Surprised at the death
November 30, 2005
Carnaross will probably win the award for comeback of the year, but that will be of little consolation to the club as they look back on 2005 and an Intermediate Football Championship campaign that appeared to promise quite a lot in the divisional stages, but came to an end when they were eliminated by surprise packets St. Colmcille's after extra-time in the quarter-finals.
That comeback was achieved in the fourth round at Kells when Carnaross made a spectacular recovery from 10 points behind with three-quarters of the match completed to beat Nobber by a point in what was surely one of the best games of the entire Meath championship season.
However, that great win, achieved against the odds, counted for nothing when they were shocked by the seassiders at the last eight stage and the bid to return to the senior ranks, from where they were eliminated at the end of the 1999 campaign, goes on.
Carnaross were rightly proud of their standing as a senior club and losing it hurt. So did losing the IFC final heavily to Navan O'Mahonys in the autumn of 2003, so the desire to climb back up to the premier grade remains strong.
Like all the leading clubs in the intermediate ranks they entered the 2005 championship campaign with hopes that this might just be their year, though they knew right well that there were a few potential stumbling blocks along the way in a group that also included Nobber, Castletown, Ballivor, Oldcastle, Drumconrath, Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Drumree.
But Carnaross possess several high class players and they always possess that scoring threat which can make them so dangerous on any given day. And that was certainly emphasised in the last quarter of that amazing match against Nobber when they scored so freely.
Donaghmore/Ashbourne, possessing an improving team, provided the opposition in the first of the group matches at Walterstown and it wasn't exactly the opening Carnaross might have expected as they were held to a surprise draw (1-9 each).
Joe Finnegan gave Donaghmore/Ashbourne a dream start with a goal after three minutes and they led by 1-3 to 0-5 at the break. Carnaross made the perfect opening to the second half when John L. McGee flicked the ball to the net and they moved into what appeared to be a winning position with a 1-8 to 1-5 lead. However, Donaghmore/Ashbourne battled back to secure a deserved draw.
Ballivor, who were to reach the last eight, despite losing their first three games, gave Carnaross plenty to think about as they battled back courageously in the second round game at Athboy after appearing to be out of contention when they trailed by seven points (0-5 to 1-9) at the interval.
A goal from a Gavin Murphy penalty just before half-time was key as Carnaross held that substantial advantage, but Mairtin Doran inspired a Ballivor recover in the second period which the south Meath side won by 0-10 to 0-5. However, Carnaross had inflicted sufficient damage in the opening half hour and had two points to spare at the end.
Castletown were a side that everybody with serious aspirations of winning the title were wary of, particularly after their tremendous win over high-flying IFC winners Wolfe Tones in the All-County A League Div. 2 final the previous autumn. Yet, Carnaross beat them very comfortably when the teams met in the third round at Moynalty and that 3-8 to 1-4 victory clearly suggested that they were going in the right direction.
Castletown opened up a 1-2 to 0-2 lead after a very low-scoring first half and were in front by 1-4 to 0-4 at the three-quarter stage. However, inspired by the brilliance of Ollie Murphy, Carnaross scored 3-4 in the last quarter to turn the match firmly in their favour. John L. and Dermot McGee notched the first two and Murphy put the icing on the cake with a superb third as he finished with a personal tally of 1-4.
Next up was that fabulous game against Nobber at Kells and an even more fabulous comeback by Carnaross. Things didn't look too bright when they shot four wides in the first five minutes and, with county player Brian Farrell starring, Nobber opened up a 3-7 to 1-6 lead at the interval, the Carnaross goal coming from John L. McGee.
The Nobber advantage had stretched to a seemingly uncatchable 3-12 to 1-8 entering the final quarter and when Gavin Murphy goaled from a penalty after Declan Reilly was fouled it appeared to be nothing more than a consolation score. But, as the excitement intensified, McGee fired home a brilliant second goal five minutes from the end and, suddenly, there appeared to be a possibility that Carnaross might get something out of the match.
