Champions once more
November 27, 2011Lyons and Mattie Kerrigan must be acknowledged for the vital role they played in the development of this group of players who delivered on the promise demonstrated with their under-age successes by earning the club its sixth senior title to go with those achieved by the four in-a-row victors of 1974 to 1977 and the team captained by Lyons in 1986.
With Lyons and Kerrigan at the helm, Navan O'Mahonys got in the way in 2008 when they defeated Summerhill comfortably in the decider and a year later they shaped like potential champions, only to be edged out by Seneschalstown in a semi-final. Injuries proved their enemy last year when they failed to reach the knockout stages, but with Declan McCabe stepping in to replace Lyons and Kerrigan for the 2011 campaign there was the hope that a fresh face might push them on to an overdue senior triumph.
If ever a team proved that the championship is a marathon and not a sprint it was surely Summerhill this year. They started with three successive wins which, in the end, were sufficient to book a quarter-final ticket. They then hit a sticky patch which brought back-to-back defeats, but once the knockout stages arrived they kicked on again.
They eventually completed the course by defeating the surprise packets of the competition, Dunshaughlin, in the final, but they needed to call on all their survival instincts to do so. It took a late point to earn them a draw on the first Sunday of October. That forced a replay two weeks later and they looked to be out on their feet approaching the end of normal time, only to courageously battle back and force extra time.
Their marathon went on and galvanised by the knowledge that they had hung in there when things were going against them, they did most in the additional 20 minutes to claim the title.
They had shaped well ahead of the start of the SFC race, drawing with senior champions Skryne and then beating Blackhall Gaels and Dunboyne in Division 1 of the A League which they had won late last year. It gave them a good platform to head into a group campaign that would see them battling with Trim, Oldcastle, Wolfe Tones, Simonstown Gaels and Blackhall Gaels for the three places in the knockout stages.
Summerhill couldn't have asked for an easier opening to the championship than a stroll against a poor Trim team at Pairc Tailteann. The town side had two players sent off and were no match for the 'Hill who led by 2-8 to 0-2 at the break after Micheal Byrne and Brian Ennis had scored the goals.
The second half offered little in the way of entertainment, but a rare highlight was an opportunist goal from Summerhill substitute Bobby Lyons. Ennis was their top scorer with 1-4, including three points from frees, and it finished 3-15 to 0-6.
Blackhall Gaels offered a far sterner test in the second round, also at Pairc Tailteann, but a late burst enabled Summerhill to shade the verdict on a 0-13 to 0-11 score line. This was a match in which Blackhall led by 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval after playing with the wind and when they added the first three points of the second period they were looking good.
However, Summerhill gradually got moving and inspired by Adrian Kenny they began to reduce the deficit. Kenny scored a brilliant point from play and Michael Gorman slotted over a free to reduce the gap to four, but Sean Whelan's fifth pointed free had Blackhall five clear early in the last quarter.
That proved to be their final score and the 'Hill battled back to parity with seven minutes remaining after Ennis had pointed a brace of frees, Kenny scored twice from play and Sean Dalton also raised a white flag. They struck the front when Ennis converted another free and he repeated the feat to end the scoring.
A third group win followed when Oldcastle were overcome by 0-14 to 1-5 at Athboy where Dalton scored the first three points from play. Summerhill went on to lead by 0-8 to 0-2 at half-time and were 0-12 to 0-3 clear by the three-quarter stage. Substitute Conor McHugh punched a goal for Oldcastle, but they were too far behind to make a meaningful recovery.
That was as good as it got in the group stages for Summerhill and they slumped to a fourth round defeat against Simonstown who won by 0-13 to 0-7 at Pairc Tailteann. It took them 29 minutes to open their scoring account when Paul Comey pointed and trailed by 0-2 to 0-6 at the break.
Simonstown 'keeper Ronan Duffy had deprived Ennis and Lyons of goals in the opening half, but the Navan side pushed clear in the second period to lead by 0-12 to 0-4 by the 56th minute. Summerhill's three late points were no more than consolation scores, but good news followed 24 hours later when Blackhall were held to a draw by Oldcastle. It meant the 'Hill were through to the knockout stages.
Perhaps that knowledge drained them of urgency going into their last group game against Wolfe Tones, again at Pairc Tailteann, where they again found scores hard to come by. Tones could afford the luxury of tallying 17 wides, yet they still won by 1-9 to 0-5 after leading by 1-2 to 0-3 at the interval, thanks largely to Cian Ward's seventh minute goal.
Paul Rispin, Comey and Gorman scored Summerhill's first half points, but Rispin also missed a very good goal chance late in the period.
