Lynch's second superb point of the game helped to steady the ship and they were ahead by four at the end as Callaghan's side failed to get the goal they so badly needed.
Gaeil Colmcille were brought back to earth with a bang in the second round at Carlanstown where Syddan beat them by 0-9 to 1-4 on a day when the wind made scoring difficult. Hanlon and Keith Reilly (two) scored first half points which earned a 0-3 to 0-2 interval lead.
Syddan soon hit the front and Gaeil Colmcille suffered a big blow 10 minutes from the end when Barrett was sent off. A Hickey goal gave the Kellsmen hope, but there was to be no way back and it became very clear just how important the third round meeting with Carnaross would be.
Moynalty provided the venue for a repeat of the previous year's quarter-final and Gaeil Colmcille got their revenge by earning a 2-10 to 3-4 win. They made a great start when Seanie Curran goaled after just 16 seconds and Brian Hanlon netted from a penalty in the third minute. Reilly and Curran added points and they were ahead by 2-2 to 0-1 despite playing against the wind.
However, Carnaross came back and John L McGee goaled at the end of the opening quarter. Gary Arkins (two) and Hanlon pushed Gaeil Colmcille clear again with points and when Carnaross had Stein Carpenter sent off five minutes before the interval they looked doomed.
But aided by another goal from a McGee penalty they cut the deficit to only two points (2-3 to 2-5) at the break and when the same player again slotted home from the spot five minutes into the second half Carnaross were on level terms at 3-3 to 2-6. The game was very scrappy and fractious for the remainder and points from Hanlon, Barry Smith and substitute Seamus Mattimoe proved invaluable in a hard-earned victory.
Gaeil Colmcille had a bye in the fourth round, which meant a very lengthy spell of championship inactivity, and when they resumed against relegation-threatened St Michael's at Kilmainham the hope was that they would get a victory which would enable them to top the group and go straight through to the semi-finals.
That's exactly how it worked out as they coasted to a 0-19 to 1-8 win which enabled them to edge out Dunderry at the head of affairs. They led by 0-10 to 0-4 at the interval, before St Michael's responded with 1-1 early in the second period, but with their lead challenged the Kellsmen pushed on again to win comprehensively. It was a particularly good evening for Hanlon who contributed 10 points.
The semi-final at Pairc Tailteann brought brothers into opposition - Jody Devine as Gaeil Colmcille coach and his brother Kevin as a Ballinlough player - and at the end of a tight and scrappy match the town team's supporters could celebrate reaching the decider after a 0-10 to 0-9 victory.
The hero of the hour was Philly Ward who scored the winning point after a good move involving Stevie McManus and Curran. Try as they did, Ballinlough couldn't get an equaliser and the nearest they came was when Peadar Byrne was well wide close to the final whistle.
Gaeil Colmcille rode their luck in this game. They gave away two penalties, but it was significant that Ballinlough had a return of only a point from those spot kicks. Cian Mallon was wide from the first of them after six minutes and Byrne did only slightly better nearing the three-quarter stage when he fired over.
Danny McGovern was one of Gaeil Colmcille's top performers, embellishing a roving display with three points. Hanlon got four, three of them from frees, and there was one each for Ward, Arkins and Barrett.on an evening when plenty of hard graft and honest endeavour were required to dig out a win.
Gaeil Colmcille played with the aid of the wind in the first half, but led by only 0-5 to 0-4 at the change of ends. It remained tight in the second period and there appeared to be every possibility of extra time as the clock ticked towards the end. But Ward, a player with huge ability, had the final say as he fired over the winner. It wasn't a game to warm the hearts of the purists, but semi-finals are there to be won.
Like Gaeil Colmcille, Moynalvey had taken the direct route to the semi-finals by topping their group. They won all four games and were straight through to the penultimate hurdle where they beat Dunderry by 3-5 to 1-5. As with the Kellsmen, they possessed a team rich in young talent and strengthened by a spine of experience and they proved in the final that they don't walk away from a stern challenge.
But for much of the first half at Pairc Tailteann Gaeil Colmcille played arguably the best football they have produced since their return to the intermediate ranks. They looked confident and nerveless and moved the ball at a pace which brought the dangerous Hanlon and Barrett into the game repeatedly.
Ward and Carry-Lynch worked effectively at midfield and they appeared to have a platform for victory. Hanlon scored five points in succession and when Barrett slotted home the only goal of the final they led by 1-5 to 0-1 after 21 minutes. It was the sort of start they couldn't even have dreamt of.
