Welcome to senior
November 30, 2005
When Syddan bombarded the Duleek defence with wave after wave of attacks in the closing stages of the Intermediate Football Championship final replay there appeared to be a serious danger that Barney Rock's side would suffer yet another day of bitter disappointment at Pairc Tailteann.
Duleek were beaten in three successive semi-finals from 2001 to 2003 and it got even worse in 2004. They got the monkey off their back as far as negotiating the penultimate hurdle was concerned, but up popped a highly accomplished Wolfe Tones side to edge them out by a point in the final, writes Paul Clarke.
However, Duleek's quest for a first intermediate triumph since 1978 had a happy ending as Syddan kicked a succession of late wides in this year's replayed final and they held on to win by a point, signalling hectic and emotional scenes as all previous disappointments were forgotten and the celebrations could begin.
Fittingly, Duleek marked the 50th anniversary of their second IFC success by winning it in 2005 and nobody could begrudge them their moment of glory after experiencing so much disappointment.
It wasn't exactly a case of plain sailing for Duleek in the group stages where they were drawn in a section that also contained Gaeil Colmcille, who had been relegated from the senior ranks the previous autumn, Syddan, the team they were later to deprive of the title at the final hurdle, junior champions Ratoath, St. Colmcille's, Slane, Na Fianna and Rathkenny.
Rathkenny provided the first round opposition at Donore and it was a troubled outing for Duleek as the outsiders built up an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead. Kenny McDonnell led a Duleek revival with a goal, but Rathkenny responded with a goal of their own to hold a 1-7 to 1-2 advantage at the break.
Duleek made several switches and that helped their cause as they reduced the deficit to three points. They eventually edged ahead, but Donal Curtis had the final say with a deserved equaliser for Rathkenny.
Another draw followed in the second round against Gaeil Colmcille at Walterstown. The Kellsmen led by 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval and doubled their advantage early in the second half. However, Duleek refused to give in and a goal from Colin Duignan appeared to have secured the win. But Gaeil Colmcille rescued a point with a late equaliser.
A first win of the campaign came in the third round at Dunsany when Duleek beat Ratoath by 0-11 to 0-7. However, it wasn't exactly an impressive display and they were thankful to some fine goalkeeping from Ricky Nolan which helped keep the losers at bay.
They didn't know it at the time, but the fourth round clash of Duleek and Syddan at Rathkenny was a dress rehearsal for the final. Luckily for Duleek, the result was different later in the year as Syddan won by 1-12 to 0-9 in the initial clash. The winners led by 1-8 to 0-4 at the interval and wasteful Duleek's five-point haul in the second half just wasn't sufficient.
Duleek got their qualification bid back on track when they easily defeated Slane by 1-13 to 0-6 at Donore. They impressed in the opening half and built up a commanding 1-9 to 0-0 lead after Chris Carney had scored their goal. There was no way back for Slane after that and Duleek could easily afford to add only four points to their tally in the second period.
A quarter-final ticket was booked thanks to a 2-12 to 3-5 victory over Na Fianna in the sixth round at Dunsany. Na Fianna led by 1-5 to 1-3 at the break after Colin Duignan had scored the Duleek goal and the sides were level with an hour gone. However, Duleek finished with a flurry of points from Karl McDonnell, Chris Carney, Des Teelan and Duignan to secure the win as the losers were left to regret so many wasted opportunities.
A 2-5 to 0-7 win followed against St. Colmcille's in the last round of group matches at Seneschalstown and Duleek could prepare for a quarter-final meeting with Castletown, another of the more fancied teams for the Mattie McDonnell Cup, at Rathkenny.
Castletown led by 0-7 to 0-6 at half-time, but with Meath minor player Carney in magnificent form Duleek did enough in the second half to win narrowly and secure their place in the last four.
They again came face-to-face with St. Colmcille's and, in a match that was easily forgotten, Duleek won by double scores (1-7 to 0-5) at Pairc Tailteann. Worryingly, they kicked 15 wides over the hour, but a Duignan goal helped them to a 1-4 to 0-4 lead at the interval after playing against the wind.
