On the evidence of some swashbuckling performances in the 2001 IFC, Duleek have re-established themselves as genuine contenders. Peter Curran was outstanding in '01 and looks sure to be to the fore for many seasons to come. Thanks largely to some prodigious scoring from the radar-like left peg of young attacking sensation Peter Curran, Duleek progressed purposefully to the semi-final stage of the 2001 Meath Intermediate Football Championship. Their brave run ended here, however, as the concession of two goals proved fatal to their aspirations, contributing massively to a 2-11 to 0-14 reversal at the hands of Ballivor. Naturally, the Duleek men - once perceived as the strong shoulder of Meath football - were disappointed to see their season end on such a sour note. Granted, Ballivor had the edge on experience and guile, but Duleek know they could have advanced to the final had they played to their full potential on the day. Once there, the long-awaited return to senior ranks would've been only an hour away. Although it all ultimately ended in frustration, the men from the Wee County border can still take great heart from an encouraging campaign which augurs well for 2002 and, indeed, many more impending seasons. And they know that in Curran they have an exceptional talent... Duleek qualified for the knock-out stage of the 2001 county IFC, having topped Division A of the competition's league phase. They collected a superb tally of twelve points from seven outings, two points more than eventual champions Blackhall Gaels managed in the same section. Kicking their campaign off in style with a 2-7 to 1-4 defeat of Drumree in the first round, Duleek also recorded victories in their next three outings, against Carnaross (0-13 to 2-6), Blackhall Gaels (3-11 to 0-8) and St Paul's (2-13 to 1-10). Their only defeat in the league stage of the championship came in round five, and was a narrow one at the hands of neighbours Slane, 0-8 to 0-7. But the east Meath team picked it up again thereafter to see off St Colmcille's (0-16 to 1-5) and Donaghmore-Ashbourne (1-11 to 0-12). It's more than a little ironic that Duleek's greatest winning margin was the twelve-point drubbing of Blackhall Gaels, who would cradle the Mattie McDonnell Cup at the season's end. In a cruel twist, the final was contested by the two sides who finished second in their respective groups, while both Duleek and Castletown bit the bullet. Losing by three points to Roinn II runners-up Ballivor was certainly not how the scriptwriters in Duleek had planned their team's Final Act of the year. George Clarke's charges took to the Dunsany pitch for the semi-final full of hope. But their dreams were dashed on a morning/afternoon best described as bizarre. Halloween appeared to have arrived ten days early on October 21st when the teams arrived at the venue for a proposed morning throw-in and the pitch was cloaked in thick fog. Visibility was down to virtually zero. The match was subsequently delayed for two hours and eventually got the go-ahead at 1 O'Clock. Duleek seemed most affected by the delay and fell into a 2-6 to 0-6 half-time deficit. The winners converted a penalty after only six minutes and grabbed their second goal just before half time. Duleek never recovered from that double whammy. However, they didn't half try! They got stuck into the task at hand and, courtesy of a dominant and productive 15-minute period shortly after the resumption, reduced the leeway to a mere point with ten minutes left on the referee's watch. At wing forward, Peter Curran was in excellent form, scoring ten of his team's 14-point tally, but unfortunately Duleek seemed somewhat over-dependant on their No. 10. In the end it wasn't to be and a year that promised so much (although it must be said that few neutrals would have given Duleek a snowball's chance in Hell at the season's inception) ended in deflation. It was a bitter pill to swallow but, as ace marksman Curran is eager to point out, it was still a very good year for the team from the east Meath village whose performances in the previous couple of seasons could at best be described as unremarkable: "At the start of the year, nobody was giving us a chance of getting out of our group. Everyone said we'd struggle but we played some good football against some very good sides. We can't be too upset about that. Of course we're disappointed with the result against Ballivor - especially as we didn't perform to our maximum ability that day - but that's the way football goes." Peter touched upon a very good point there: there's no such thing as an easy match in the intermediate championship and, bearing this in mind, it must be noted that Duleek performed exceptionally well to prevail in six of their seven group games. Place this against a backdrop of abject failure in 1999 and 2000 and one must deduce that Duleek were the undisputed surprise packets of the 2001 club season in the Royal County. "There are some very good teams playing intermediate football in Meath, so we weren't too sure about our prospects at the start of the year, but once we got a few wins under our belt and got the confidence up, we were going all out to win it. At times during the year when we played well, we played some great football. But when we played bad, we played bad." Was the county semi-final one such occasion? "We certainly didn't perform as well as we can . . . not to our full potential. Credit to Ballivor - they played well - but it was just one of those games for Duleek when things didn't seem to work for us. The penalty so early on was a massive blow and the second goal before half time killed us. Trying to pull back a six-point deficit in the second half of a county semi-final is always going to be a tall order. "We tried our best and looked at one stage as though we might force our way back into it but we needed a goal and didn't have the imagination up front to create one." This was something of a surprise as the Duleek attackers had developed quite a knack for scoring goals in the earlier stages of the competition. "Yeah, the forwards racked up some great tallies during the year but it didn't happen that day," says Peter. "Sometimes it goes that way - look at our backs: they were the main reason we were in the semi-final in the first place but they didn't have the best of days in the semi-final either." What was the mood in the camp when the campaign ground to a halt? "We were all very disappointed after the semi-final but we're a good enough team and we know ourselves that if we keep at it and work hard we can go a step further next year. And if we could get into a county final, then who knows? "It's not going to be easy. With Navan O'Mahonys and Syddan coming down next year, it's going to be especially tough but one advantage we have is that there's a great spirit in the camp. We all get on really well together and there's a good camaraderie between the players, so we're well capable of having another good year. It's just a matter of building on 2001, which was a brilliant year considering how terrible we were the two previous years. "We felt we could go all the way. At the start of the year we weren't too sure what way it would work out but once we started to win games we had tremendous belief in ourselves. There was certainly no lack of self-belief in the team." The manner in which their 2001 run captured public imagination could yet prove the most potent motivating tool. As Peter readily recognises: "There was an immense interest in the village and that was great to see. Football had been almost forgotten in Duleek but it suddenly became a main topic of conversation and everyone was interested in how the team was getting on. It's certainly a big step in the right direction and hopefully we can build on that in 2002 and continue to gather momentum. If we get off to a good start next year, that'll be half the battle won." Indeed, Duleek would certainly appear to have much to look forward to. On their day, they are capable of beating anybody, so consistency is probably the key. In Peter Curran, they have a class act. The young man, whose accuracy stood out as one of the highlights of the club's season, has only been on the Duleek first team for two years and is already starting to shine. And, having attended trials for both the county under 21 and junior teams in 2001, he admits that he has ambitions to perhaps one day wear the green jersey of the Royals: "I'd love to get noticed; maybe it'll happen next year. But there's a lot of luck involved too because there are so many players of a similar standard all over the county. "However, I'm convinced that if Duleek keep going and build upon what we achieved in 2001 then a few of our players will come to the attention of the county selectors." Tweet

Most Read Stories