But Moynalvey didn't reach the decider without good reason and they refused to panic. Captain John Donoghue became increasingly prominent in the middle third of the field and by half-time they had cut the deficit to 0-7 to 1-8. Gaeil Colmcille were still four ahead after playing with the wind, but Moynalvey went back to their dressingroom with a pep in their step.
Once Moynalvey took a firm grip around the half-way line where their half-forwards worked with great vigour they cut off the supply line to the Kells forwards and they added only two second half points courtesy of Arkins and Hanlon. By the 47th minute Moynalvey were level when David Donoghue pointed and a superb score from Cillian O'Sullivan soon had them ahead.
Gaeil Colmcille needed a score to arrest the slide and they almost got a brilliant one which might have made all the difference. Carry-Lynch started a move which was continued by Barrett and when he passed to Hanlon the Kells supporters held their breaths. Hanlon let fly with a ferocious shot which came back off the crossbar and soon after substitute James Kelly edged Moynalvey two points ahead.
Chances were missed at both ends subsequently and when the last whistle sounded Moynalvey were champions. For the Gaeil Colmcille players there was that awful feeling which comes with losing a final.
It was hugely disappointing, especially given the brilliant football they had played in the first half, but after completing a hugely consistent league campaign (including a comfortable win over Moynalvey) they wanted to finish the job. Their chance came three weeks later when Kilmainham - who had just won the Tailteann Cup - provided the opposition in the Division 3 final which attracted a very big crowd to Bohermeen.
Gaeil Colmcille notched all their scores from play in a thoroughly merited 1-11 to 0-9 victory, but they weren't overly convincing in the first half when six wides threatened to undermine their bid for the title. They still held a narrow 0-5 to 0-3 interval lead thanks to points from Curran, Barrett, Hanlon, McGovern and Carry-Lynch, but Kilmainham were still very much in the game.
However, a McManus goal which followed a Mickey Foley pass helped to open up a 1-6 to 0-3 advantage and that stretched out to nine points after Barrett, McGovern and Carry-Lynch raised white flags. There was no way back for Kilmainham, though Mickey Newman scored four points from placed balls in the last quarter.
Carry-Lynch, Barrett and McGovern, with three points each, and McManus with his goal shared in the scoring honours for the winners, while there was a point apiece for Curran and Hanlon
This was a very significant win for Gaeil Colmcille. Heading back to training in the depths of winter will appear a bit more appetising with the memory of the victory fresh in the minds of the players, while playing in Division 2 next year will provide them with matches against some of the top teams in the county.
Overall, it was an outstanding campaign - one that will have greatly aided the development of the many young players.
For the record, the teams which contested the two finals were:
IFC (v Moynalvey): D Drew; M Foley, R Flanagan, D Smith; C Finn, B Smith, B Tormay; P Ward, J Carry-Lynch; G Arkins (0-1), A Hickey, S Curran; D McGovern (0-1), M Barrett (1-2), B Hanlon (0-6). Subs - K Reilly for Hickey, S Mattimoe for Arkins, P Tormay for Finn.
Division 3 League (v Kilmainham): D Drew; B Tormay, R Flanagan, D Smith; C Finn, B Smith, M Foley; P Ward, J Carry-Lynch (0-3); G Arkins, S McManus (1-0), S Curran (0-1); B Hanlon (0-1), M Barrett (0-3), D McGovern (0-3). Subs - K Reilly for Arkins, S Mattimoe for McManus, P Tormay for B Smith, A Hickey for Finn, S Reddy for McGovern.
Gaeils Reddy for next challenge
The 2011 campaign was something of a success for the Gaeil Colmcille hurlers as they captured the junior 2 title at the expense of Clann na nGael, while they performed something of a Houdini act against the same opposition in the senior relegation play-off to preserve their status in the top flight for another year.
Commonly known as a football club, it is ironic to see that Gaeil Colmcille are in fact more successful in the small ball code in recent years as minor and under-21 hurling titles have adorned the club over the last few campaigns. This year the main focus of attention was on the intermediate football campaign which ended in county final defeat to Moynalvey and thus the hurling suffered.
Dual star and senior hurling captain Stephen Reddy would love to see more of a compromise between the two codes as he feels that it could benefit both, especially the hurling, which he believes has a lot to offer in the senior hurling championship.
