Not quite
December 31, 2009In many ways, 2008 was the stuff of dreams for the gaels of CMX. Towards the end of the season, the Emmets made history by winning the Division One senior football league for the first time in their history with a magnificent 0-12 to 0-10 defeat of Castleblayney in a replayed decider at St Oliver Plunkett Park. This represented a truly momentous achievement for the south county club, and was their biggest triumph since the SFC was last scooped way back in 1919. For a young side that had been knocking on the door for a few years, this came as a massive morale-booster…
As well as collecting the Owen Ward Cup in '08, Carrick' also stormed through to the county final, raising many eyebrows with their superb semi-final victory over Clontibret. They came up against Latton in the final, but fell to a four-point defeat, 0-15 to 0-11. They were disappointed to lose, but getting to the final was an achievement in itself.
Thus, they went into the new campaign full of potential and brimming with confidence. Having surrendered their senior status in 2005, Carrick' had recovered tremendously by winning the intermediate league and championship in '06, contesting a SFC quarter-final V 'Blayney in '07 and reaching the final in '08. Could they continue that startling progress?
Alas, '09 was a disappointment as they failed to ignite in the league and once more bowed out of the big one at the quarter-final stage, losing to holders Latton at Clontibret (1-12 to 0-13) over the last weekend of August. It took the challengers 15 minutes to register their first point in that game and they enjoyed a decent second quarter to lead by 0-7 to 0-5 at the interval, but Noel Coyle's major eleven minutes after the resumption proved to be the decisive score.
Looking back on the events of 2009, Mark McNally believes Carrickmacross now find themselves at a critical crossroads: "It was a difficult year because there were a lot of injuries and other problems in the club. Next year could be the making or breaking of this team," he warns.
What was the target for the year gone by? "We set a very high standard in 2008 and our goal was to match that. Unfortunately, we failed to get anywhere close. Whereas we were winning matches by one point the previous year, all of a sudden we were losing by one point. It may seem like a small thing, but those two points were the difference and that's what we have to look at."
Despite once again getting to the latter stages of the championship, it is obvious that Mark is far from satisfied. He feels that it's time for Carrick' to push on and win the SFC. Why did they fail to progress in 2009? "We had a couple of injuries to key players and we have a small squad of about 17, so that hit us hard. Outside the first 17, the rest are just doing it for the craic. You'd think we'd have more players because Carrickmacross is a populated area, but it's the same for every town team - I don't know how or why…"
Mark himself played his first championship game in 2003 and has been a regular with Carrickmacross Emmets since 2004. So far in his career he has collected an intermediate double and a senior league medal, but there's no doubting which memento he craves most. Carrick' have shown enough in the past to suggest that they're capable of going all the way, but they need to get their act together before time passes them by. Mark is concerned that the economic situation could hamper his team's chances of glory: "There aren't too many jobs out there and we have three lads gone away already. They could be back by February or March, but they're gone for six months at least and it would be a big blow to lose any players."
What other challenges face Carrick' in the coming season? "To stay injury free. That's absolutely vital. We have a great bunch of lads and can put out a very strong first 15, but the squad isn't there at the moment. Our first 15 is as good as anybody's in the county, but we don't have much after that and everybody in the club knows it. And you have to play a lot of football over the course of a season, so we need to somehow stay injury-free. We were lucky last year in that Noel Swinburne and James Kiernan came back into the fold after a couple of years out, and they did well. We need everyone we can get, really."
Having spent two years with the county minors and a further two with the Monaghan U21s, Mark was part of the county senior set-up again in 2009 - his third year with Banty's boys. Winner of a Sigerson Cup medal with DCU in 2006, he fears that his intercounty career may not progress much further unless an ongoing injury problem is resolved - or resolves itself. "It's a niggly back injury - one of those that nobody seems to know what's wrong. So let's just say, I'm not getting my game. Obviously, I'd like to get a go with Monaghan but it's not going to happen unless I get the back sorted out."
Mark is joined on the Carrickmacross panel by brothers Owen and John, while his younger brother Laurence was with the U16s in 2009. That team won an U16 Division Two double, with first-teamer Declan Finnegan as trainer.
Looking back on the club's long-awaited county final appearance of 2008, Mark doesn't recollect the occasion with any particular fondness. At the end of the day, Carrick' underperformed and Carrick' lost - so what's there to be happy about? "It wasn't the highlight of our careers," he deadpans. "It was one of the worst days ever. I'd rather forget about it. It just didn't happen on the day for anybody. Of course it was nice to get there, but the game itself was a disaster and you get nothing for coming second."
And looking to 2010: "It's all about keeping bodies fit. I hope everybody is still there next year. It's a big year for this team and hopefully we'll have our full team available."
Carrickmacross, 2009 Monaghan SFC quarter-finalists V Latton: Niall McCarthy; Noel Swinburne, Gary McEnaney, Eoin Duffy; Eoin Sherry, Mark McNally, Ciaran Ward; James Conlon (0-1), James McGeown; Mark Downey (0-2), Stephen Gollogly (0-5), Paddy Lonergan; Sean Downey (0-1), Andrew Callan (0-3), Declan Finnegan (0-1). Subs: Owen McNally for E Duffy, David Fox for J McGeown.
Rock-like Carrick in Under 16 heaven!
Make mine a double was the clarion call in Carrick at under 16 level during 2009 with the Emmets claiming division two league and championship titles.
