In years to come the question will be asked what team beat the eventual senior football champions twice in the one campaign. That achievement is one Navan O'Mahonys would rather cash in on for a tilt at the Keegan Cup. By Liam O'Rourke Time will tell how well the Brews Hill club responds to their expulsion from this year's SFC. If there was a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the semi-final clash by unfair means, then expulsion was deserved. But the truth is that few in the county knew the rule regarding the number of substitutions permissible in extra time. It was a heartbreaking end to a promising campaign, particularly for the younger players who had given their all over eighty minutes on a warm autumn day and not surprisingly some of their less chronologically gifted players said it was the toughest match they ever played in. The whole affair, in particular Dunboyne's refusal to grant O'Mahonys a re-match, has left a bad taste in the mouth among all associated with the club. Some observers noted that had Dunboyne acceded to the request of County Committee chairman, Fintan Ginnity and granted O'Mahonys a replay that the south county club would probably have prevailed given the number of injuries picked up by the Brews Hill side. "We feel there wont be any need for motivation next year. There is a lot of unfinished business from this year and the lads are keen to get back into action. "When you see players who are guilty of serious bad behaviour on the pitch getting little punishment while O'Mahonys are thrown out of the championship on a minor technicality. It makes a joke of perceived fairness," remarked team manager Mick Downes. The controversy overshadowed a dramatic contest in which Dunboyne appeared to have clinched victory in normal time with a late Ger Robinson goal - despite having played for 55 minutes with 14 men following Robbie Brennan's dismissal - only for Niall McKeigue to pop up and send over a leveling point. It was 1-10 each at the end of the hour and though restored to their full compliment of players for extra time Dunboyne only managed two further scores in the remaining 20 minutes after which O'Mahonys finished in front by 1-14 to 1-12. The initial euphoria at reaching a first SFC final since 1997 soon evaporated as it emerged that only three substitutions are permitted in extra time and when the matter was finally resolved 19 days later a result of a Disputes Resolution Authority hearing in the Ardboyne Hotel that O'Mahonys hopes a first SFC final appearance since their return to senior ranks was ended. With six players - Stephen MacGabhann, Kevin Reilly, Stephen Bray, Mark Ward, Niall and Shane McKeigue  on the county senior panel much was expected from O'Mahonys this year and though MacGabhann was sidelined for most of the campaign through injury they seemed to be hitting a rich vein of form at the latter end of the championship. The campaign began on a promising note back in April with a 1-8 to 0-5 win over Dunboyne at Dunsany. Mark Ward eclipsed Nigel Crawford at midfield and veteran Alan Reilly's fisted goal left it 1-4 to 0-2 at the break. Mick Downes charges returned to Dunsany where they failed to score in the second half of a second round meeting with Trim on the evening of Saturday, May 7 when after leading by 0-3 to 0-2 at the break they eventually went down by 0-3 to 1-9. Paddy Smyth (two) and Cormac McGuinness were their scorers. A week later it was off to Kells where the town side struggled to shake off Ballinlough before eventually securing the spoils on a 0-9 to 0-5 scoreline. The performance did nothing to enhance their title prospects and they had nearly as many yellow cards (eight) as scores while Kenny McGuirk was sent of near the end. O'Mahonys lose huge lead and their discipline was The Weekender's summation of their 0-11 to 1-9 defeat by Blackhall Gaels at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday, July 24 when the championship resumed after Meath's elimination from the All-Ireland race. O'Mahonys gave a better indication of their potential in the opening half when Stephen Bray scored four times as his side built up a 0-9 to 0-1 interval lead with the advantage of the elements. But it all came asunder in the final twenty minutes in which they had Niall McKeigue and Lee Russell sent off and were outscored by 0-0 to 1-6 and slipped to their second defeat in four starts. There was a marked improvement all round in the next outing against Cortown at Kells on Sunday, August 7 when victory was claimed on a 1-11 to 0-6. Struggling Dunderry provided stern opposition six nights later at Pairc Tailteann where it took three late scores to secure the spoils on a 0-12 to 0-8 scoreline. Their final Group A outing against Summerhill at