This year's draw saw the Kells men get the so-called 'easier' group as they avoided the likes of Kildalkey, Kilmessan and Kiltale and were placed in a section alongside Navan O'Mahony's, Na Fianna, Drumree, Dunboyne and Trim.
Each and every team had genuine designs on reaching the knockout stages and Stephen felt that on paper there was no reason why they couldn't think the same way. "We definitely felt that it was a decent draw and there was a belief that we could easily avoid relegation, but unfortunately that's not the way it turned out."
The first match of the campaign saw Gaeil Colmcille play O'Mahony's at Athboy. Conditions were not ideal for hurling, but both sides battled bravely and there was nothing to separate the team for the majority of the match. However, the Kells men would develop an unwanted pattern throughout the campaign, which was their ultimate undoing and that was their second half performances were poor.
A couple of late scores earned O'Mahony's a 2-11 to 1-09 victory, but the Kells men could take plenty of positives from the performance.
"I suppose when you see where O'Mahony's ended up (in a county final) it just goes to prove that if you put in the right effort than anything is possible. That first game was one that we could have won and were it not for a lack of concentration in the final 15 minutes, we probably would have."
Na Fianna were the next opponents and once again there was nothing between the sides in the first half, but the Enfield men pushed on in the second half to record a 0-20 to 0-10 victory. Drumree were next on the fixture list and having won the intermediate title the previous year, they were expected to struggle in the campaign.
But, in a battling performance, two late goals for Drumree earned them a 2-10 to 1-6 victory and this was an even bigger setback for the Kells men than any of their previous two games in the campaign.
"The same thing happened in both games as we couldn't compete for the full 60 minutes and I don't know the reason for that because we would have 10 or 11 dual players and fitness certainly wasn't a problem, maybe there is such a thing as hurling fitness and we were lacking in that.
"In every game, we were in it at half time and then whether it be just a lack of concentration or whatever, we always seemed to fall by the way side and that was disappointing because we know we are better than that."
Kells met an off form Dunboyne in the next round, but yet again a defeat was the outcome as St Peter's held on for a 1-10 to 1-6 win to heap more woe on the north Meath side. Only two points separate Gaeil Colmcille and Trim in the last group game, but the former champions cut loose in the second half to record a massive 4-18 to 0-9 win to end what could only be described as a poor campaign for Ian Callaghan's charges.
"As we were in the intermediate football final, there was no hurling work done at all up until two weeks before the relegation match against Clann na nGael, which was far from ideal and I think that this is something that needs to be addressed if the hurling is to improve in the area."
Stephen admitted that Clann na nGael have been something of a bogey team over Gaeil Colmcille. "I've been playing adult hurling for the past six or seven years now and I'd never been on a team that beat Clann na nGael. They beat us in two intermediate finals, although anytime we played them, the games were always close matches."
So Gaeil Colmcille entered the relegation play off as massive underdogs but Gaeil Colmcille scored seven unanswered points in the last ten minutes to defeat Clann Na nGael.
Clann Na nGael opted to play with the wind in the opening half. The Athboy side raced into a two point lead courtesy of Ciaran Fitzsimons and Aaron Ennis. After twenty minutes the sides were level at 0-3 each. Stephen Reddy (0-1) and the ever reliable Tommy Shine got two of those Kells scores. Fitzsimons and Ennis added further points to the Athboy tally. Benny Murray got the last score of the half and Clann na nGael went in at the break leading seven points to four.
Clann na nGael made all the early second half running. An Aaron Ennis free and a great score from midfielder Barry Higgins put them four points up. Tommy Shine kept Gaeil Colmcille going with a pointed free but the Kells side were finding it hard to get into the game. Ennis and Jamie Shaw made it 0-11 to 0-6 with ten minutes left and the Athboy men seemed to be heading for a comfortable win.
Gaeil Colmcille manager Ian Callaghan began to ring the changes and suddenly Kells came to life. Goalkeeper Conor Murray sparked the revival with a massive score from his own half back line. Niall Flanagan added another. A Keith Reilly free found John Morris and the corner back sent over from eighty yards out for an inspirational score to leave it 0-11 to 0-9. Two Tommy Shine points made it a draw game. At this stage it was all Kells. So often the saviour for Gaeil Colmcille in the past, Shine put his side ahead for the first time with a minute left. Seamus Mattimoe added the insurance point and Gaeil Colmcille could celebrate a great win.