Summerhill's only scores in the second half were points from Byrne and Kenny, but despite two successive defeats they could look forward to knockout football. Wolfe Tones topped group A on eight points and Simonstown and Summerhill also advanced on six.
Their form in the latter stages of the group programme meant Summerhill were fancied by very few going into their quarter-final against title favourites Navan O'Mahonys, but with Stephen Kennedy marking his return to championship action with two early goals they pulled off a shock victory at Pairc Tailteann.
This was Kennedy's first appearance of the competition after returning from a spell in the United States and what a dramatic impact he made. David Larkin put Summerhill ahead with a point after only 20 seconds and it got a great deal better soon after when Kennedy fisted an Ennis centre to the net.
Larkin provided the pass for Kennedy to goal again and the 'Hill were in front by 2-1 to 0-0 after only five minutes. O'Mahonys looked shell-shocked, but they limited Summerhill to three further points in the first half, the best of them coming from Gorman, and the interval lead stood at 2-4 to 0-6.
Within four minutes of the restart the advantage was down to the minimum after Paddy Smyth, Mark Ward and Jake Regan had scored for O'Mahonys. But whenever the town side threatened to get an equaliser Summerhill found a response and there was still a point (2-6 to 0-11) between the teams after Paul Rispin and Ennis (free) had notched the 'Hill scores.
The game was very much in the melting pot, but it was Summerhill who kicked on when it mattered most, scoring points from the hugely impressive Conor Gillespie, Kennedy, Larkin and Kenny in a six minute spell to push ahead by 2-10 to 0-11. O'Mahonys needed a goal, but the nearest they came was when 'keeper McDonnell produced a brilliant save to deny Cormac McGuinness seven minutes from the end.
When the last whistle sounded Summerhill were ahead by 2-10 to 0-12 and could start preparing for another meeting with Wolfe Tones, this time in a semi-final. Tones had won the group clash by seven points, but when it really counted the 'Hill triumphed by 1-7 to 0-6.
This was a thoroughly committed performance by Summerhill, for whom Davy Dalton, Stephen Husband and Richie Hatton typified their appetite for hard graft in defence. It was Husband who also demonstrated some attacking flair when he charged forward and scored a brilliant goal in the second half. That score was of vital importance to their victory.
Summerhill led by 0-5 to 0-2 at the break after playing with the aid of the wind, their points coming from Kennedy (two), Kenny, David Larkin and Sean Dalton. Maurice Kennedy forced Tones' goalkeeper David Nolan into a save early in the second period, but Rispin stretched the lead with a point.
Niall McLoughlin and a generally off-form Cian Ward pointed at the other end to cut the deficit to 0-4 to 0-6, but Husband's goal gave Summerhill an enormous boost as things started to go wrong for Tones. Ciaran McLoughlin was sent off on receipt of a second yellow card and Ward had a penalty superbly saved by McDonnell who frustrated him further by also keeping out his follow-up shot.
Summerhill scored one further point courtesy of Byrne and they were back in the senior final for the first time since 2008.
There were times during the two games it took to decide the destination of the Keegan Cup when they looked very likely to lose, but they demonstrated tremendous battling spirit and self-belief to bridge a gap of 25 years going back to 1986 when they defeated Seneschalstown in the final at Kells.
The drawn match against Dunshaughlin was the better of the two and it was fitting that both teams should get another chance after it finished 0-10 each. Summerhill were on top in the early stages and opened up leads of 0-3 to 0-0 and 0-4 to 0-1, but Dunshaughlin were ahead by 0-5 to 0-4 after 23 minutes.
They also led by the minimum (0-6 to 0-5) at the interval, by which stage 11 different players had scored points, the best of them coming from Kenny. A superbly worked point from Cathal O'Dwyer doubled Dunshaughlin's advantage two minutes into the second half, before an Ennis pointed free brought the gap back to the minimum.
Summerhill then went close to goaling, but Ronan Gogan and Caoimhin King deprived Ennis and David Larkin, before O'Dwyer edged Dunshaughlin two clear. The 'Hill took over and three points on the trot, the pick of them coming from Gillespie, gave them the lead.
The advantage stood at 0-9 to 0-8 by the 51st minute, but Conor Devereux and Trevor Dowd (free) pushed Dunshaughlin to the front again. However, Ennis had the last word when he pointed the equalising free, before Hatton moved forward and went for what would have been the winner. His shot sailed wide.
Ennis was Summerhill's top marksman with five pointed frees, the impressive Gillespie contributed two and there was one each for Rispin, Kenny and David Larkin. At the end of an hour or so of honest endeavour a draw was a fair outcome and it was back to Pairc Tailteann for the replay a fortnight later.
