It's been an eventful five years for Cortown and Gordon Codd, as Royal County reports. Cortown are about as predictable as the weather ... you just never know what's coming next. Just when you think you've got them sussed, they carpetbomb all rationale with a bewildering move, rendering the bemused onlooker dizzy, speechless and sometimes hurt. Cortown specialise in delivering the unexpected. En bulk. In 1996, they won the intermediate championship; in '97, they reached the senior semi-final; they were quiet in '98 but returned in '99 to reach the Keegan Cup quarter-final. Then came 2000 and near disaster. The Cortown men flirted with relegation and were subjected to a couple of championship humiliations. In the league, they fared better, giving a more accurate indication of their true worth. They came desperately close to a Division One final spot but an eleventh-hour defeat to Ballinlough scuppered their chances. It was that kind of year. The only thing predictable about Cortown is their unpredictability. Therefore, that they are now finished as a senior power is hardly the safest of assumptions. Centre forward Gordon Codd is driven by determination and steely resolve as he vows that Cortown aren't ready to curl up and die just yet. The club's county representative pledges: "We showed what we can do when we got to a county semi-final and quarter-final. People are very keen to write us off now on the back of one poor season but we're not going to go away that easily. We feel that we still have a lot to offer in senior football and are determined to set the record straight next year." Indeed, the epitaph writers have their pens at the ready and Cortown are currently learning a thing or two about mankind's tendency to kick a fellow man when he's down. The knockers are queuing up to put the boot in. But this is all par for the course in gaelic games and the Cortown footballers will be damned if they'll believe the anti-hype. Let the critics eat humble pie! "We're a very small club and sometimes just about get the bare fifteen, but we're proud of what we've achieved since going senior and intend to stay senior for some time. We have a few young lads coming through at the moment who weren't quite ready in '00 but will be a big addition to our team over the next couple of years," notes Gordon. Cortown never really had a chance in 2000. A bad start - which can at least in part be attributed to injuries - set the tone for their most disappointing season in senior football. For the first time, Cortown looked almost out of their depth in the top grade: "We had a lot of injuries early on," Codd agrees. "This meant that some players missed training and they were then in a race against time to reach full fitness. They never quite caught up and things didn't go according to plan. "Everything fell apart after the first championship game against Skryne. We didn't expect to lose so heavily and we never recovered from that defeat. We struggled against Blackhall Gaels and were lucky to win and were then hammered by Dunshaughlin. All in all, it was a very disappointing campaign." It all came as a shock to the system. Cortown were cruising in the league and had a reputation as a dogged championship outfit. Naturally, they fancied their chances of topping the four-team group. "We had ran Skryne to two points in the league and maybe were too complacent because of that. But you can't compare league and championship . . . there's a world of difference. Skryne got off to a great start in the opening championship match and the heart just fell out of us. We probably weren't 100% focused and paid the price." Hardly a disaster as Cortown tend to lose their opening fixture before clicking into top gear. But this time there was no coming back. Next up were Blackhall Gaels. A stroll in the park? Not quite: "We missed some good goal-scoring opportunities and were lucky in the end to win thanks to a late point. We could just as easily have lost. It was as well Nigel Nestor missed that game because those points kept us out of a relegation play-off!" Cortown were not back on track. Dunshaughlin showed the kind of form in the final game which would see them win their first county SFC. "We stayed with them for the first 25 minutes but then the wheels came off," reflects Gordon. "Richie Kealy got a goal, we hit the bar and they got another goal from a penalty before half-time. Shortly after the break, they got another goal and there was no way back. They wanted it more. I was very impressed by their determination in that game and wasn't a bit surprised to see them go all the way." The championship had been a mini-disaster but things were going much better in the league. But for a narrow defeat to Ballinlough in September, Cortown would undoubtedly have made it through to the Division One final. Gordon Codd missed that all-important fixture after suffering a knee injury in a challenge against Castletown. He is convinced the club can muster up an improved showing in '01: "Hopefully, we'll have no hiccups early on and will get into the training early and have everybody fighting fit. Fitness was a major problem last year because the lads who fell behind struggled to pull back the three or four weeks they missed. "If we get the bodies and minds right, we should do well. "With Cortown, you can never really tell whether they'll be brilliant or terrible. It'd be nice if we could show more consistency in our play." Winner of U12, U14, U16 and minor championships with a very strong St Cuthberts [Cortown-Bohermeen] juvenile outfit, Gordon was also busy on the intercounty arena in 2000. He starred on the Meath U21 side which beat Longford, Dublin and Laois to reach the Leinster final and also played O'Byrne Cup and national league with the county seniors. "It was a great experience and I learned a lot from the training techniques and also about the mental preparations for a game. "Playing for the Meath seniors was a great honour, both for myself and the club. Cortown hadn't had anybody on the Meath seniors since Packie Henry 13 years ago, so I felt privileged to be selected." Gordon comes from what he describes as a "football mad" family. His mother Therese is club PRO and his father Maurice would go to any corner of the country to see a good game of football. With Gordon around, he doesn't usually have to travel that far! Tweet

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