"There was a massive sense of relief when the final whistle came. To score the last seven points was unreal as all year we had been playing so bad in the second half of all our games and it was a real battling performance and hopefully we can build on that next year."
The club were not to end the year empty handed and having reached the junior 2 semi final last year, the Kells men went one better this time around by reaching the final where they would meet their old foes, Clann na nGael.
Unlike, the senior relegation play off, this was a match that Gaeil Colmcille never looked like losing as they lead by start to finish. The Gaeils were first of the mark when Declan Reilly opened their account with a fine point after six minutes. Points from Cormac Keegan and a Mark Smith free gave Gaeil Colmcille a three point lead near the end of the first quarter.
Clann Na nGael opened their account shortly soon were on level terms. The Athboy men had there tails up and further points put them 0-5 to 0-3 up after twenty minutes. Gaeil Colmcille levelled the game with points from Declan Reilly and Ross Kelly. A goal from Mark Smith gave the lead back to the Kells men. Smith was on target again with a point and just before the break Seamus Mattimoe hit a high ball into the square and Smith got first to it and struck it to the roof of the net for his second goal. Declan Reilly finished the half with his second point leaving Kells ahead by seven (2-07) to (0-06).
Mark Smith started the second half as he finished the first with a point. Corner forward Mick O'Keefe added another to put them 2-9 to 0-7 up after fifteen minutes. Clann Na nGael tried hard to get back into the game. The Athboy men had to wait till the 15th minute for a score when they finally pointed. Three points brought them within four points of Gaeil Colmcille. Great defending by Enda Nulty at full back, wing backs Colin Tormey, Dara Gogarty and centre back Richard Bradley along with the midfield pairing of Philly Ward and Conor Ferguson made sure that the cup was going to Kells. After the game Meath Hurling Board Chairman Francis Lynch presented the cup to Kells captain Mark Smith.
"Winning the junior 2 was a major achievement for the club as it gives everyone a boost and if we can give the right commitment next year, I'm confident that we can avoid relegation and push on, it would be great to reach the knockout stages."
Gaeil Colmcille are celebrating thirty years of hurling in the town this year and Stephen believes that with the work that is been done at underage level, there is a lot more to come from the club yet.
"Conor Ferguson is doing an awful lot of work with the underage, but in fairness he probably needs more help and there should be more of a focus on this area. We know we have the players to do well at senior level and even some of the lads from the junior 2 were more than able to make the step up to senior."
For the record the Gaeil Colmcille side that captured the Junior 2 title was - B Ferguson, D Deignan, E Nulty, A McGovern, D Gogarty R Bradley, C Tormey, C Ferguson, P Ward, D Reilly (0-03) M Smith (C) (2-03). C Keegan (0-01), M O Keefe (0-01) R Kelly (0-02), S Mattimoe. Sub: Liam Newman for Mick O'Keefe
Gaeil Colmcille take minor football title
For long periods in this game Gaeil Colmcille look set for a comfortable victory in this MFL Division 6 final but two late St Cuthbert's goals kept the game in the melting pot right to the end, as the Kells side won out 2-8 to 2-4.
The Kells side led at the break 1-4 to 0-2 despite kicking seven wides. Oisin Reilly got the winners on the scoreboard after two minutes while St Cuthbert's had to wait till the 15th minute for their first score.
A goal from corner foward Liam Byrne put Gaeil Colmcille back in the driving seat at half time.
Cuthbert' goalkeeper Cian Farnan produced two great saves from Hugh Martyn and Oisin Reilly but could not prevent Reilly from getting his sides second goal to put Kells 2-5 to 0-3 in front. Further points from Liam Ferguson, Reilly and Ryan O'Reilly put Colmcilles ten points up 2-8 to 0-4. St Cuthbert's kept going and a brace of goals from Ryan O'Rourke had Kells reeling. But time ran out for their comeback and when referee Martin Griffin blew the final whistle Gaeil Colmcille had won by four points.
Best for the winners were John Skelly in goals, defenders Peter Hanney and Andrew O'Rorke, Liam Beggy and Stephen Clarke dominated midfield while Oisin Reilly, Mark carrigy, Hugh Martin and Liam Ferguson impressed in attck.
Gaeil Colmcille scorers: Hugh Martin and Liam Byrne 1-0 each, Freddy Newman and Liam Byrne 0-2 each, Andrew O'Rorke, Mark Carrigy, Liam Ferguson and Ryan O'reilly 0-1 each. Tweet
