Great leap forward in '08
December 31, 2008
The year 2008 marked Eire-Óg's great leap forward. From supposed relegation fodder to promotion contenders - it was a fantastic campaign for the men from Smithboro. By David Keelaghan.
Kieran Brennan's side collected 24 points in their first year back in Intermediate football - 11 wins, two draws and five loses. They ended the season on equal points with Truagh (one of the pre-season favourites for promotion), before eventually losing out to the north-Monaghan side in the league semi-final 2-8 to 1-4.
Lost in the record books of season 2008 will be the fact that Truagh's final two points of the year were secured by way of forfeiture by Cremartin. A large school of thought opines the league final should be contested each year between the top two teams - which would mean abandonment of the current top four/semi-final arrangement. If that was the case, then Eire-Óg could conceivably have found themselves in a league final with Ballybay, and who's to say what would have happened then.
That's all hearsay and conjecture of course; there's plenty of reality to keep Eire-Óg supporters happy with this year's efforts. They should also take comfort that this campaign is not intended to be an isolated incident, but part of the greater overall progress of the side.
Joseph Stalin first originated the concept of the five-year plan for Soviet economic growth. Ever ambitious, Eire-Óg have implemented their own version, one within a shorter time-fame.
The "four-year-plan" of Kieran Brennan and the Eire-Óg management enters year three next season, and is already well ahead of course. Year two was meant to signify acclimatisation then consolidation in the Intermediate ranks; instead the team thrived in its new surroundings. Food for thought for next year - a year when expectations will be raised considerably.
Manager Kieran Brennan gives his thoughts on this year, beginning with the opening fixtures which set the tone for his side in 2008.
"We beat Cremartin by 15 points in our first game, then had a draw with Truagh and wins over Donaghmoyne and Aughnamullen after that. The reason for our good start can be attributed to our late finish the year before. We never really stopped; we played our league final replay against Killeevan two days before Christmas, and were back two weeks later at training. So being in that sort of shape so early in the season was a big asset, and we took 7 points from our first eight."
Impressive as Eire-Óg's start was, it wasn't plain sailing for the side throughout the year. With two loses from two against Donaghmoyne and Rockcorry - their Championship form was as bad as their league results good. This did not surprise the manager, who realised early on his small and inexperienced panel would be better served concentrating on one competition. Needless to say which one they focused on.
"Staying up was our first preference, so we decided we wouldn't concentrate on the Championship at all - the league was our priority. We took the stance that there was no point sitting in a Championship semi-final, but at the same time fighting a relegation battle. If we had won the Championship we would have went to Senior, and we're not ready for at least another year. There's no point running before you can walk, so we used the Championship to give the younger players a run out. We will be taking a different approach next year now the players have a year of Intermediate under their belts."
The Championship loss to Donaghmoyne in May was only the second of the year for Eire-Óg; more would follow in the summer months, as Kieran Brennan's small panel was pushed to its limits.
"We lost the Championship game against Donaghmoyne by four points, but I felt we played very well. Our captain Mark McCaffrey was missing that day and we lost Paddy Croarkin at half-time. We then lost our next game narrowly to Corduff, before our game with Sean McDermotts. That was a really tough match, they had three players sent off and in fairness we probably should have had as well. Paddy Croarkin broke his leg after a late tackle and then missed most of the season. He only returned for the final three games, but we managed to pick up seven points during his absence."
He continued: " We had three players out with broken collar bones - Donal Tierney, Alan McGorman and Sean Flynn, and alongside Paddy Croarkin, they all missed about six weeks. We started dropping more points around that time, but I wouldn't consider it a slump because we still had wins over Emyvale and Ballybay."
The mid summer period was a low point in a season of mostly highs. A nadir was reached with a 2-12 to 0-5 away loss to Donaghmoyne. Kieran Brennan looks back on that game, but explains the mitigating circumstances.
"Donaghmoyne, along with Ballybay and Truagh, were one of the strongest sides in the division this year. They have Senior experience, so to go to their ground missing five players was always going to be a tough task. We can't really afford to lose those sort of numbers, so we suffered a big defeat that day."
As the calendar passed by, the injury list that hindered Eire-Óg for most of the summer began to subside. The return of some key names, Paddy Croarkin amongst them, coincided with a return to form for the Smithboro men. They finished the year strongly with wins over Corduff and Sean McDermotts, but needed victory in their last game against Rockcorry to seal a semi-final place. With the pressure at its most keenly felt, Kieran Brennan's side responded in definitive fashion.
" I thought the best performance of the year was the last league game against Rockcorry. We needed to win that match and found ourselves five points and a man down after 15 minutes. A draw was enough for us to reach the semi-final, whereas if Rockcorry won they would have met us in a play-off. So for us to come back and win the game with 14 men was brilliant."
That victory led to a semi-final showdown with Truagh. It was clear who the underdogs were in the encounter, but Eire-Óg defied that belief for much of the contest, before another sending-off ended their resistance.
" We weren't far off in that game. We were a point down with 15 minutes to go and then had Colin Casey sent off. I think we were lucky to be that close in fairness, then Truagh got a goal and that opened the floodgates a bit."
Should the North Monaghan side have even been in the game, however? Kieran Brennan gives an unequivocal answer.
"Truagh got their last two points handed to them after Cremartin forfeited. It was suggested to us that we should appeal that, but I felt Truagh and Ballybay were the best two sides in Intermediate this year so justice was done."
After defying all expectations for their return to Intermediate football in 08, there could be a danger of 'difficult second album' syndrome setting in for Eire Óg. Not in manager Kieran Brennan's eyes; instead he sees a group of young players with an upward trajectory in their future.
"We have some good players coming through - Patrick Sweeney, Darren McMahon, Conor Toal, Donal Tierney, Christopher McGorman; they are five minors that played in the panel last year. A year will make a lot of difference for those boys, already you could see signs of a partnership between Donal and Paddy Croarkin."
He concluded. "We're very happy with how this year went, but that doesn't do anything for next season - you have to start off again. We'll be hoping to match this year in terms of league position, but also putting more emphasis on the Championship. The club set a target at the start of last year to reach Senior within four years. This year I think we were punching above our weight, we didn't expect to reach the semi-final of the league, but we did. Next season is the start of year three, so we could be ahead of schedule, we'll not be turning our back on promotion if the opportunity arises. A year at this level makes all the difference, going up this season probably would have been a step too far for the lads. As for next year, who knows, you won't find out until you're up there."
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