The disappointment of the Boardsmill players, mentors and supporters at suffering relegation from the senior hurling ranks in 1999 was erased this year when they bounced right back to claim the Intermediate title. It was an expected victory for the south Meath club but one that was savoured nonetheless. Boardsmill will enter the draw for the 2001 Meath SHC thanks to their 1-11 to 2-3 win over Drumree in an exciting intermediate final at Pairc Tailteann in late October. The team in blue and white were the competitions favourites right from the outset and fully justified that tag with a series of competent performances which set them apart from the best of the rest in the grade. After the final whistle captain John Nolan accepted the cup from Hurling Board PRO Martin O'Halloran who deputised for Sean Colgan. Moments after his speech, Nolan was announced as the winner of the man-of-the-match award. The number 3 was undisputably a worthy recipient of that particular award. He was consistency personified in the final and was the rock on which many a Drumree attack perished. Elsewhere, county man Thomas Reilly would also have featured prominently in the decision-making process of those entrusted with making the final selection. The midfielder was outstanding throughout and his free-taking, in particular, was one of the highlights of the game. His final tally of five points was crucial to his side's success and the majority of those came at critical junctures in the game. Veteran Keeper Sean Garrigan, corner-backs Bernard McLoughlin and Seamus Guy and wing forwards Stephen Gibbons and David Garrigan, who scored 0-2 and 0-3 respectively, were others to catch the eye for the winners. Boardsmill were hot favourties entering the game and were expected to account for Drumree with the minimum of fuss, but the Dunshaughlin parish club, who were playing into the town end of Pairc Tailteann in the first half and boosted by a strong wind advantage, had other ideas and they made their intentions clear as early as the 2nd minute when captain David Troy pointed a '65'. David Garrigan opened Boardsmill's account in the 4th minute but Troy responded with another '65' two minutes later. In the 14th minute Drumree full forward Padraig Shanley, for once, managed to escape Nolan's attentions and drill a shot past Seanie Garrigan. That left the scoreboard reading 1-3 to 0-1 and Drumree's tails were well and truly up. Thomas Reilly hit back with a pointed free for his side but Drumree added another shortly afterwares. Reilly and Stephen Gibbons rounded off the first half scoring though to leave their side trailing by 1-3 to 0-4 at the break. As expected, Boardsmill began to pile on the pressure on the resumption and points from Reilly (two frees) and David Garrigan had the two teams level just eight minutes into the second half. Garrigan's effort was sweetly struck from just outside 65 meters, close to the sideline under the stand into the town end goals. Definitely the score of the game. Boardsmill's revival came to a halt, however, in the 10th minute when Drumree scored their second goal of the game, very much against the run of play. In fact, it turned out to be the only time they managed to raise a flag in the second half but, nonetheless, at that stage, there was plenty of Boardsmill supporters in the stands with worried expressions on their faces. Drumree's goal only put a temporary halt to Boardsmill's gallop, however, as the team in blue and white went straight down the field and grabbed their first and only goal courtesy of substitute Vinny Guy with his first touch. Alan Ashe placed the sub in the clear with a pass and he made no mistake and that left the sides level again at 1-6 to 2-3. Drumree had another goal opportunity shortly afterwards but, luckily for Boardsmill, Dermot Doyle elected to handpass over Sean Garrigan's head instead of shooting first time and that allowed the Boardsmill defence to regroup and clear the danger area. Stephen Gibbons put his side in the lead for the first time in the 18th minute and further scores from Ashe, Reilly and David Garrigan in the final five minutes made sure of the victory for the 'Mill. Ashe could have netted in the 24th minute but somehow managed to scoop the sliothar up onto the crossbar from the edge of the small square. Prior to the final, Boardsmill manager TJ Reilly, who was assisted by selectors Eamonn Cosgrave, Sean Garrigan and James Carney, expressed some concern at an imminent return to the top flight for his charges. "There are various opinions as to whether it's a good thing or a bad thing to win the IHC title in your first year in the competition. Some believe that if you stay too long in the IHC your standard drops whereas others think you need to stay longer than a year to notice a serious improvement "I believe we have only improved slightly since last year. Consequently, defeat would not be the end of the world and in one way it could be a good thing, but that doesn't mean we won't be doing our best to win. "Victory would give us some much needed silverware. Most of the players have never won anything before and to win the title would give the young lads a major boost." Hopefully the 'boost' will prove sufficient to enable Boardsmill consolidate their senior position next year. Boardsmill - S Garrigan; B McLoughlin, J Nolan, S Guy; E Gribbin, O Jones, D Lacey; G Jones, T Reilly (0-5); S Gibbons (0-2), P Guy, D Garrigan (0-3); J Cotter, J Flood, A Ashe (0-1). Subs - V Guy (1-0) for Cotter, M Flood for J Flood, D O'Brien for Cribbin. Tweet

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