Dunsany evoked memories of the relegation play-off in 2001 at the same venue where O'Mahonys were condemned to the intermediate ranks on a 1-2 to 0-6 scoreline. An improving Summerhill also had ambitions of reaching the last eight but with Stephen Bray leading the way in attack the town side made the better start and led by 0-5 to 0-1 before the first quarter elapsed. It was 0-6 to 0-4 at the break but saves either side of half-time by Marcus Brennan kept O'Mahonys in contention and another strong finishing burst that yielded a goal from Bray and two points from substitute Thomas Loughran boosted the Navan side to a 1-14 to 0-10 success and a place in the last eight after finishing third behind Trim and Blackhall Gaels and one place ahead of Dunboyne. The quarter-final meeting with Simonstown on the evening of the All-Ireland senior hurling final, Sunday, September 11 was only the fourth meeting between the Navan rivals at this level with the score standing at 2-1 in favour of the team from north of the river. Colm O'Rourke's charges bidding for a third consecutive SFC final appearance entered the fray as strong favourites mainly because of their 12 points success in round three of the previous campaign but after an uncertain start O'Mahonys grew in confidence and led by 0-6 to 0-4 at the break. A goal by Henry Finnegan within two minutes of the restart further boosted the Brews Hill outfit and they might have won comfortably but for totalling 14 wides. The gap was down to two points when Robbie Boyle goaled for Simonstown with just over ten minutes remaining but O'Mahonys responded by delegating Kevin Reilly to pick up the former Dublin player and with a brilliant point from teenager Paddy Smyth they finished winners by 1-11 to 1-8 thereby setting down a marker in the race for the Keegan Cup. O'Mahonys finished perilously close to the drop zone in the Division 1 FL but winning the competition is not a priority for the man who was one of the mainstays of the side that won seven SFCs between 1979 and 1990. "The priority is staying in Division 1 rather than winning it as long as you get reasonably decent game and bring new players in, in a situation where you can judge them," Downes added. On a broader issue the man who captained Meath to O'Byrne Cup success in 1983 (the first trophy the county won under Sean Boylan) has misgivings about the way fixtures are set out. "The killer thing for me in Meath football is not the number of matches but having no idea when they are going to be played. I can't understand why they cannot put out a calendar of fixtures for the league. They can do it in almost every other county in Ireland. Management and players cannot make arrangements for holidays and weekends off. "For the 12 or 13 years I was managing in Dublin, I only missed one match ever because they have a master fixtures list there," Downes recalls O'Mahonys second string came close to their first JFC success in 31 years when losing narrowly, 1-11 to 2-11, to St Michael's in the final. Team manager Peter O'Toole hails the fantastic spirit of the squad adding that it had a talented blend of youth and experience. "Take the game against Moynalvey when the lads were down eight points at one stage in the opening half. They conceded three goals against Simonstown but still pulled through," O'Toole remarked. They opened with a draw against eventual beaten semi-finalists, Kilmainham but wins over Summerhill, Gaeil Colmcille, Moylagh and Moynalvey as well as another draw with Meath Hill propelled them into a quarter-final meeting with Simonstown. Peter's son Darren - just back for a sojourn in Australia - introduced as a substitute scored the winning goal near the end after latching on to a poor kick-out by Simonstown netminder Mark Gaffney. An earlier defeat by Longwood was avenged at the semi-final stage by 1-9 to 1-7 and after trailing 1-5 to 2-8 in the final they rallied well in the second-half despite playing against the elements. At the time of writing Peter is still involved with the B FL Division 1 chasing team as well as working closely with Cathal O'Bric with the under 21 side. O'Mahonys hurling fortunes slipped a bit further this year and after winning their opening game against Boardsmill, Kevin Mullin's charges only managed to pick up one further point - in a draw against Rathmolyon - that kept them out of relegation bother while they lost to Longwood, Kiltale and eventual champions Killyon. At underage level the club reached the Under 14 FC final, only to lose out for the second year running, this time to a talented St Martin's side, who also defeated them in the Under 13 FL Division 1 final at the tail end of the previous year. With a bunch of highly talented players at their disposal and the experience of this year behind them, O'Mahonys are well placed to make a big impact in the senior football championship next time round.   