The spree that marked Carrick's annexation of the 2008 SFL competition was as much a demonstration of intent as it was a celebration. Carrick's players were praised in '08 for their resilience and discipline but it gives false comfort to the county's other leading lights to imply that those are the Emmets' sole assets. The team's feat in winning the Owen Ward Cup in November was an illustration of ambition and determination too, showing that they really do have a lot going for themselves. Club Chairman John Scully is an outspoken member of the Carrick players' fan club: "This group of senior players only want to play football," he enthuses wildly. "They don't ask for much and they certainly don't place any extra demands on the club. "I don't think there's anyone who's clued into football in Monaghan that wouldn't say that the players got what they deserved at the end of the year." And, for all that, there were whispers from the long grass at the outset of the league that perhaps the new formula drawn up by Scully and co. would prove not quite right. In the early part of the Owen Ward Cup season, the townies' lack-lustre form hinted at a soft underbelly and one draw and one defeat from four games was a less than assured start. But even some of the best long-distance runners look in danger of being tailed off only to come good as the going gets tougher and the winning tape is being made ready. Carrick showed themselves to be the best stayer around in Monaghan in 2008 while their performance in the sprint, blue riband, event had a lot to recommend itself too. It takes a lot of reserves of strength and endurance and heaps of self-belief to stay the course in any league and Carrick showed their mettle in that regard in the 2008 SFL. One remembers, for instance, the Emmets' long trek north to take on Tyholland in early September at a time when the hosts were battling to stave off relegation. In what was a 'must-win' match for Tyholland, things didn't look at all bleak for them at half-time by which stage they were rather unlucky to find themselves trailing by just 1-4 to 0-8. The homesters led by 0-4 to 0-2 in the early stages but then fell increasingly in arrears with Carrick steering their way into a 0-8 to 0-4 lead. However a well-taken goal in the 29th minute and a brace of frees from Tyholland asked some serious questions of Carrick but the visitors refused to reach for the panic button. And as things panned out, Carrick proceeded to make their opponents pay for their laboured, stilted play by reaping a rich dividend in the second half. With Stephen Gollogly pulling the strings for the Emmets, a sea-change began to emerge in the pattern of the play with the lights being stuck on green for the visitors for the most part. A hat-trick of points from Sean Downey, including one free, added to Andy Callan and Gary McEnaney strikes as Carrick went up through the gears. The Farneysiders then went three points up with five minutes to go thanks to a Mark Downey brace. Tyholland didn't give up the ghost though but despite throwing the kitchen sink at Carrick for the remainder of the match, Downey's brace was enough to seal victory by 0-16 to 1-8. "That was a result and a half," Scully recalls, "because Tyholland knew that if they lost that game they would be relegated and that's the way it worked out. "I think the players laid down their credentials as winners of the league that day. They could easily have gotten into their heads that the game meant more to Tyholland and buckled. "The team was only beaten six times all year and it was the sort of determination, finishing power and teamwork that they showed against Tyholland which held them in good stead. "Proving yourself to be the best team over twenty games to win the league is a great achievement. It's a long season, from March to November and the cream does rise to the top. "Any group of players that has ever won the league will tell you that it's very difficult to sustain your best form for such a long time but our lads did very good work in that respect." By the end of October, the would-be title winners had all but copper-fastened their place in the semi-finals of the competition with a 1-8 to 0-9 win over Castleblayney. On their home turf, Carrick had to overcome spirited opposition and the ravages of wind and rain to chalk up victory thanks, in part, to a first-half goal scored by Sean Downey. Downey's purposeful finish was typical on the day of the Emmets' greater economy in the last third of the field. Carrick led by 1-3 to 0-5 at half-time and seldom looked uneasy. The victory over the Faughs propelled Carrick into joint top spot on 24 points with Scotstown after 18 games. History was only two games away, almost tangible. Carrick duly booked their place in the final with a gritty 0-14 to 2-7 win over Doohamlet on November 16th after a titanic contest in Emmet Park. Carrick began the game with plenty of vim and vigour but an early goal by Doohamlet had the Farneysiders circling the wagons with a view to fighting their way out of tricky spot. True to form, Carrick hit back with interest and points from Andrew Callan and Sean Downey hallmarked a fine first half overall as they went in at the break leading by 0-9 to 1-1. The second half was a much more even contest but Doohamlet looked to have it all to do when Andrew Callan's point put his side four points in