The underage set-up in Carrickmacross boasts a healthy pedigree. In the past year, a trio of cup triumphs firmly embellished the club's record.
The Emmets took a significant step in the creation of a monumental foundation stone for senior football with double joy at U16 level.
With great conviction, commitment and composure, the Emmets Og beat Killanny in the league final and Magheracloone in the championship.
The league decider was a fascinating local derby duel; the young Emmets keeping their best wine 'till last to leave the match underdogs bowled over.
In reflecting on the game, Carrick team-manager John McMenamin insists his side's double figures victory margin didn't quite reflect the nature of the exchanges in the decider.
"It wasn't as comfortable a win as the final scoreline suggested," the long-time coach testifies.
"The game was a tight contest 'till the second half when we opened up a bit of a gap and took it from there.
"Killanny definitely didn't deserve to lose by as much as they did but we were very pleased with how well our lads sealed the win all the same.
Having beaten the Louth-border side earlier in the league, away from home, Carrick's finest went into this year's league final as clear favourites.
In the event, the Emmets fairly justified their favourites' tag with a bright and breezy display of fast, attacking and 'oftimes high-quality football.
"Our lads didn't win anything as a group before the Killanny final so everyone was delighted that they broke their duck and in such style as well.
"They showed great enthusiasm and commitment throughout the year and they're now getting their just rewards.
"Their performances got better and better as the year went on and they showed a lot of character in both competitions.
"Early in the league final, the shots simply weren't going over the bar but they stuck at it, kept their heads down and it eventually came right for them.
"We didn't play particularly well in the first half, maybe because of some nerves and our markmanship in particularly left a bit to be desired.
"Having said that, we still led by five points at half-time but once we got the first goal after half-time, I felt we weren't going to be stopped."
Ironically matters were a little short of buoyant for the would-be champions at the start of the year as the numbers game kicked-in.
It seems that the Carrick think-tank of McMenamin and selectors Declan Finnegan and Gordon Finnegan - plus physio Valerie Campion - had to make do with quite a small squad when training got up and running in early February.
"There was a good team spirit there from the start even though we were working with just 16 or 17 players until the five lads from under 14 joined in with us," McMenamin explains.
"We worked hard in getting them to knuckle down to training and everyone was made feel wanted and nobody was allowed drop out, so to speak."
And the positive characteristics of the squad?
"We had a defence that didn't concede too many goals, a hard-working midfield and an attack that knew where the goals were but overall it was a well-balanced team with no real superstars."
Surprisingly given the way the season panned out, John confesses that he didn't fancy Carrick's chances of getting their hands on silverware at under 16 level this year.
In 2008, the corresponding under 16s from the bustling market town failed to make it to the semi-finals so there was a bit of a gap to make up in '09.
"If somebody had told me at the start of the year that we would go on and achieve what we did later on I wouldn't have believed them.
"Things didn't look good at the start of the year as regards numbers turning out for training because of injuries and studies and so forth.
"I remember early in the season when we played Clones in Clones and we had no subs 'cause of the shortage of players available to us.
"That was midway through the league and, as it happened, it really made our season and went a long way towards winning the league for us.
"Earlier we drafted in about five of the under 14 players and that spiced things up a lot in terms of competition for places."
Undeterred by their teething problems, Carrick's starlets not only proceeded to lift the league title but also claim championship honours as well.
In mid-October, the Emmets came within a whisker of scooping the championship title only to be denied at the death by Magheracloone. A fair result?
"I'm not sure," John confesses. "We were trailing for most of the game and then we went ahead with a couple of minutes to go but Magheracloone came back at us and got the draw.
"I remember we were fighting an uphill battle and it didn't help that we missed a lot of scores in the first half in particular.
"Having said that, it was a low-scoring game and scores were hard to come by for both teams on the day. Magheracloone definitely missed the boat."
So what was John's gut feeling ahead of the championship final replay against the Mitchells?
"I genuinely felt it would probably be just as close as the drawn game and I know the lads were expecting another tough game.
"I was confident that we could do it though. The players' confidence was high and I felt that if we got a good start, then that would be half the battle.
"At the start of the year, we just set out to get the most out of the lads so getting to two finals has been a huge bonus."
As things panned out, the replay was a much more clear-cut affair with the Emmets streaking past the finishing post with eleven points to spare.
"We weren't that impressive in the first half and they gave as good as they got so we only led by two points at the break.
"Fortunately the forwards really got their act together after half-time and it was one-way traffic for most of the second half."
The team's best performance of the year then?
"I think so. Considering it was a championship final, you'd have to say that the pressure was on to deliver and the lads did just that.
"While our possession count wasn't really any more than the drawn game, the players took their scores a lot better and the end product was there."
So which was sweeter? The league title triumph or the championship success?
"The first one is the sweeter in a lot of cases but, overall, I'm a firm believer in the notion that the best team is the most consistent team during the year.
"I know people generally regard the championship as the top competition but the league campaign really brought out the best in our lads."
John is delighted that the Class of 2009 has finally reaped a bounty following fallow years as an entity in competitions past.
While this year's all-conquering under 16 crew reached finals down the years, the ultimate prize(s) evaded them 'till this year.
"I'd like to think that they got their just rewards this year," John opines. "I think division one is their level too. It was a big year for them.
"It was another good year for the club at underage level with the under 14s winning division one as well.
"Everyone showed great commitment and perseverence over the year and winning will certainly help keep them keen and I'm sure they'll continue to improve and be in the running for further honours down the line." Tweet
