By virtue of a dramatic 2-11 to 1-9 final defeat of St Peter's (Wexford) at Athy on Friday March 5, Franciscan College, Gormanston captured the Leinster Schools Juvenile Football 'A' title for the first time since 1990. Team manager Niall Flynn reflects on a glorious campaign. It was the kind of thief-in-the-night finish for which Meath teams are renowned. Gormanston's brave bid was on the verge of faltering when, deep into injury time, corner forward Philip Duff slammed home two goals to end the 14-year famine with an impromptu feast. Trailing by a point with time ebbing away, the Meath school demonstrated remarkable character. Having spurned three chances of an equaliser, they plugged away determinedly and the floodgates eventually burst open. Three minutes of added time had elapsed when Skerries Harps clubman Duff gathered possession from full forward Sam McGuinness to bag the vital goal. Within a minute, the same player sent a 21-metre free dipping beneath the crossbar to seal an extraordinary, but deserved, victory for Franciscan College, who started with eleven east Meath players and four from north Dublin. Duff finished the game with 2-3. Gormanston had another match-winning performance from centre back and captain Mark Battersby. The Curraha lad defended stoutly and was also inspirational going forward, kicking three great points from play to keep his side in touch. Goalkeeper Eabhann Connolly also made a telling contribution with a fine 35th-minute penalty save. In truth, however, Gormanston prevailed through a magnificent, spirited all-round team performance. Schools football is divided into three grades - juvenile (U14), junior (U16) and senior. Since taking up his teaching post at Gormanston seven years ago, Niall Flynn, who is a former Louth footballer, has been involved with all the school's teams. This year, however, in conjunction with Riona Houlihan, he concentrated most of his attention on the U14s. The Louthman takes up the story: "Up until last year, we had been competing in the Dublin Schools region, but this year we decided, for logistical reasons, to go back into the North Leinster section for the first time since the late '70s." It was a decision that would pay rich dividends. Despite playing against a high calibre of opposition, Gormanston revelled in their new environment. They duly qualified for the North Leinster final, winning all their group games against such esteemed opposition as St Mel's of Longford; St Pat's of Navan; Marist, Athlone; Trim; and Colaiste Mhuire (Athlone). Gormanston then defeated St Mel's again in the North Leinster final, which was enough to see them qualify for the provincial decider against South Leinster champions St Peter's. The victory that ensued was their seventh in total (the competition started in 1961) and their first in 14 years. Cormac O'Sullivan and Paddy Reynolds, both of whom went on to win senior All-Irelands with Meath, starred on the 1990 team. Provincial success was the culmination of a six-month campaign, as Niall points out: "We started to get the lads together last September. We had a fair few left from the previous season's team but we still had to take a good look at all the new lads as well. We played Mel's in the first league game on October 16th and beat them 2-17 to 1-10. After that result, we knew we might be going places. "We were pleasantly surprised by that result and went on to win all five games. That gave us a lot of belief and we knew we were in with a chance of going all the way." The team seemed to gel very quickly, winning every game they played in the campaign. What was the reason for this? "A lot of the lads had played together in 2002/03 in the Dublin section of the competition. We got to the final and were very unlucky to lose. So there was some continuity there and the players wanted to set the record straight as well." How good is this crop of players? Could some of them go on to play at the highest level? "They have a chance, but it's very difficult to say with juveniles. They're good lads, they worked hard, listened to what we had to say, and they were disciplined. They dedicated themselves and if they continue to do so they could achieve a lot more. "There are a lot of good footballers there, but it's important that they continue to apply themselves. We told them before the final that footballers don't get to play in too many Leinster finals during their careers and that they should make the most of whatever opportunities come along. That's exactly what they did." A former Glyde Rangers (Tallanstown) and Louth footballer, Niall Flynn has been teaching (PE and geography) at Gormanston since September 1997. He's a past pupil of the school himself and transferred from Glyde to St Pat's, Stamullen in 2000. During his teaching spell at Franciscan College to date, he has taken charge of the juvenile team every year. He has also coached the seniors up until this year, when Kevin Brown was at the helm alongside Joe Brosnan and Christy McCutcheon. In the last seven years, Gormanston have reached a number of finals, including four Dublin senior and two Dublin juvenile deciders. "We had been consistently getting to finals and semi-finals in Dublin," Niall notes. "But we thought North Leinster would be a lot more competitive, so we were delighted with how we did in our first year back in that section. It was a good year all-round." Incidentally, things are also going well for Niall Flynn on the personal front. In his first year with St Patrick's, Stamullen he collected intermediate championship and Division One league medals. He has also won a Feis Cup and the Pats were one of the outstanding teams in last year's Meath senior football championship, taking eventual champions Blackhall Gaels to a quarter-final replay before losing by a point. For the record, the Gormanston crew that captured the 2004 Leinster Schools Juvenile Football 'A' title was: Eabhann Connolly (Meath); Ciaran Lenehan (Skryne), Paul Callaghan (St Cianan's, Duleek), Kevin Towell (St Colmcilles); David Carrick (St Maur's, Rush), Mark Battersby (capt, Curraha), Kevin Collier (St Colmcilles); Kevin White (Clann Mhuire, Naul), David Ryan (Skryne); Aaron Howley (Round Towers), Karl Mullen (St Colmcilles), Tadhg McHugh (Meath); David Eakin (St Patrick's, Stamullen), Sam McGuinness (St Maur's, Rush), Philip Duff (Skerries Harps). Rest of panel: Daryl Browne (Fingallians, Swords), Paul Tyrrell (St Pats, Donabate), Jamie Flynn (Round Towers, Lusk), Luke O'Connor (St Sylvester's, Malahide), Robert Reynolds (St Maur's, Rush), Robert Tallon (St Vincent's, Ardcath), Sean Mulhall (Round Towers, Lusk), Con McNamee (Clann Mhuire, Naul), Ciaran O'Brien (St Colmcilles), Peter Crawford (O'Dwyers, Balbriggan), Jake Woods (Clann Mhuire, Naul), Colm Lee (Skerries Harps), Cathal Tallon (St Cianan's, Duleek), Shane Cullen (St Cianan's, Duleek), Tony O'Reilly (Bailieboro Shamrocks), Sean Byrne (Dublin), Cian Scully (O'Dwyers, Balbriggan), Chris Ferguson (Skerries Harps), Daragh Garvey (Round Towers, Lusk) Tweet

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