The rise and rise of Kevin Reilly A virtual unknown in Meath GAA circles 12 months ago, Kevin Reilly emerged in 2005 as a key member of Sean Boylan's senior side. Here, the Navan O'Mahony's teenager talks about his meteoric rise through the ranks. While 2005 was another disappointing year for Meath football, there were positives. For many supporters, the biggest positive of all was the emergence of Navan O'Mahony's young gun Kevin Reilly as a full back of enormous potential. Though he was one of the stars of St. Pat's Hogan Cup success in 2004, most Meath fans had never heard of Reilly before Sean Boylan gave him his first taste of competitive action as a substitute against Louth in the National League earlier this year. He was handed his first start against Fermanagh in the National League Division 2 semi-final and made such an impression that he made the number three jersey his own for the rest of the year. "I know it wasn't a great year for Meath, but on a personal level, things couldn't have gone much better," he says. "To be honest, I got a bit of a shock when Sean Boylan asked me to join the senior panel after we (O'Mahony's) beat Seneschalstown in the under 21 final towards the end of last year. I suffered a bit of a setback when I broke a bone in my back in a challenge match against Galway last January which kept me out of action for eight weeks. "But I got my chance in the league match against Louth when Anthony Moyles was sin-binned, and made my first start at full back against Fermanagh. That was a dream come true for me and I was fortunate enough to hold my place for the championship." While very much aware of Meath's proud tradition of producing top quality number threes, the 19-year-old insists that he was not burdened by this at any stage in his debut season. "I've often heard stories about the great full backs that have played for Meath down the years, and when I was growing up, Darren Fay was the Meath player who I looked up to most. But I didn't feel any extra pressure because of this. It helped that I had played all of my underage football at full back and the only difference I found between playing club and inter-county was the pace of the game." Such has been Reilly's meteoric rise that a little over 12 months ago, he was lining out for the Navan O'Mahony's junior 'B' team. The Sports Science student at DCU recalls: "I played junior 'B', as well as junior 'A' and senior football for the club last year, so my progression to the Meath senior team happened much quicker than I could ever have expected. "It's a great honour to play for the county seniors and, while winning the All-Ireland Colleges title with St. Pat's has been the highlight of my career to date, playing against Dublin this year was something special. There's no better place to be than Croke Park when Meath and Dublin play," he explains. A tall, skilful and level-headed young footballer who is predominantly left-footed, Kevin represented Ireland in the under 17 and under 18 International Rules series in 2003 and 2004. In the latter year, he travelled to Australia with the Irish team and describes it as being "an unbelievable experience". He was a member of the county minor team which lost heavily to Laois last year, and also figured for the under 21 side that succumbed to Kildare in the Leinster championship this year. He played in a variety of positions for Navan O'Mahony's this season, but was left disappointed after they were controversially ejected from the senior championship for using four substitutes during extra time in their semi-final 'win' over Dunboyne. "We were disappointed that Dunboyne didn't offer a replay because it was a genuine mistake on our part and had no bearing on the result. I think we would have had a great chance in the final, but it wasn't to be," says Kevin, whose older brothers Brian and Alan have also played for O'Mahony's (Brian actually trained the senior team this year). Meath's shock defeat to Monaghan in the National League Division 2 final and their subsequent failure to make an impact on the championship provided further disappointment for the teenager. Leading by two points in injury-time against Monaghan, the Royals looked to have done enough as they prepared for one final assault from the Ulster side. Monaghan were awarded a free about 35 metres from goal and Paul Finlay took it knowing his only option was to float it on top of the Meath goalmouth and hope for the best. His luck was in as a bizarre lack of judgement from second half substitute Mark Ward handed Monaghan an unlikely victory. Ward, who had performed admirably following his introduction, attempted