Substitutes Conor Woods and Stephen Yore made an immediate impact on their introduction as Carnaross continued their revival and when a long range free from Paddy Nugent found its way into the Nobber net the Cavan-border side were level. However, the drama wasn't over at that stage and McGee slotted over what proved to be the winner, before Nobber were off target with a late '45 . McGee finished with an impressive personal tally of 2-4.
Carnaross had bagged seven goals in two games and three more followed in the fifth round meeting against a Drumree side which was later to suffer the bitter disappointment of losing their intermediate status in a relegation play-off against Slane.
Ollie Murphy and Brian Comaskey missed the game because of injury, but it didn't matter to Carnaross who won by 3-5 to 0-8, thanks largely to the efforts of Woods and Dermot McGee who helped them gain a decisive stranglehold at midfield. John L. McGee was impressive in attack, but overall the Carnaross forwards were guilty of some poor shooting.
A goal from Declan Reilly helped them to lead by 1-4 to 0-3 at half-time and with Reilly and Gavin Murphy - from yet another penalty - also finding the net in the early stages of the second period Carnaross secured a six-point win.
Nobber was the venue for a sixth round match against Drumconrath and Carnaross became the first team to secure a quarter-final ticket from group B when they won by 0-11 to 0-7. Ollie Murphy played very well in the first half and that helped them to a 0-6 to 0-1 interval lead, but an injury to his brother Gavin appeared to have an unsettling affect and Drumconrath reduced the deficit to three points at one stage in the second half. However, Carnaross responded to the potentially dangerous situation and were four clear at the end.
With their place in the business end of the championship already secured Carnaross probably lacked a certain urgency going into the last group match against Oldcastle at Kells and they suffered their only defeat of the divisional stages when going under by 1-8 to 1-9.
Carnaross raced into a 1-3 to 0-0 advantage and were in front by 1-4 to 0-2 at the interval. When they stretched that lead to eight points (1-7 to 0-2) they looked certain to win again, but Oldcastle battled back and were given a significant boost when Pat Kevin goaled. They maintained the rally and gradually edged ahead to achieve a win that guaranteed their IFC survival.
On paper at least, Carnaross appeared to have been handed a relatively easy quarter-final against St. Colmcille's, but football matches aren't played on paper and their title aspirations met with a bitterly disappointing exit as the Cilles won by 2-13 to 0-14 after extra-time.
Carnaross were looking good when they led by 0-12 to 0-8 approaching the end of normal time, but John McKenna netted for the seasiders and Mickey Conlon pointed to force the tie into additional time. A fisted goal from Conlon helped Colmcille's to lead by 2-11 to 0-13 midway through extra-time and, with Carnaross out on their feet, they went on to win by five points.
"It was a big disappointment to lose to St. Colmcille's, but it was our own fault," said a Carnaross club spokesman. "It was probably down to over-confidence on our part. We had topped our group and they were only fourth in theirs.
"One of our lads only returned from holidays minutes before the game. We also work off a small panel, which doesn't help, and injuries were a problem too. It was a combination of things, but over-confidence was the biggest problem. We had Ollie Murphy training with the Meath seniors and Paddy Nugent and John L McGee were with the juniors. That means your three best players aren't training with you. It's then hard work to get the others out."
A highlight of the campaign for Carnaross was undoubtedly that magnificent comeback in the fourth round against Nobber.
"We were 10 points behind against Nobber, but came back to beat them," he added. "Confidence was high after that win. We felt very good. Against Oldcastle we led by seven or eight points, but we threw the lead away and they came back and beat us. The writing was on the wall then. We also threw away a big lead against St. Colmcille's.
"The bottom line is that we're not fit to be a senior team at the moment, but I think we'll be there again next year. We are a young team and have a lot of 16 and 17-year-olds coming through as well.
"We should win the Intermediate Championship within the next two or three years and by that stage we should be strong enough for senior football."
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