front. Carrick's lead became six points entering the final ten minutes of the game with a great solo point from Mark McNally arguably the best score of the match at that juncture. From there to the end of the game, it was nervy, backs-to-the-wall stuff for the Emmets as Doohamlet set about putting in a storming finish. A late goal - direct from a free - by Doohamlet threatened to turn Carrick's day into a nightmare but the Emmets showed a steely resolve to edge their way over the finishing line. "I honestly thought we were home and dry when we got ahead by six points with under ten minutes to go," John reflects. "Doohamlet proved that they're a very good team all year. "They're very tenacious and have a great team spirit and when they put that 20 metre free straight to the net, I was just wondering when would the referee blow his whistle!" Gunning for their first-ever SFL title win, Carrick faced Castleblayney in the decider. Would history be made or would 'blayney secure their 16th senior league triumph? Carrick surprised many by dint of their passage through to the final, having only just graduated from intermediate ranks in 2006 when they won the championship. In less than two years, the Emmets had risen from IFC wannabes to one of the top teams at senior ranks. Their rise and rise spoke volumes about their talent and football nous. Carrick went into the final in Drumhowan with no sense of inferiority complex either for they had recorded wins over the 'faughs during the season, home and away. Carrick didn't beat 'blayney at the next time of asking but they didn't lose either. The final scoreline of Carrick 0-9; Castleblayney 1-6 fairly reflected the balance of play over the hour. A gusting wind on hand served to shape the flow of play to an inordinate degree and both sides will probably argue they didn't fully cash in when they had the elements at their backs. At half-time, Carrrick trailed by 0-4 to 1-5 and chairman John Scully sensed the Emmets were greatly underwhelmed by their first half display. The feeling of unease was almost tangible in the dressing-room, he says. The Farneysiders had faced the breeze in the first half and went in at the break four points in arrears. "We left ourselves with a bit of a hill to climb in the second half," the erstwhile county secretary reflected. "The mood in the dressing-room was naturally a bit subdued at half-time and you felt that everyone was apprehensive about the challenge facing us in the second half. "And when they went five points up shortly after the restart and we were struggling to find our form, it was a worrying time. "But our defence kept us in the game and it was significant that 'blayney only got one score in the second half but I suppose we were both glad of the second chance. And the turning point in his view? "I'd say James McGeown's performance in midfield in the second half and the way he was putting in tackles and turning possession over. "With James Conlon suffering badly from the flu, James was the main man in us grinding them down and by the time the last quarter of the game kicked in we were well on top. "We had four good opportunities to win it in the last ten minutes, after we drew level, but didn't take any of them and that left us feeling very disappointed at the final whistle. "That disappointment morphed in some quarters of Carrick town into self-doubt. Questions about Carrick's stomach for the fight when under the cosh were muttered. However any suggestion that the Emmets couldn't eke out a win from a basement bottom position were proven totally wrong in the replay as they notched a 0-12 to 0-10 win. Carrick became only the 11th club to win the Owen Ward Cup since it was first played for back in 1930 and what a well-merited win it was! A floodlit, atmospheric St. Oliver Plunkett Park (Emyvale) helped enormously to make the game an event worthy of the occasion. Talk of Carrick having possibly missed the boat could be heard among some supporters entering the ground but that school of thought was to be binned within the hour. The game was played at a very high tempo throughout and the sides were level four times during a closely contested first half with Carrick seizing into a one point interval lead. The second half saw Carrick steal an early march on their opponents as they opened a three points lead by the 40th minute but total domination was a long way off at that juncture. In fact, 'blayney had their best period of the match thereafter to forge their way into a one point lead with eight minutes left to play in the match. The Emmets fought back to level matters once more five minutes from time and then again with three minutes left on the clock after the Faughs had nicked a one point lead again. With extra-time looming, Carrick rolled up their sleeves again and match winning points from Sean Downey and Andrew Callan followed in the three minutes of added-on time. "Castleblayney aren't often beaten in finals, especially replays, so that was a measure of how determined and focussed our lads were in Emyvale," John adds. "I think we struggled to make things count when we had a man extra but then when it went to 14 men aside, we seem to cope better and be more convincing and less hesitant. "We won the intermediate double two years ago but winning the senior league, in my books, was an even greater achievement, especially given the pressure the