Relief was the overriding feeling in Kilmainhamwood after the North Meath outfit retained their senior status by virtue of a relegation play-off victory over Dunderry at the end of October. As relieved as he was, long-serving secretary Francie Owens is anxious that the 'Wood avoid a similar scenario in 2006. Ten years to the day after Dunderry had beaten them in a novel Keegan Cup decider, Kilmainhamwood exacted revenge when winning a typically tense relegation play-off at Kells on October 30 last to preserve their senior status. While the 'Wood's 0-8 to 0-3 victory was met with relief and even delight, there was still no getting away from the fact that it was a disappointing year for the North Meath club. "We're thrilled to be still senior - we've been operating at this level since 1994 and we would have found it very difficult to regroup next year if we had been relegated back to intermediate," says Francie Owens, who has experienced all the emotions during his 30 years as Kilmainhamwood secretary. "I felt very sorry for Dunderry because we had a very good relationship with them ever since they beat us in the county final 10 years ago. But there had to be a loser and I'm obviously pleased that it wasn't us. Having said that, a relegation play-off would have been the last place we wanted to find ourselves at the start of the year and a big improvement will be required next year if we are to stay out of relegation trouble. "The players will have to show a better attitude and put in a bigger effort if we're to improve." From early in the year, Kilmainhamwood were besieged by problems. Star forward Ray McGee missed their first three championship outings with an ankle injury, while his attacking colleague Raymond Cunningham didn't feature again after picking up a knee injury in the first round defeat to Dunshaughlin. To compound matters, the 'Wood's Cavan-based manager Ray Cullivan stepped down midway through the season, leaving the injured Cunningham to fill the void. "The injuries to the two lads had a big bearing on our performances," Owens points out. "They are two of the best forwards in the championship and no team could afford to be without them. If they had been available to us for all of our games, we could have ended up in the knock-out stages instead of the relegation dogfight. We could easily have won three or four matches if we had a fully fit team." A 1-3 to 1-10 defeat to Dunshaughlin in the opening round at Pairc Tailteann set the tone for a disappointing championship campaign. Former Cavan star Cunningham gave the 'Wood a dream start when he goaled in the fourth minute and with the promising Stephen Kiernan in fine form, they led by 1-2 to 0-1 after 10 minutes. The men in white still had their noses in front at the interval, but the tide turned in Dunshaughlin's favour immediately after the restart when full back Kenny McTigue ran the length of the field to blast a penalty past Ronan Finnegan. Dunshaughlin put further daylight between the sides in the final quarter to seal a comfortable win. Further defeats to Seneschalstown (0-10 to 1-14) and Walterstown (0-10 to 0-14) left Kilmainhamwood pointless after three matches. However, their spirits was temporarily lifted when they recorded a surprise 2-8 to 1-9 victory over one of the championship favourites, Simonstown Gaels, at Castletown. With Ray McGee back in their starting line-up the 'Wood were far more economical than their Navan opponents, and it was McGee's goal in the 43rd minute which effectively decided the result. Simonstown started the brighter and led by 1-2 to 0-1 after 13 minutes. But a Paddy Carolan goal in the 22nd minute boosted the 'Wood's confidence and they went into the break on level terms after playing against the wind. Points from Carolan and McGee helped the North Meath side to a 1-7 to 1-4 lead following the resumption and they were 2-7 to 1-6 to the good after McGee shot through a crowded goalmouth to score their second goal. Simonstown applied a lot of pressure in the closing stages, but Kilmainhamwood held out for their first victory. That was as good as it got for Raymond Cunningham's charges in the group stages as three further defeats to Wolfe Tones (2-4 to 0-14), St. Patrick's (0-8 to 0-9) and Skryne (1-10 to 2-12) left them firmly rooted to the bottom of the table. They should really have taken something from their clash with St. Patrick's (Barry Campbell's late point denied them a share of the spoils) but even if they had, they would still have found themselves in a relegation play-off. "We were very disappointed with our performances in the group stages. Apart from the Simonstown game, we didn't play up to the scratch. We were very unlucky against St. Pat's and I think Wolfe Tones took us a bit by surprise. It's frustrating to think that we could beat a team like Simonstown but lose to supposedly weaker opposition," Francie ruefully reflects. A three-way play-off involving Cortown, Ballinlough and Dunderry was necessitated in the other group to determine who would face the 'Wood in the relegation decider. As it transpired, Dunderry provided the opposition for Raymond Cunningham's side on a blustery afternoon at Kells. Not surprisingly, the wind had a big bearing on the game and Kilmainhamwood made the most of it when it blew in their favour in the first half, building up a 0-7 to 0-1 interval advantage. And whatever chance Dunderry had of making up the deficit was blown in the first 10 minutes of the second half when they registered seven wides. A heavy pitch made life difficult for both teams, but the 'Wood started impressively and they had established a healthy 0-5 to 0-0 lead after 13 minutes thanks to efforts from McGee, Michael Shankey and Paddy Carolan. David Jennings replied with a point from a close-in free for what was Dunderry's only entry on the scoresheet in the first half. The losers dominated the early stages of the second period, but some dreadful finishing let them down. McGee's fourth point left the 'Wood 0-8 to 0-1 to the good after 44 minutes, and while David McCormack and Jennings responded with unanswered scores for Dunderry, the outcome was never in doubt. "To be honest, we were expecting a much tougher test as it was Dunderry's second competitive game in a matter of weeks (which they lost to Ballinlough) whereas we hadn't played a championship game in over two months. We played a couple of challenge matches against St. Oliver's (Drogheda) and Kells, but they're never the same as the real thing. "We had wind advantage in the first half and managed to build up a decent lead at half-time. Dunderry improved in the second half, but we had done enough in the first half to hold on for the win," says Francie, whose son Francis lined out at centre back in the relegation play-off. In the league, Kilmainhamwood retained their Division 1 status courtesy of a 3-12 to 2-9 victory over Castletown. But Owens wants much more from the team in the coming year. "While we consolidated our senior championship and Division 1 league status this year, we should be aiming higher. To be involved in a relegation play-off this year was a big shock to us. We had to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in. "We got a big fright and hopefully that will spur us on to putting in a bigger effort this year. A number of lads acquitted themselves well during the year, including Stephen Smith who joined us from Moynalty. But it was a poor year overall and we have a lot of improving to do," he concludes. The Kilmainhamwood team that defeated Dunderry to preserve their SFC status was: C Shankey; S Mulligan, S Smith, S Russell; A Farrelly, F Owens, P Shankey; R Madden, L Shankey; K Russell, L McCormack, M Shankey; R McGee, P Carolan, A Crosbie. Tweet

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