Dunshaughlin will undoubtedly feel they should have won the second instalment, but Summerhill deserve enormous credit for the manner in which they hung in when things were going against them and then pushed on to win in extra time. They had many star performers, most notably Davy Dalton who was brilliant in a hard-working defence and Kenny who capped a 'man of the match' display with six points from play.
Aided by the wind, Summerhill started well as the brilliant Kenny scored three points in the first nine minutes. Byrne and Fergus Toolan exchanged points and then Dunshaughlin received a huge boost when Tommy Johnson goaled in impressive fashion to leave them level (1-1 to 0-4) at the end of the opening quarter.
That proved to be their last score of the half and Summerhill added points through Kenny, Larkin and Ennis to lead by 0-7 to 1-1 at the interval. Byrne and Dowd traded points to maintain the three-point gap eight minutes after the restart, but Dunshaughlin were level (1-5 to 0-8) by the three-quarter stage thanks to points from Dowd (free), Devereux and John Crimmins.
When Dowd pointed his third free they were in front for the first time on 48 minutes and Ray Maloney doubled the advantage eight minutes from the end of normal time. With the aid of the wind Dunshaughlin were clear favourites to finish the job, but the 'Hill never gave up and they saw hope when Kenny scored his fifth point on 54 minutes.
They still had plenty to do, but two minutes into injury time Byrne landed the equaliser from a free 25 metres out to leave it 0-10 to 1-7. A big moment in the replay had come a minute before Byrne's point when Niall Murphy looked ready to score Dunshaughlin's insurance point, but shot wide under pressure. There were calls for a free, but referee David Gough said no.
Summerhill were the better team in extra time, though Dunshaughlin gave it one mighty effort. Points from Kenny, Larkin, Byrne and Gillespie earned the 'Hill a 0-14 to 1-7 lead at the midway point and all Dunshaughlin got in reply were scores from substitute Eoin Hegarty and O'Dwyer which cut the deficit to two (1-9 to 0-14).
Gogan saved very well to deny Stephen Kennedy 74 minutes into the marathon contest and there was further drama near the end when O'Dwyer's shot from a difficult angle was easily dealt with by McDonnell. When the final whistle sounded the 25-year drought was over. Summerhill were champions again and McDonnell received the most coveted prize in Meath football.
The Summerhill team in the replay was: T McDonnell; D Dalton, C Young, W Ryan; S Husband, R Hatton, M Gorman; P Comey, C Gillespie (0-1); D Larkin (0-2), B Ennis (0-1), M Byrne (0-4); P Rispin, S Kennedy, A Kenny (0-6). Subs - C Malone for Husband, S Dalton for Gorman, B Lyons for Comey, P Larkin for P Rispin, G Rispin for Malone.
Summerhill fielded three teams in the adult championships. Their second string failed to advance from their group in the JFC, but the thirds enjoyed a progressive run in the Junior C Championship, coming through a section which also included Nobber, Navan O'Mahonys, Simonstown Gaels and St Ultan's.
They then defeated Syddan by 0-13 to 1-4 in a quarter-final at Kilberry, but bowed out at the semi-final stage when Na Fianna beat them by 3-9 to 1-5 at Boardsmill.
U16 footballers take summer honours
Summerhill held on to defeat Killary Emmets (2-10 to 2-9) to claim the Under 16 Summer League Roinn B decider at Pairc Tailteann.
Summerhill got off to a great start and when Jack Regan, who had moved from midfield to the edge of the square, netted for the "Hill" who led 1-2 to no score after ten minutes. Killary came more into the game and levelled it at 1-5 each. A brace of points from the brilliant Kevin Ryan gave Summerhill a two point interval lead. Ryan kicked a total of six points for the winners in the opening period.
Killary took the lead on the restart with a second goal. The game was tied at 1-10 to 2-7 after twenty minutes when Summerhill struck for the all important score. Half foward Conor Gormley who had really come to life in the second half got in for their second goal to give them a 2-10 to 2-7 lead. It was a case of holding out for the remainder of the game. Regan was switched again this time to full back and cleared many Emmets attacks. Darragh Roe kicked two points to bring them within a point but try as they might Killary could not get the score to bring the game to extra time.
Best for the winners were the two Shane Kavanagh's, in goals and centre half back, Jack Regan, Jack Payne, Conor Gormley and Kevin Ryan.
Summerhill: Shane Kavanagh, Robert Kelly, Eoghan Jennings, Sean Ryan, Sean McNally, Shane Kavanagh, David Moyles, Jack Regan 1-0, Jack Payne 0-1, Conor Gormley 1-1, Joseph Fox 0-1, Kevin Ryan 0-6, Alan Daly 0-1, Richard Fox, Conor Lyons. Tweet
