Deery is far from downcast
December 31, 2008
Under 21 captain Thomas Deery experienced county final defeats on the double in 2008 and is facing up to long-term injury problems. However he insists on looking on the bright side of life.
2008 may have yielded precious little in the way of silverware for Deery and co. but the highly-regarded 'keeper says an in-depth examination of the past season would be apt.
His review of his club's path to the IFC final incorporates a fusillade of complimentary nouns. Bouquets fly the way of management, team-mates, supporters and club members alike.
Deery says that while every pundit in the county, bar Donaghmoyne folk, fully anticipated a triumphalt end to Ballybay's championship odyssey, the Fontenoys surprised many gaels.
"We were short a few players but we said beforehand that we weren't going into the final without hope or just to make up the numbers," the 21 year old insists.
"A lot of hard work had been done on the training field and we earned the right to be in the final. We wanted to do ourselves justice on the day and maybe surprise a lot of people."
The injury-plaqued shot-stopper is at pains to extricate the silver lining from the cloud which engulfed his team's display in getting beaten in the county final.
He admits that he nursed the hope in the run-up to the final that the would-be champions would enter the final in a complacent, overly-confident mood.
However Ballybay showed themselves to be too experienced to suffer ignominy; too classy to stumble on the grassy knoll; too focussed to slip on a metaphorical banana skin.
"Ballybay's form had been good all year and the league table doesn't lie either so, overall, it wasn't hard to see why so many people backed them to beat us in the final.
"They had been there before, knew what it took to win a final and they never looked like pressing the panic button whenever we hit a good patch.
"It was a big achievement for us to get to the final though, especially for such a young team so we weren't as downbeat afterwards as we would have been if we were an old team."
The maroon and whites representing the Pearse Brothers may have left Donaghmoyne marooned at the final whistle in the county decider but Deery for one is far from bereft of hope.
He fully expects Donaghmoyne to rebound in the same way they did when suffering the slings and arrows of relegation from senior ranks in 2007.
Certainly if Deery's optimism and conviction is mirrored panel-wide, then the odds are that Donaghmoyne will rebound with courage and fortitude from their county final setback.
"Hopefully we'll have a few fellas back in place for next year and everyone on the squad that was about for this year will learn from getting to the championship final.
"The fact that we lost four players to Australia, Frank Markey, Bernard Kelly, Niall Kelly, Declan Lynch and then, later on, Joe Kelly meant that we were really up against it.
"It was a bonus to a big extent to reach the final but maybe we weren't just ready to make the step up that was needed. Ballybay deserved to win on the day, no doubt about it."
But if Thomas, for whom 2008 was his sixth championship year, had a magic wand, what would he add to Donaghmoyne's jigsaw that perhaps was missing in 2008?
"Maybe being a bit more consistent would be the biggest help of all to us," he explains. "We had too much of an up and down season in the championship and the league.
"We had some good results early on at the start of the league and then hit a bad patch which saw us lose to Eire Og but then things picked up again.
"The win over Sean McDermotts was a good boost to us. We played some great football that day - probably our best football of the year. I think we beat them by about 11 points.
"Then we got revenge over Eire Og later on in the championship in a game in Ballybay but Rory Woods' suspension meant we missed him badly for the Ballybay game."
Ballybay would, it seems, form a seminal ingredient in Donaghmoyne's year. The town team actually morphed into being Donaghmoyne's bete noir over the course of 2008.
"We met them in the Under 21 Division Two final as well and they beat us by a few points so they definitely had the upper hand on us at different times," says the team captain.
"Because there were about ten or eleven fellas on the under 21 teams that were also on the intermediate teams, we knew one another very well by the end of the year.
"We knew how good their players were but we gave them a fright in the first half of the intermediate final but, in fairness, they came back well after that.
"Rory (Woods) did a great job on Paul Finlay but then Finlay was switched out to midfield after about ten minutes of the second half and things sort of went downhill for us after that."
Thomas knows more than most that sympathy cards and laurel leaves don't grow on the same tree and that it's all about which team does the business over the course of a year.
In that respect, the general consensus is that Donaghmoyne just fell short of possessing enough aces and not as many match-winners as was needed to tip them over the edge.
