Having scaled the heights of a SFC quarter-final against Skryne in 2004, Cortown experienced contrasting fortunes in '05. This time around, they failed to make an impact in the premier knockout competition, plummeting into a relegation play-off before retaining their senior status courtesy of a comfortable victory over Ballinlough. Centre back and captain David 'Skipper' Coyne - a steadying influence all year - reflects on a topsy-turvy year for the boys in green. Cortown's thrilling run to the quarter-final stage of the senior championship was one of the undoubted success stories of 2004. While they couldn't emulate that achievement during the year gone by, the Cortown men at least dug deep enough when the going got tough to consolidate their senior standing for another season. Against all odds, the club has provided so much entertainment since capturing the intermediate crown in 1996 that we can forgive them an off year. With just a single win from their seven group outings in the Keegan Cup, Cortown's '05 campaign eventually developed into a damage limitation exercise. Crucially, it was a successful one. A 2-5 to 1-2 defeat of Ballinlough in a relegation play-off at Kells on Sunday September 25 confirmed senior football for a tenth successive year - an astonishing achievement for a club with such limited resources. Cortown, it would appear, are here to stay. Some might suggest that they have been punching above their weight for the best part of a decade, but statistics suggest otherwise. Four times since graduating from intermediate fare Cortown have contested the business end of the SFC, and they have invariable avoided the relegation dogfight predicted for them at the start of each new season. Two-thousand-and-five may have been a closer scrape than normal but Con Cleary's charges live to fight another day. If they take stock over the winter, recharge the batteries, re-focus and rediscover some of the verve that made them such a revelation in the first place, Cortown are more than capable of ruffling a few feathers in 2006. David Coyne acted as club captain in 2005. One of the youngest captains in the county, he led the team by example, delivering many assured displays in the No.6 shirt. Was he relieved when survival was finally secured late in the year? "Definitely. At the same time, we were disappointed to have ended up in that situation in the first place. But relief is definitely the word. We didn't want to go back down to intermediate, and it was looking dodgy at one stage. "Once it went down to a three-way play-off with all local teams, it was touch and go. We were lucky enough to get drawn out first which meant that it was very much in our own hands…" The relegation play-off against Ballinlough was a poor match. It was one of those where nothing but the result was going to matter and, fortunately, Cortown came out on top in a low-scoring, nervy affair. The six-point victory avenged a 1-10 to 0-10 group stage defeat suffered at the hands of the same opposition in July. That game was the second in what turned out to be a shattering five-game losing run. After losing their first group outing to Blackhall Gaels, Cortown bounced back into contention with an excellent 2-7 to 0-9 victory over Dunderry. From there on, it was all downhill, however, as Cortown lost successive championship clashes with Dunboyne, Ballinlough, Navan O'Mahonys, Summerhill and Trim. The defeats got heavier with each game before Cortown salvaged their season with the play-off win in Kells in late October. It wasn't quite what they had in mind, as David explains: "At the start of the year, our aim was another quarter-final after what we'd done before. In 2004, we played Skryne in the quarter-final and they went on to contest the Leinster club final, so we took a lot of encouragement from that. "We knew when the draw was made that we had a lot of tough games ahead of us, but we felt we could make the last eight again. It just didn't work out that way." Teams from Cortown's group went on to claim all four SFC semi-final spots. Does the knowledge that it was a very difficult section offer any consolation? "Looking at it, we may have had the tougher draw. We lost a couple of games that could have gone either way and that was disappointing. Of course it was a tough group but we can't hide behind that - we should have given a better account of ourselves. "The only excuse I would make is that Cortown is a small club and when you're mixing it with the big boys you have to have your full panel for every game. We play off a squad of about 22 and you need to have your best fifteen available for selection every week, especially when there are seven games in the group." Since making their bow in the senior championship in 1997, Cortown have surpassed all expectations, proving more durable than even the most optimistic might have imagined. "Next year will be our tenth in senior football, which is a massive achievement for a club this size," says Skipper. "There are a lot of junior and intermediate clubs who would love to be in our position. We're drawing from a small number of men and we still have six or seven of the lads who won the intermediate championship in 1996, and they're still playing well. "We've done well, but we're not happy to settle for that. We really underachieved in 2005 compared to the previous year. A huge effort was invested in 2004 and it paid off but for some reason we didn't get the same commitment this time. A couple of players retired too and they will always prove hard to replace for a small club." Kilmacud Crokes clubman Con Cleary took charge of team affairs in '05, with capable assistance from locals Packie and Kenny Henry. "They did a great job," says David, "but the players who need to look at themselves. Training was good. It was enjoyable, varied and spread out, so there was no excuse. We didn't do ourselves justice at all. The ability is there. We have nine or ten lads in around the 23/24 mark now, so we should be reaching our peak." David Coyne has been a member of the first team at Cortown since 1992 and captained the side in 2005. His brother Thomas made it a rare double by captaining St Ultan's. The Cortown player was thrilled to lead his team into action: "It was a great honour. I didn't expect to be selected at 22 - I thought I might have to wait another two or three years. It's just a pity things didn't work out a bit better for the team. "Our juniors suffered a few one-point defeats this year, including one to Boardsmill, who went on to win it, so the junior Bs aren't too far off either. Hopefully, we'll give it a big push on both fronts in 2006. If we get the full effort from 26/27 players from Day One, then I've no doubt Cortown can challenge for honours." The Cortown side that defeated Ballinlough to guarantee senior status for another year: V Keating; P Watters, P Kerrigan, I O'Halloran; M Casserly, D Coyne, M O'Brien; D O'Halloran, B Casserly (1-0); J Casserly, S Skelton (0-1), I Coyne; M Reilly (0-1), G Loughran (0-2), T Coyne. Subs: C Kerrigan (1-1), J Reilly, C Henry, M Henry. Tweet

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