Job done
November 27, 2011
However, former Meath star and current manager Martin Massey admitted to the Royal County Yearbook that survival was the main aim in 2011.
One may wonder why this renowned hurling club had set their targets there, but Martin revealed that the plight of emigration has hit this club harder than most.
Over the last three years the club has lost ten first team players and the threat of losing more is a strong possibility given the lack of work that is out there at the moment.
It is a testing time for the GAA in general, but for rural clubs like Killyon, the recession has really hurt. Having such a strong tradition in Meath hurling circles, Killyon are regarded as one of the few clubs that have kept the small ball game alive in a county that is more focused on Gaelic football.
For that reason alone, it is sad to see them struggle numbers wise and Martin admitted that there could be more testing times ahead as others plan to head abroad in search of work.
"Emigration has been a major problem here for a few years now. Since winning the title in 2007, there has been a steady flow of players leaving the club and that has only got worse in recent years. The club would be lying if it said that there wasn't a major concern over the future," admitted Martin.
"There's not too much we can do about it either as the work just isn't here and lads have to travel to find it, which is a great shame, but we just have to carry on and hope that we continue to have the numbers to compete at senior level.
"Due to the number of lads leaving, we went into this year's campaign with the aim of avoiding relegation and thankfully we managed to do that and the players deserve credit for that."
Killyon's prospects of progressing beyond the group stages were not helped by the draw that they received as they were placed in a group alongside defending champions Kildalkey, Kilmessan, Kiltale, Longwood and Clann na nGael. The first three were obviously favourites to come out of the group and Martin stated that they faced an uphill struggle right from the start.
"To be placed in a group that consisted of those three teams made it very hard for us to qualify, and it placed more of an emphasis on the games against Clann na nGael and Longwood. We knew we needed to win those two matches to avoid a relegation play-off."
The fact that Killyon would face these two sides in the opening two matches meant that they had to hit the ground running or else they could be in trouble. Clann na nGael were the first opponents and this match was played at a sunny Trim venue.
There was not much to separate the sides throughout and indeed it looked for long periods as if the Athboy outfit would claim the points, but Killyon kept battling away and with Keith Keogan and David Raleigh in fine form, they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by a solitary point, 2-10 to 2-09. Tempers boiled over at the end of the match and there were some unsavoury scenes witnessed, but in fairness the press coverage that followed blew the situation out of proportion.
A win was the perfect tonic for Killyon and they went into their next game against Longwood full of confidence as the threat of relegation was eased somewhat. This was Killyon's finest performance of the year as they cruised to victory; amassing 4-19 to Longwood's 0-11 to give them maximum points from their opening two games.
"It was essential to get off to a good start and thankfully we managed to do that. I thought we were very lucky against Athboy and they should have actually beaten us that evening. In the Longwood game, we played very well and took our chances, which helped us build up a big score."
Martin, along with selectors Thomas Duignan, Kit Mitchell, PJ Keogan and Tommy Raleigh over saw the fortunes of the side this year and he admits that despite the number of players that left, training attendances were always very good.
"In fairness to the lads, they did put in a huge effort all year and we never had less than 15 or 16 at training, which was very good given the fact that we had a very small panel. For the first time in many years, we couldn't field a junior team this year, which was a shame."
Killyon faced Kiltale in their next outing and for long periods, it looked as if the red and greens would cause an upset with Kiltale leading by just three points at half time, 1-9 to 0-9.
Indeed a Keith Keogan goal from a long range free helped close the gap to two points midway through the second half, but Kiltale pulled away late on to secure a 4-15 to 1-14 victory.
The games got tougher for Killyon and Kilmessan were the next opponents and this was a game that they certainly had their chances to win. Massey's charges were well on top throughout and enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but could not translate that on to the scoreboard and it proved to be their downfall as a late surge by Kilmessan yielded them a flattering five point victory.
The two defeats meant that it was all to play for against Kildalkey in the last group game as the winners were guaranteed a place in the quarterfinal. The defending champions were favourites to come through, and that they did, but the scoreline of 4-18 to 2-07 didn't reflect the true nature of the game.
Looks can be deceptive and that is certainly true for this particular game as the reigning champions, chasing three-in-a-row, looked as if their crown might slip midway through the second-half.
Killyon had closed the gap to two points with a little over 10 minutes remaining, but then Kildalkey found some fluency, reeled off three goals and papered over the cracks.
"It was looking good when Keith got the goal to bring it back to two points, but Kildalkey are a very strong side and they came back strongly to win easily enough."
According to Martin, the club's underage structure is being developed all the time and at the younger age groups, there are decent numbers, although the same can't be said about the older groups.
"At under-12, 13 and 14, we wouldn't be too bad at all, but at under-16 and minor we are struggling. We would have a lot of lads that play football also and that seems to be their preferred sport at the moment.
"Realistically, I can see a number of clubs amalgamating in Meath hurling, if things continue going the way they are. Hurling is a lot weaker than it use to be and it is definitely struggling. Something has to be done or it will be in real trouble very soon."
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