"We're not blessed with the same strength in depth that some other clubs would have has but we'll never resort to using that as an excuse.
"The fact that we were able to bring in three minors, John Farrell, Matthew Reilly and Christopher Deery, into the team this year gives us optimism for 2009.
"Those three fellas have really stood up to the plate since the other lads went to Australia and they've shown they're well capable of mixing it at the top level.
"Some people forget that we beat Ballybay twice in the league, even though they were both 'star' games. And we did what we had to do to get as far as the championship final.
"I suppose because of the lads we missed in 2008, there weren't any great expectations even within our own club so we did well to beat Emyvale in the semi and get to the final."
Donaghmoyne weren't that far off either in netting a top four place which would, that said, served to match rather than exceed the players' expectations.
Matters that smack of glorious failure, a moral victory etc have no place in the Donaghmoyne lexicon though and Thomas Deery is certainly not one to go against the party line.
Donaghmoyne's appearance in the 2008 IFC final marked the club's first championship final since its 1995 SFC defeat so, in that regard at least, progress was made.
Certainly some of the team's performances during the past year were mirror images of the Fontenoys' campaign two years ago when they scooped the IFL title.
League title ambitions in '08 floundered, according to Thomas, on a defeat suffered on their travels at the hands of Rockcorry. It was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
"It was the killer blow," he maintains. "We had a man sent off in the first ten minutes and they used their extra man well and it just didn't happen for us on the day."
Thomas accepts that 2008 "could have went better for us with a bit more consistency" but "we were fairly happy with the way we played overall, all-year round.
"We had three county minors playing in key positions this year and the lads in Australia so, all things considered, we didn't let ourselves down.
"And the minors got to the league final which is a good sign for the future too."
And the future for one Thomas Deery?
"I have to get an operation on both hips because of bone cartilege trouble and it's a three month recovery period for each operation so I can't see myself playing any football in 2009.
"I only played in the matches this year, did very little training at all so I knew the operations were probably on the cards anyway and then an MRI scan in Belfast confirmed the news.
"Hopefully everything will go well enough for me to come back the following year and play as much football as I want."
No doubt all belonging to Donaghmoyne and true sportspeople countywide will wish Thomas well in his journey back to full fitness.
Fontenoy's remain queens of the county
For the sixth year in succession Donaghmoyne ladies were crowned county champions. They followed it up with the Ulster title but crashed out of the All-Ireland campaign at the hands of Mayo side Carnacon. By Alan Gunn
Donaghmoyne ladies continued their dominance of Monaghan football when they collected both the league and championship. The championship success completed a six in a row and in truth it was achieved without any major difficulty.
The Fontenoy's began their campaign with a comfortable victory over Aghabog, 2-17 to 1-9. They had the contest all but wrapped up at the break as they led by 13 points. Both Catriona McConnell and Niamh Lynch were the main scorers as they rattled in 2-10 between them with Lynch hitting 2-2 of that tally.
This set them up for a final meeting with Monaghan Harps in Corduff on September 13. Yet again the Fontenoy's had too much for their opponents winning by 3-16 to 0-4. Amanda Casey was outstanding at the middle of the park while up front player of the match Cora Courtney tormented the Harps. At the back, again Donaghmoyne were very solid throughout.
The early exchanges were close with both sides trading a point a piece in the opening quarter. However, once Donaghmoyne settled and found their feet on the slippery surface they rattled over 1-8 without reply in the second quarter to have the game all but wrapped up by the interval.
Their dominance continued after the resumption and a goal from Niamh Lynch just two minutes into the half ended any thoughts the Harps may have had of salvaging the game. The lead was extended to 19 points by the end of the third quarter with Catriona McConnell, Angela Lennon and Cora Courtney very much to the fore.
The eventual winners showed their strength in dept as substitute Eileen McElroy came off the bench to hit 1-1, her goal coming nine minutes from time to round off a convincing victory.