Scores were few and far between in the second half, but Duleek won it by 0-3 to 0-1 and were through to their second successive final.
And what a close shave they had in that final as substitute James Devereux rescued them with a late fisted point to force the decider to a replay (1-9 each). Duleek dominated the first half and Syddan didn't manage to register their first score until the 22nd minute when Brian Dillon slotted over a free.
Duleek looked to be well on their way to revenge for that defeat in the group stages and, more importantly, to the title when they led by five points (1-5 to 0-3) at the interval after Colin Duignan had scored their goal in the 28th minute. The advantage had been cut to three (0-6 to 1-6) by the three-quarter stage and the alarm bells were ringing when Syddan got back to level terms, thanks largely to a superb Philip Duff goal.
When Shay Duff pointed Syddan in front for the first time Duleek looked in serious danger of suffering another final defeat, but Devereux came to their rescue with that late point.
The first half of the replay was tough and uncompromising and contained two goals for each side in the first half. Duleek suffered a big blow when Gordon Hynes was forced to retire with a knee injury in the first quarter and they lost Adrian Joyce later in the opening half, but they still managed to lead by 2-4 to 2-1 at the interval.
They had got off to the worst possible start when Trevor Gilsenan netted from a penalty for Syddan in the fourth minute, but they got off the mark on 10 minutes when Conall McGinley pointed from play and Bryan Cudden settled them further with another point.
And they received a significant boost when Joyce set up Peter Curran for a goal at the end of the first quarter. However, Gilsenan sidestepped a couple of tackles to score his and Syddan's second goal after 22 minutes and the north Meath side were in front by 2-1 to 1-3.
But Duleek's response was instant and lethal as Carney set up Devereux for their second goal and that score helped them to that three-point interval cushion.
Syddan kicked three successive points after the change of ends to level the scores, but it was significant that Duleek limited them to only two further points for the remainder. The exchanges were tense as Duleek twice opened up two-point leads, but the advantage was down to the minimum after Gilsenan had concluded the scoring eight minutes from the end of normal time.
The north Meathmen searched for an equaliser and Duleek tried desperately to hold out.
Amazingly, Syddan kicked five successive wides in the last five minutes and Duleek were relieved and delighted to hear referee Joey Curley's final whistle and see captain Tony Cunningham receive the Mattie McDonnell Cup.
"A big relief, a very big relief," was how Paddy Watters, Duleek's chairman for the last five years, described his feeling at the final whistle. "It was great to finally win it after so many near misses."
But how did he feel when Syddan were kicking those wides in the closing stages?
"After they kicked the second of those late wides I said to myself that this is going to be our year . We had no luck last year, but we had luck this year. It's only when you look at the video of the final that you realise how well our lads defended.
"We didn't foul and most of their efforts were kicks under pressure. They wanted to get into the exclusion zone, because that's where most scores come from, but we didn't let them. Our defending was very good."
The chairman paid tribute to the role Barney Rock played in the success, describing his efforts as "tremendous work," and is looking forward to the challenges of playing Senior Championship football with optimism.
"To stay up for starters has to be the number one priority," he added. "But I would be content to start with if we can get to the knock-out stages and enjoy a reasonably good run. We have been playing good teams in Div. 2 of the league. We want to get into Div. 1. It's been proven over the years that your form in the league is reflected in the championship.You need to be playing against the best on a regular basis
"We have good young players coming through, like Chris Carney, who was on the Meath minor team this year, and Stephen Nolan. They are exceptional. However, Stephen is tied up with soccer at Shelbourne."
The Duleek team that brought years of frustration to an end was: R. Nolan; M. Cudden, K. Smyth, D. Teelan; D. Crosby, P. Martin, G. Hynes; A. Joyce, T. Cunningham; P. Curran (1-1), Donard Ferguson, B. Cudden (0-2); C. Carney (0-1), J. Devereux (1-0), C. McGinley (0-3). Subs - C. Byrne for Hynes, A. Byrne for Joyce, Daire Ferguson for Donard Ferguson, C. Duignan for Devereux.
Most Read Stories