Meath Hill look to the youth
November 27, 2011After a relatively successful 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals of the JFC and were promoted to Division 3 of the All-County League for the first time in 13 years, Meath Hill were disappointed not to build on that progress this year.
Weakened by injuries and suspensions, the county's most northerly club narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout stages of the championship and also found the going tough in a highly competitive Division 3. But they have bounced back from such disappointments before and, with a fine crop of young players beginning to make their mark, are looking to the future with optimism.
"Traditionally, we have found it hard to win the junior championship. We've only won it twice - 1943 and '80 - in our history so that's the background we're coming from. Our target this year was to make the quarter-finals again, but the few injuries and suspensions undermined us," Meath Hill chairman Mickey Crosby ruefully reflects.
"Having said that, we were only minutes away from getting through in our last group game against Donaghmore/Ashbourne. The lads put in a great effort under Ollie Murphy and the most pleasing thing was the performance of the younger players.
"We got a great lift towards the end of last year when we reached our first U21 'C' championship final since 2000. Unfortunately, Donaghmore/Ashbourne proved too strong for us on the day, but it was still a good achievement to get to the final and when we played the same opposition in this year's junior championship, seven of those U21s were playing."
Mickey, whose son Kevin has established himself at corner back on the junior team, is full of praise for Meath legend Ollie Murphy and the work he did with Meath Hill this year.
"We were delighted to have Ollie as our manager and we hope he'll stay with us for another year," he says.
"Ollie made a big impression on all the players and did a great job in bringing through the younger lads and improving them as footballers. Ollie was a great player for Meath and if lads can't respond for him, they won't respond for anyone. Ollie had John Maguire and Liam McCabe - who captained us to our last junior championship title in 1980 - and the three of them worked well together."
Drawn in Group C of the JFC, Meath Hill opened their campaign with a 1-5 to 0-6 victory over Simonstown Gaels' second string in Nobber. Corner back Karl Parge, who missed a penalty in the first half, made no mistake when presented with a similar chance midway through the second half, and this proved to be the decisive score.
Simonstown had led by 0-5 to 0-2 at the interval, and they edged ahead again shortly after Parge netted from his second spot-kick. But Meath Hill levelled before Mark Tully landed a couple of late scores to get them across the line.
Ollie Murphy's charges suffered the first of three defeats when they succumbed to Dunsany by 1-5 to 1-8 at a wind-swept Bective. A lack of firepower proved the Hill's undoing against the eventual table-toppers who found scores easier to come by. The winners led by 0-4 to 0-2 at half-time, but the signs looked promising for the wearers of blue and white when Thomas Smith and Mark Tully posted points early in the second half.
However, Dunsany soon took control again and had the two points wrapped up long before Meath Hill grabbed a consolation goal with the last kick of the game.
The Hill got back to winning ways when they edged out Summerhill's second team by 2-6 to 0-11 in their third outing in Athboy. A keenly contested first half ended with the sides level on 0-5 apiece, but with the wind to their backs in the second half, Meath Hill opened up a five-point lead thanks to goals from Tommy Smith and Keith Ginnitty.
But they failed to kill off the game and were left hanging on for victory after a late rally from the Summerhill men reduced the deficit to the minimum.
Meath Hill looked to be on course for their third victory and a place in the quarter-finals when they led St. Brigid's by 0-6 to 0-3 at the halfway stage of their fourth round clash in Kilmainham. But the Ballinacree side dominated after the resumption with Tomas Blake, Killian Kiernan and AJ Gilsenan all finding the target. The Hill applied strong pressure in the closing stages, but left themselves with too much to do as St. Brigid's held on for a 1-11 to 0-13 win.
The Monaghan-border outfit still had one final chance to qualify from the group against Donaghmore/Ashbourne in Slane. However, there was heartbreak for Ollie Murphy's side when the Donaghmore/Ashbourne second string scored an unanswered 1-2 in the dying moments to secure a somewhat flattering 1-12 to 1-7 victory.
A brilliant goal from Jason Yorke ensured Meath Hill of parity, 1-3 to 0-6, at the break. With Keith Ginnitty in fine form, the Hill scored three points without reply midway through the second half to lead by the minimum, but the awarding of a hotly disputed free to Donaghmore/Ashbourne in front of the posts, combined with the dismissal of team captain Liam Coyle, broke their momentum.
Their Dublin-border opponents took full advantage by finishing the game strongly to set up a quarter-final meeting with Ballivor.
"The big positive I took from our last game was the battling qualities the lads displayed. They didn't go down without a fight," the Meath Hill chairman of the past six years proudly says.
"It was obviously disappointing not to go through, but we have a young team and a good set-up. We got good experience from playing in Division 3 of the league against top intermediate teams like Na Fianna and Moynalvey, and assuming we don't lose anyone through emigration - we've been very lucky in that regard so far - I'd expect us to mount a strong challenge for the junior championship in the next couple of years."
Mickey admits it was difficult for Meath Hill to cope with injuries and suspensions this year.
He explains: "Like any small rural club, we can't afford to be without anyone. Our captain Liam Doyle, who's from Donegal, missed the Dunsany and St. Brigid's games through injury, and Paddy Owens was also injured for our first game against Simonstown.
"In addition, our centre back Michael Byrne missed two championship games through suspension and Aodain Matthews, who is a son of ex-county player Tom, was abroad for some of the championship. His cousin, Cathal Matthews, went away at the end of last year, but thankfully emigration hasn't been a major problem for us so far."
Of course, 2011 was a sad year for all involved in the club as Eddie Callan passed away. A bedrock of the club for a generation, his efforts were inspirational for all in the club.
At underage level, Meath Hill combine with Drumconrath and Kilmainhamwood to form North Meath Gaels. This amalgamation has proven very successful and produced an U16 Division 6 league title this year thanks to a thrilling victory over Ballinlough in the final at Pairc Tailteann.
In a terrific encounter, North Meath Gaels recovered from a slow start to record a 1-16 to 2-9 win.
The winners looked to be in trouble when they trailed by 0-1 to 1-4 in the early stages, but once Tomas Conlon and Ryan Owens began to get to grips at midfield, the scores started to flow and they went into the break leading by 0-10 to 1-5.
Further points from Ian Malone, Luke Doran and Jonathan Byrne pushed them five ahead following the resumption, only for Ballinlough to reply with their second goal from Ricky McDermott. When McDermott followed up with a point, the margin was down to the minimum, 0-13 to 2-6, but the amalgamation side weren't to be denied and Shane McCabe's late goal put the seal on a memorable triumph
The Meath Hill team which defeated Summerhill in this year's JFC in Athboy was: Chris Yorke; Karl Parge, Benny Kieran, Kevin Crosby; Jason Yorke, Michael Byrne, Barry Kieran; Aodain Mathews, Tadhg Boyle; Pierce McGrath, Mark Tully, Pauric Smith; Derek McMahon, Keith Ginnitty, Thomas Smith. Subs used: Niall Tully, Dean Farrelly and Lee Breslin.
The North Meath Gaels team which claimed under 16 league honours at Ballinlough's expense was: Dominic Yorke; Edward Cassidy, Stephen Shields; Martin Shields, Padraig Carolan, Conor O'Halloran; Ryan Owens, Tomas Conlon; Jonathan Byrne, Luke Doran, Colm McEvoy; Ian Malone, Shane McCabe. Subs: Martin Meegan, Brendan Crosby, Conor Kieran, Shane Carolan, Conor Marry and Noel Russell. Tweet