Donaghmoyne (v Harps): Linda Martin, Joanne Geoghegan, Michelle Grimes, Elaine Martin, Annette Duffy, Fiona Courtney, Joanne Courtney, Amanda Casey (0-2), Sharon Courtney, Lorraine Daly, Angela Lennon (0-2), Lisa Kingham (0-1), Catriona McConnell (0-5, 2f), Niamh Lynch (1-0), Cora Courtney (1-4). Subs: Francis Finnegan for Duffy, Eileen McElroy (1-1) for Kingham, Zita McBride for C Courtney, Niamh McCarthy (0-1, f) for McConnell, Maria Daly for Lynch
Ulster Championship
The quest for provincial honours began with a home tie against Tyrone side Carrickmore at the beginning of October. Despite nine of the side coming off the back of an All-Ireland defeat to Cork the previous week, Donaghmoyne easily progressed to the semi-final on a final score of 3-8 to 0-8.
Two goals from Cora Courtney in the opening seven minutes handed the home side the perfect start but they failed to build on it and only led by three points at the break. It was a performance built on a solid display from the defence and in particular the showing from Joanne Geoghegan and Hazel Kingham when introduced. Amanda Casey also impressed at midfield while both Cora Courtney and Lisa Kingham, who hit their third major, looked the liveliest up front. Sharon Courtney was again on top of her game at the back also.
Next up was the visit of Armagh side Clann Eireann to Fontenoy Park. A well taken goal by Angela Lennon five minutes before the break was to be the difference at the finish. That goal helped Donaghmoyne lead at the break by five points. Some wonderful points from Catriona McConnell kept their noses in front and at the finish they held out for a 1-10 to 0-10 victory.
In the Ulster decider they faced new kids on the block Moville from Donegal. Entering the game as strong favourites Donaghmoyne left Galbally very lucky to take the game to a replay. Played in dreadful conditions Donaghmoyne simply did not perform and in the end were very relieved to leave with a 0-5 a piece draw.
Donaghmoyne struggled throughout. However, Amanda Casey excelled and was the driving force behind her side from start to finish and played a major part in helping her side have a second chance. Caitriona McConnell hit four points, three from frees in what were atrocious conditions for a free taker.
In the replay played in Kinawley, Donaghmoyne made no mistake winning 1-14 to 1-9. The victors lined out with Lisa Kingham starting at half back and with Hazel Kingham and Eileen McElroy lining out in attack these changes had a very telling effect on the south Monaghan kingpins overall performance.
Caitriona McConnell was influential scoring ten points over the hour. At the break two points separated the sides but by the end of the third quarter the lead was extended to six. Angela Lennon set up Lorraine Daly to fire their major seven minutes from time and although Moville did stage a late challenge Donaghmoyne were already safe.
Donaghmoyne (v Moville (replay): Linda Martin, Joanne Geoghegan, Michelle Grimes, Elaine Martin, Lisa Kingham, Fiona Courtney, Joanne Courtney, Amanda Casey, Sharon Courtney, Lorraine Daly (1-0), Angela Lennon (0-1) , Hazel Kingham (0-1), Eileen McElroy, Caitriona McConnell (0-10), Cora Courtney 0-1. Subs: Majella Woods (0-1) for E Martin, Niamh Lynch for C Courtney
All-Ireland Championship
The dream of an All Ireland ended in Ray Prendergast Memorial Park, Clogher against home side Carnacon.
The physical, scrappy and untidy nature of the game suited the home side on what was a very heavy pitch and with it Donaghmoyne were outplayed from start to finish. The Monaghan girls made too many unforced errors and were always left playing catch up.
The Mayo side led at the break by four points and when they rattled the Donaghmoyne net immediately after the resumption it was game over. To their credit the Fontenoy's battled to the finish with substitute Majella Woods making a major impact when introduced. Her goal at the end of the third quarter give them hope but as hard as they tried they never looked like getting a result. At the finish six points separated the sides on a final score of 1-11 to 1-5.
Donaghmoyne (v Carnacon): Linda Martin, Joanne Geoghegan, Michelle Grimes, Elaine Martin, Lisa Kingham, Fiona Courtney, Joanne Courtney, Amanda Casey (0-1), Sharon Courtney, Angela Lennon, Eileen McElroy, Hazel Kingham, Caitriona McConnell (0-2, f), Lorraine Daly, Cora Courtney. Subs: Niamh Lynch for H Kingham, Majella Woods (1-1) for L Daly
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