to punch the ball upwards but mistimed his connection with cruel consequences for the softest of goals. Meath had over a month to regroup for their Leinster championship quarter-final clash with old rivals Dublin. It was just like the old days as over 65,000 fans flocked to Croke Park to witness a fierce battle which swung one way and then the other before eventually ending in a Dublin victory. A Joe Sheridan goal gave the Royals a dream start, but less than 10 minutes later, Alan Brogan replied with a similar score for the Dubs. From there on, the Metropolitans held the upper hand, but a strong push from Meath just before the break which yielded three unanswered points gave them a 1-7 to 1-5 lead at half-time. The dominance enjoyed by Dublin midfielder Ciaran Whelan ñ who was fortunate not to have been sent off in the first minute for lashing out at Nigel Crawford - meant a regular supply of quality ball going into the Dublin attack. They were able to convert this into enough scores to win the match, though only just as they hit eight second half wides. Meath put up stern resistance until under 21 star Mark Vaughan came off the bench to land two huge frees in the closing stages which gave Dublin a 1-12 to 1-10 victory. And so, for the fourth year running, the Royals found themselves back on the qualifier circuit. Games against Antrim and Leitrim passed with little spark before Meath exited the championship with a poor display against Cavan. "We had geared all our training towards the Dublin game and when we lost that, we found it very hard to lift ourselves for the qualifiers. We beat Antrim and Leitrim, but couldn't raise it for the Cavan game. Cavan were that bit hungrier and they deserved to win," he reflects. As sad as he was to see Sean Boylan step down as manager, Kevin felt the time had come for change. "Sean was a great manager and I'll always be grateful to him for giving me my chance. I was surprised to see him go, but maybe it was time for a change. He won every honour with Meath over the last 23 years and couldn't have given much more. Eamonn Barry seems very enthusiastic and he deserves a crack at it." Reilly is hugely ambitious and expects to see an upswing in Meath's fortunes sooner rather than later. "We showed against Dublin that we aren't that far off the mark. I want to win Leinster and All-Ireland medals with Meath and I think we have the talent coming through to achieve both of those goals," he says. In the short-term, however, Reilly wants to consolidate his place on the Meath team. On the evidence of his debut season, he has all the attributes to become the Royal County's next great full back. Under 12 Girls Football Final O'Mahonys ................................. 6-2 Donaghmore/Ashbourne ........... 1-7 A blistering first half display from O'Mahonys saw them overcome a very strong Donaghmore/Ashbourne side in the Meath Under 12 football final at Bective. Samantha Monaghan was first to score with a goal for O'Mahonys after 10 minutes. Donaghmore/Ashbourne replied two minutes later with an excellent goal but with Shauna Power and Claire Breathnach having the better of the midfield exchanges, and a goal from the very industrious Amy Gillen followed in the 13th minute. A well executed goal three minutes later from Aoibheann Leahy was the spark that ignited O'Mahony's flame and Samantha Monaghan and Shauna Power sent over two long range points before Aisling Flynn found the net just before halftime. Donaghmore/Ashbourne came back with a point to leave it 4-2 to 1-1 at the interval. Jacinta Maher added to O'Mahony's lead with her sides fifth goal immediately after the resumption. Donaghmore/Ashbourne refused to give up and followed with a great spell earning them five points. They could well have added more scores but for the tremendous work of O'Mahony defenders, Roisin Collins, Bronwyn Cunningham, Ciara Brennan, Joyce Cunningham, Maggie McDonagh and the inspirational Kate Falahee. Aoibheann Leahy has the last say for O'Mahonys when she collected a long delivery from Maggie McDonagh and blasted the ball to the net for her second goal, to leave the final tally 6-2 to 1-7. This was a great team performance with substitutes Aoibheann Rogers, Tara Hudson and Alice Walsh also playing their part. O'Mahonys - R Collins, B Cunningham, C Brennan, K Falahee, J Cunningham, M McDonagh, S Power 0-1, C Breathnach, A Flynn 1-0, S Monaghan 1-1, A Gillen 1-0, J Maher 1-0, A Leahy 2-0. Subs: A Rogers for A Gillen, T Hudson for A Flynn, A Walsh for A Leahy, M Duignan, E Duignan, S Mockler, L Fagan, S Bennett, M Dowdall. Geraldine Moroney, Secretary, Meath Ladies Football Board presented the cup to winning captain Shauna Power. Tweet

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