Optimism in Cortown
December 31, 1999
Expectations have heightened so much in Cortown that last season's senior championship exit at the quarter-final stage was considered a disappointment. Confident that further improvements will be made in the coming year is stalwart defender Liam Rennicks.
How times have changed in Cortown! Less than a decade ago, the men in gold and green were plying their trade in the junior ranks, their ambitions not extending beyond a junior championship success. It's a different story nowadays, however, as Cortown's expectations have heightened considerably. Club members are convinced that the dream of winning the Keegan Cup can become reality.
Cortown's rise through the ranks of Meath football has been meteoric. After years of frustration and failure, the junior championship was finally annexed in 1993. Within three years, the intermediate championship crown was also winging its way to Bohermeen parish, a memorable victory over Duleek catapulting Cortown to the senior ranks for the first time in their history.
Fears that Brian Murtagh's side would struggle to survive in the top flight were confounded in their debut year as a senior club. An excellent run of results culminated in an unlucky championship semi-final defeat to Trim. 1998 wasn't as successful but last season Cortown once again qualified for the knock-out stages. Their hopes of improving on '97 were shattered, however, by Walterstown at the quarter-final stage.
One man who has been to the forefront of Cortown's amazing climb this decade is Liam 'Dutch' Rennicks. A tight-marking, no-nonsense defender who has represented Meath at minor, under 21 and junior level, Rennicks believes that the gold and greens are moving ever closer to fulfiling their dream.
"I definitely think that a senior championship win could be on the cards within the next few years," he confidently predicts.
"At the moment, the club is in the healthiest state it has ever been in and we feel that we're not all that far off the mark. We have a fine crop of young players coming through and probably the most encouraging aspect of all is that we're not losing anybody."
One of the main reasons for Liam's optimism lies in the fact that Cortown possess some of the most promising young players in Meath. In 1996 and '97, St. Cuthbert's (an amalgamation of Cortown and St. Ultan's) won back-to-back minor championships. Four of Cortown's most influential senior players in '99 - Brian Casserly, Gordon Codd, Sylvie Skelton and Glen Loughran - are graduates of those successful minor sides.
"We are very fortunate to have such exciting prospects coming through. There is a wealth of young talent in the club and this has to bode well for the future."
Drawn in the same championship section as Navan O'Mahony's, Simonstown Gaels, Kilmainhamwood and Slane, Cortown didn't make the most encouraging start, suffering defeat to the latter in their opening game. However, they quickly put that loss behind them, overcoming O'Mahony's by the minimum margin in the second round. Further victories over Kilmainhamwood and Simonstown secured Cortown's place in the quarter-finals.
On October 10, Cortown squared up to Walterstown at Pairc Tailteann. The team in black made a whirlwind start, reeling off four points before Glen Loughran's free settled Cortown nerves. Cortown closed the deficit to three points but a Walterstown goal, scored by Christopher Reynolds, ensured them of a 1-7 to 0-6 interval lead.
Walterstown increased their lead to five points early in the second half but thereafter, Cortown upped their performance noticably. Points from Martin O'Brien, Gordon Codd and Packie Henry (three) left Cortown just one adrift before Walterstown restored their three-point advantage. Then, with the game deep into injury-time, Cortown substitute David Henry won a penalty which the extremely cool Gordon Codd expertly converted. The game finished 1-11 apiece, with Cortown understandably relieved to get a second chance.
The replay, played two weeks later at Kells, bore witness to a disappointing Cortown display. Walterstown laid the foundations for victory in the opening half when they ran the Cortown defence ragged. Trailing by 0-12 to 0-5 at the interval, Cortown had it all to do but not even a late goal from Gordon Codd could save them from succumbing to defeat on a 0-16 to 1-8 scoreline.
Reflecting on Cortown's championship campaign, 28-year-old Rennicks - who was also a selector with the club's junior 'B' team last season - acknowledges that they were eliminated by a better team. Despite the disappointment, he notes that Cortown can feel satisfied with their progress.
"After losing to Slane in the opening round, we would have settled for making it to the knock-out stages. The wins over O'Mahony's and Kilmainhamwood were great but I would have to say that our performance against Simonstown was the highlight of the year."
Cortown's league form was similar to that of the championship. Their finish in the top half of Division One would suggest that they were among the most consistent senior clubs in '99.
At the time of writing, it was not known whether Cortown's inspirational manager Brian Murtagh would be remaining at the helm for another season. Irrespective of what decision the Athlone native takes, Rennicks insists that his place in Cortown GAA folklore is forever assured.
"Brian has done wonders for this club, bringing us from junior to senior status in less than five years. I sincerely hope that he'll be staying with us but whatever he decides to do with himself, he will always attain the height of respect from Cortown players and supporters alike," he concludes.
Historic victory for Cortown
It's a thin line between success and failure. Often switches alter the trend of matches. Managers live or die by the changes they make. Just ask Brian Murtagh as his double substitution paved the way for an historic win for Cortown in the A.C.F.L.
Division 2 decider late last year at Rathkenny. In the final quarter Packie Henry and Trevor Coyne were introduced with the scores tied. Both men notched a point and Cortown added a further two to their tally to win by 1-11 to 2-5 against a favoured Skryne side.
This victory wrote another memorable chapter in the recent success story of the club. Since their rise from the slopes of Junior football in 1994 the Bohermeen parish outfit have never looked back adding the Division 2 title to their Junior and Intermediate crowns, and all seems to auger well for the future.
Both teams automatically qualified for Division 1 football in the year gone but the records will show that the green and yellow brigade earned their place as champions.
In the end it was no more than the hungrier Cortown side deserved. They battled from start to finish and their forwards managed to score twelve times in response to Skryne's seven.
The powerful combination of man of the match John Henry on the forty and Glen Loughran at midfield yielded nine points, but it still took an Ivan Coyne goal to edge Cortown home. This productive move started when a long ball from Sylvie Skelton was flicked into Coynes path by Gordon Codd. Coyne then blasted to the net past the advancing Fergal Power. However a Skryne goal from close range left the score at 1-6 to 1-3 at the break.
A further goal for the men in blue gave them a rather flattering lead. However, this was to see Cortown at their best as they responded like true champions. John Henry reduced the defecit and two points from Loughran resulted in a slender one point lead with two minutes remaining.
Then up stepped super-subs Henry and Coyle and the rest as they say is history.
The Winning Cortown team was: G. Daly; B. Casserly, L. Keane, P. O' Brien; M. O' Brien, L. Rennicks, S. Skelton; G. Loughran (0-6), F. Smith; C. Henry, J. Henry (0-3), M. Henry; G. Codd, J. Rennicks, I. Coyne (1-0).
Sub: M. Reilly, P. Henry (0-1), T. Coyne (0-1.
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