While the Jubilee Cup once again eluded them, Killyon were victorious in the junior hurling championship. Goalkeeper Paul Leacy played his part in a success which Killyon supporters hope will lead to greater things. Killyon bridged a five-year gap when capturing the junior hurling championship title at Blackhall Gaels' expense in October. The success went some way towards compensating for another disappointing senior championship campaign which saw Killyon miss out on the knock-out stages. Defeats to Kilmessan and eventual finalists Dunderry meant that Killyon's Jubilee Cup hopes were ended rather prematurely. "The senior was disappointing but it was nice to be able to end the year with a junior championship to show for," says Paul Leacy, goalkeeper on the victorious junior team. "Obviously, the senior championship was the one we wanted to win at the start of the year but things didn't work out for us. But at least we had the junior championship to fall back on and our success in that was a welcome boost for the club," he adds. Under the management of Sean Ryan and his co-selectors Kit Mitchell, JJ Carney, Lar Tyrrell and PJ McKeown, the Killyon senior team had hoped to end a 10-year wait for championship success. They drew with Longwood in their opening game and, after another close contest, edged out Wolfe Tones by a point in round two. But then two poor performances against Kilmessan and Dunderry effectively put them out of contention for a place in the knock-out stages. Killyon recovered to beat Rathmolyon by a big margin in their final group game but by then, the damage had already been done. "While we could have no complaints about the defeat to Kilmessan, we should really have beaten Dunderry," Leacy recalls. "We had plenty of chances but failed to take them and that defeat effectively put us out of the reckoning. It was a similar story against Longwood in our first game - we had chances to win but didn't take them." A son of club secretary Noel Leacy, Paul is convinced that the men from the Hill of Down can put this year's disappointment behind them and challenge for championship honours next year. "I think we were a bit unlucky this year. If we had got one or two breaks, you would never know what might have happened. "But I have no doubt that this team is capable of bouncing back next year and maybe going as far as the county final. Trim and Kilmessan have been the two top teams in the championship over the past few years but when you see what Dunderry achieved this year, it gives us a lot of hope. "We have a good crop of players who are capable of putting a good run together next year." Without doubt, the junior championship triumph was the highlight of Killyon's year. The red and greens returned a 100% record from their games in the league stages, beating the likes of Kilmessan, Blackhall Gaels, Drumree and Athboy. In the final, they renewed acquaintances with Blackhall and emerged victors on a 2-9 to 2-5 scoreline. With Tom Massey and Martin Massey providing the experience and James Mitchell producing a man of the match display, Killyon never looked like losing after half-time. Blackhall were quickest out of the starting blocks and had three points up on the board before Mitchell finally opened Killyon's account in the 12th minute. But at the end of the first quarter, Killyon were rocked back on their heels when Emmet Dalton's goal gave the Batterstown-Kilcloon combination a five-point cushion. Killyon refused to panic, however, and within seconds Tom Massey had rattled the net at the opposite end. Mitchell added a point before Leighton Massey scored a second goal to leave Killyon 2-3 to 1-4 in front at the interval. Tom Massey could have had another goal within 20 seconds of the restart - his shot hit the woodwork - but Killyon continued to drive forward and were rewarded with points from Martin Massey and Patrick Ayres. Ciaran Delaney brought Blackhall back into contention with a goal in the ninth minute but Killyon's lead never appeared to be in any danger, despite the fact that they hit a frustrating eight second half wides. Afterwards, Killyon captain Willie Dixon received the junior championship cup from hurling board chairman Sean Colgan. It was the third time since 1991 that the Hill of Down side were successful in the grade. Paul Leacy never had any doubt about Killyon's ability to win the junior championship but he had feared that the three-month lay-off prior to the final might harm their chances. "We played Athboy in our final group game in July and it was the middle of October before we got to play the final," he explains. "When a team has that length of a lay-off, you can never be sure how it will perform. In the final, Blackhall really put it up to us but we hadn't expected anything else. We beat them by a point earlier in the year and knew they would be a tough nut to crack." The junior success was something of a personal triumph for Leacy who was informed by doctors that he would never play hurling again after he was involved in a serious car accident in 1996. "I had a shattered hip and pelvis and was told that I wouldn't play again. It took me a long time to recover and I still have 15 pins inserted in my hip. But I started back playing two years ago and this win has meant a lot to me," he says. Next year, Killyon will field sides in the senior, intermediate and junior 'B' grades. Success in the intermediate championship is the next target for this year's junior team. "This year's team was as strong as a lot of intermediate teams. I can see no reason why we cannot do well in the intermediate championship next year." The juniors weren't the only team to bring back silverware to Killyon this year. Under the guidance of Tommy Raleigh (trainer), Sean Kelly, Thomas Fulham and Lar Tyrrell, the under 11 team defeated Dunboyne by 3-1 to 1-2 at Rathmolyon to claim the 'B' championship title. Earlier in the year, Killyon won the delayed 2000 minor 'B' championship final when they overcame St. Martin's by 1-4 to 0-5 at Longwood. This team was coached by PJ McKeown, Thomas Fulham and Lar Tyrrell. The Killyon team that won the junior hurling championship was: P Leacy; J McCarthy, M Duignan, D McKeown; D Mitchell, P Ayres (0-1), W Dixon; V Cunningham, J Mitchell (0-2); P Ryan (0-2), L Massey (1-0), P Keoghan; T Massey (1-0), M Massey (0-4), P McKeown. Sub used: R Feeney. The victorious Killyon minor team was: Stefan Quinn; Paul Rattigan, Padraig McKeown; David Cloonan, Ray McKeown, David Mitchell; Paddy Ryan (0-1), Calvin Ryan (0-1); Willie Dixon, Leighton Massey (1-0), Derek Dixon; Clayton Keegan (0-1), Richie Feeney. Subs: Michael de Lacy, Aidan Leacy, Joe Quinn, Stephen Reilly, Paddy Kelly, Darren Duignan, Barry Fulham. The championship-winning Killyon under 11 team was: Tommy Quinn; Martin Keegan, Ray Massey; Liam Greene, Keith Keoghan, Kieran Donohue; Derek Doran (3-0), John Fitzsimons; Leon Kelly, Tommy Raleigh, Dean Ward; Colm Greene, Stefan Kelly. Subs: Francis Doran and Derek Conlon (0-1). Tweet

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