lads were on. "Having already lost out in the championship final, the panel didn't want to be remembered for losing two county finals. They showed a lot of hunger and handled the pressure well." That pressure was partly inherited by dint of the team's defeat in the senior championship final a couple of months previously when Latton played the part of party-poopers to a tee. Carrick made it through to the county championship final the hard way, having to progress via the backdoor system after they lost to Monaghan Harps by 0-8 to 0-14 first time out. "It wasn't the best of starts to the championship but we felt that the lads were determined to bounce back and play to the best of their ability from there on," says John. Carrick certainly did find much better form in the ties that followed with a resounding 1-15 to 1-9 win over Tyholland saying much for the Emmets' desire and resolve. Thereafter victory over Doohamlet (2-14 to 2-10) saw Carrick book a quarter-final berth with two purple patches either side of half-time yielding a handsome 1-3 apiece. Sean Downey banged home Carrick's first half goal which gave them a 1-6 to 0-5 interval lead, and then shortly after the restart Mark Downey goaled to make it a ten point game. Carrick had to have their wits about them from there to the climax of the game but they had done more than enough to secure their place in the last eight of the competition. Carrick's quarter-final clash with Scotstown in Clontibret in mid-September ended with a one point win for the Emmets in a tension-filled encounter. The would-be finalists looked home and dry as they led by six points with six minutes left to play but a late flourish by Scotstown had Carrick looking to their laurels 'till the death. Carrick led by 0-10 to 0-7 at the interval, having outplayed their opponents in most sectors of the field but gradually they began to lose their shape as in previous rounds. Fortunately for the Stefan White-managed crew, they enjoyed a purple patch in the third quarter which proved just enough to propel them across the finishing line in pole position. Next up was defending champions Clontibret with a place in the final as the prize for the combatants. On the back of a tremendous 1-13 to 1-11 victory, Carrick rejoiced. Carrick weren't at their best in the first half and despite some excellent points from Mark McNally, Mark Downey and Andrew Callan, they trailed by 0-8 to 1-7 at the interval. It seemed like Clontibret were destined to build on their lead but by the end of the third quarter, the Emmets had gained parity thanks, in part, to a great Stephen Gollogly point. Clontibret nevertheless stormed into a three points lead with just three minutes of normal time left to play. Sarsfield Park in Aughnamullen looked ready to salute an O'Neills' win. However Carrick rallied superbly to notch 1-2 with Sean Downey goaling and Andrew Callan and Sub. Ronan McMahon pointing to send the champions crashing to defeat. "Beating Clontibret was a memorable result. They were going for a three-in-a-row and to beat them was a huge achievement which created a tremendous buzz in the camp. "Getting to our first senior championship final was a big step forward for us and we genuinely went into the final with great confidence that we could create another upset." Sadly for Carrick, the dream died a death in Clones on October 12th when hot favourites Latton handed them a 0-15 to 0-11 defeat in a very fine county final. The sides were level on seven occasions, six in the first half, and it took a storming finish to the game by the O'Rahillys to see off the brave Carrick men. Indeed it was only in the final five minutes of the game that Latton were able to pull away and secure the spoils. The lead changed hands with abandon in the first half but it took a late, late point from Latton to make it 0-7 apiece at the short whistle. It was tit for tat in the opening quarter and Carrick really looked the part by the 12th minute when Andrew Callan restored his side's lead courtesy of a finely judged free. The helter-skelter pace continued as the second quarter advanced but neither side managed to secure anything like a vice-like grip on the exchanges. Latton later went two points in front by the three-quarter hour mark and when Carrick went down to 14 men, it seemed like the dye had been cast. Carrick rallied again though and a point from Andrew Callan (free) four minutes from time left just a point between the sides. That was as good as it got though for Carrick as the more experienced Latton lads stepped on the gas with three unanswered points between the 58th and 61st minute to seal the tie. "We knew at the start of the year that there was a panel of players in the club who had a lot of potential and were capable of mixing it with the best around and they proved that," the club chairman adds. "Fair play to Stefan (White), he improved the team and in my eyes he improved as a manager too as some of his team-talks were inspirational. "It was very disappointing for everyone to stand on the field in Clones after the final whistle and watch the presentation of the cup to Latton. "The players will learn from the experience though. The average age of the team is only around the 24 mark and I'm sure they'll be back better and wiser to have another crack at the championship." Tweet

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