Killanny starlets to the Four once again
December 30, 2010Four titles were won in 2010.
Emboldened by a top-class juvenile structure, the great and the good of Killanny's underage football talent once again proved their mettle in the past year.
The club's think-tanks did their stuff in 2010 along the sideline which allowed their charges strut their stuff all the way, in four cases at least, to the winner's enclosure.
All told, the Geraldines captured a league and championship double at under 16 Division Two level; the Division One crown at under 14 level and the MFC Division Two title.
But should we honestly have been surprised by how things panned out for Killanny in the past 12 months?
For instance, remember 2007 folks when the club's burgeoning starlets bagged the U12 Division Three crown and also the U16 Division Three title that year.
The groundswell of maturing young talent at the Geraldines scooped the U13 Division Two title in 2008. A pattern was clearly emerging.
And so a rather familiar story unfolded in 2010. Hats off to all concerned on both sides of the white line.
The club's under 16s, under the management of John Kieran, Paul Grimes, Michael Crawley and Barney Vernon, were a class apart among their peers in 2010.
Expectations were pretty high in Killanny as a number of their under 16 players had previously been members of Killanny's under 14 troupe which had gotten their hands on a Shield - the club's first ever division one trophy.
In fact, the same troupe had amassed quite a few medals at under 12, under 13, under 14 before climbing the summit at under 16.
The Class of 2010 hit the heights with a one point semi-final win over Donaghmoyne in what was deemed by some as the 'match of the competition.'
The final of the league competition saw Killanny cross swords with Magheracloone and beat them by a point in Corduff in poor weather conditions.
"The lads showed a lot of character in chiselling out some of their victories during the year and that included the final," testifies mentor John Kieran.
"The way they won the final just reminded us yet again that this group of lads know how to win and it followed on from their terrific semi-final win.
"The whole team contributed to the league and championship wins. We had a formidable backline, a good midfield and fast and accurate forwards."
Predictably, John is equally bullish about the under 16s' performances in the subsequent championship fare. He says the team's achievement in winning the league and championship double didn't surprise him.
John says the collective strength of the team was its forte, aided and abetted by the players' great self-belief and confidence.
Killanny overcame Maheracloone by a handful of points in the championship semi-final to book a place in the decider against Donaghmoyne.
Played in Aughnamullen, the final proved to be another strong test for Killanny's finest but again the Geraldines' finest rose to the challenge.
"Donaghmoyne beat us earlier in the league so we knew that there was going to be nothing in it and that we'd have to be at our best," John explains.
As things panned out, Killanny duly did the business. Mentor Kieran was more than pleased:
"My abiding memory of the final was the way our lads dug deep and got through for a couple of defining scores.
"They met the challenge head on and took Donaghmoyne's best shots and went up a notch when most needed."
Killanny's under 14 troupe were no less resilient or ambitious in 2010 and they, too, got their due rewards for their endeavours.
In skipping their way to the Division One championship title, the Paul Kiernan/Martin Burns and Finbar Boylan plus Shane Dooley-managed side impressed big time.
"Winning division one was a huge achievement," the aforementioned Kiernan opines.
"They had a strong will to win which has contributed a lot to them building up a winning pedigree so far at the different grades.
Joint-manager Burns chips in in timely fashion to inform us that the same group of players won an U10 Division Three title and an U12 Division Two title in recent years.
"They've made steady progress over the last few years and you could see the improvement in them every year," a still delighted Burns points out.
Both messrs. Kiernan and Burns talk about how the panel demonstrated a "great willingness to learn and to improve their skills all during the year."
From the time training for them began in late March, the Killanny under 14s were focussed on bringing home the bacon (silverware).
While the team's think-tank were very confident in their charges' ability and their determination to go the distance, Kiernan admits nobody was cocky.
"We're a very small parish team with a third of the parish inside the Louth border so to win a division one title wasn't really on the radar initially.
"I think our outright victory in the championship surprised a lot of people within the club and it surpassed my expectations, I'd have to say.
"At the start of the season, I felt that if we were able to hold our own in the top division we'd have done well but to go on and win it was incredible."
Kiernan's brother-in-arms, Burns, is no less bullish in reflecting on how the war was won by the championship dark horses:
"These fellas are very dedicated and down the years they've had good men over them so they had no fear of playing anyone, any opposition.
"Even before the final against Scotstown, I could sense that they knew they could win 'cause the winning habit gives that confidence to a team."
As things panned out, a timely goal during the second half give Killanny the cushioned lead to go on and beat Scotstown by a handful of points.
It was a case of third time lucky for Killanny as they had drawn twice with the Fermanagh-border side in their other meetings during the season.
"It was point for point nearly all the way in the final," Burns remembers,"after we got an early goal which got us off to a great start.
"Scotstown went three points up after that but there's a lot of forceful characters in our team and they really stood up to the plate.
"They didn't panic when they might have done in the final quarter and, fortunately, they got through for enough scores to win the game."
The management team of Lornie Duffy, John McMahon, Paul Kiernan and John Quinn had reason to be just as proud of their minor squad.
In careering their way to the Division Two championship, Killanny's under 18 crew fairly did the Geraldines proud and gave the club a huge filip.
Again Killanny's youngsters upset the odds to claim the silverware with most people tipping Corduff's best to be the best in 2010 at minor level.
"Corduff were the fancied team but once we beat Carrick, I felt it was a turning point and that we were on a roll," team manager Duffy explains.
Killanny didn't get it easy though. Seans beat them in the league and must have fancied their chances of doing likewise in the championship semi.
"It was a surprise to most people when we beat Carrick in the quarter-final and another surprise when we beat Sean McDermotts," Duffy enthuses.
"But these lads had a great team spirit and they worked hard for each other and the experience a lot of them got from playing with the seniors stood to them in the championship.
"Carrick was a sweet win but the win over Corduff in the final topped it 'cause St. Pat's (Ballybay/Drumhowan) annihilated us in the league and Corduff beat them in the championship on their way to the final so they were hot favourites."
One wonders was it difficult to pick up the lads' spirits after the comprehensive defeat to St. Pat's?
"No, not at all. That game came early in the season when we were missing two or three key players and it wasn't until the season went on a bit that we saw the best from the lads.
"Our victory in the semi-final against Sean McDermotts showed us just what the lads were capable of and what their true potential was."
Given the emphatic nature of Killanny's win over Seans in the penultimate round, there could have been an opening for complacency to crip in?
"No, there was never any chance of the players going into the final in any way cocky because they knew what Corduff were able to bring to the table.
"They (Corduff) had at least four fellas playing with their minors who had helped their junior team in the Ulster club championship.
"And considering they beat us by about four goals in the league meant that our players were under no illusions as to the size of the task facing them."
But, true to form, the character of the Killanny lads shone through in buckets in the county decider.
"We hit the ground running and kept in front right up to half-time and even though they came back with 1-1 at the start of the second half, our defence shut up shop and we got a few vital points at the other end to win, and deservedly so."
Deservedly so, four times over. That was the story at underage level for Killanny in 2010.
Roll on 2011. Tweet
