Pride restored
November 27, 2011
Carrickmacross Emmets put the disappointment of the previous year behind them and restored pride in the club with a fantastic outright success in the 2011 Monaghan IFC. They then effortlessly added the league title to complete a famous double. Carrick' were the outstanding intermediate team in the county all year, setting the pace in the league from start to finish and regaining the championship with victories over Sean McDermotts, Aughnamullen, Tyholland and Corduff. As they romped to glory, it was patently obvious that the Emmets were punching below their weight so the clear task facing the south county town club now is to ensure there is no repeat of the shock relegation that left them stunned just over twelve months ago.
Carrick' secured the Paddy O'Rourke Cup with a comfortable 1-11 to 1-7 victory over neighbours Corduff in the IFC decider at O'Neill Park, Clontibret on Sunday, October 2nd. There was much more than promotion to senior ranks and silverware at stake - local pride was on the line and this derby match was a real leveller as two grades had separated these clubs just a year earlier, with Corduff winning the JFC and Carrickmacross suffering the ignominy of relegation just two years after reaching the SFC final and winning the SFL.
Even though Carrick' knew they had the safety net of the league to fall back on, they went for the jugular from the off and county man Mark Downey's fortuitous early goal from a sideline kick had them in an ascendancy that they never relinquished. They imposed a ruthless stranglehold on Corduff's dangerous forwards throughout the hour and the fact that the opposition's attacking sextet managed just two points from play says it all, really. The losers' goal came from substitute Shane Malone with the match already over as a contest and the reality is that the winners were much clearer victors than the final four-point margin might try to suggest.
Seven Carrick' players scored in the final, making light work of penetrating Corduff's well-drilled defensive system, with Man of the Match Stephen Gollogly, the Downeys Sean and Mark, and player-selector Andrew Callan doing most of the damage. Peter O'Hanlon and captain James Conlon controlled the midfield sector and Mark McNally's marshalling of Keith McEnaney was top class.
After Mark Downey had opened the scoring with a goal in the most unlikely of fashions, Corduff replied with a pointed free from their goalkeeper Jason Hand before Gollogly won and converted a free. Callan slotted over the game's first score from play to make it 1-2 to 0-1. Carrick' would still have this four-point cushion when the long whistle sounded…
Hand and Gollogly swapped scores and Mark Downey also had a point from play cancelled out as the teams adjourned with the favourites ahead by 1-4 to 0-3.
Carrick' knew they would be back in senior football if they could hold their own upon the resumption and they effectively assured themselves of the prize with a run of four successive points in the third quarter - Callan, Gollogly, Conor McEnaney and Sean Downey all pulling the trigger. Corduff's first score from play materialised with just eleven minutes left but Carrick' replied through Sean Downey. O'Hanlon and centre back Gary McEnaney struck to make it an eight-point match once more.
John O'Connor pulled off a tidy save before Corduff pounced for their late goal and corner man John McNally repelled a desperate injury-time raid from the plucky losers with a vital block. So the Emmets took the spoils and captain James Conlon collected the O'Rourke Cup from the County Board chairman before the celebrations began.
Carrickmacross Emmets - 2011 Monaghan intermediate football champions: J O'Connor; O McNally, M McNally, J McNally; D Finnegan, G McEnaney (0-1), N McEnaney; J Conlon (captain), P O'Hanlon (0-1); J McGeown, S Gollogly (0-3), C McEneaney (0-1); A Callan (0-2), M Downey (1-1), S Downey (0-2). Subs: E Sherry for C McEnaney (44), R McMahon for N McEnaney (55), R Gollogly for Callan (60), S Mulholland for S Downey (60).
Meanwhile in the IFL, Carrick' finished top of the table with a tally of 29 points from 18 matches - 14 wins, one draw, and just the three defeats all year. This was enough to secure a semi-final spot and they subsequently defeated Rockcorry by three points at Inniskeen on Sunday, October 23rd - 0-13 to 0-10 - before seeing off Currin in the intermediate league decider at Drumhowan on Sunday, November 6th, 3-11 to 0-12. The previous weekend, Carrick'scored a 0-11 to 0-8 victory over Kildress of Tyrone in the first round of the Ulster intermediate club football championship; but Craigbane of Derry ended their provincial march at the semi-final stage on November 13th.
To say that Carrick' were disappointed to be relegated in late 2010 after spending four years at senior level would be an understatement. They were determined to go straight back up and there were signs of nerves when they struggled past Sean McDermotts in their championship opener at Clontibret on Sunday, June 12th, 0-11 to 1-7. Stephen Gollogly (1-4) returned from injury to mastermind the 1-14 to 1-5 defeat of Aughnamullen at Inniskeen on Friday, August 19th and the all-action county player also fired the crucial goal just before half time in the semi-final against Tyholland - a match Carrick' eventually won with ease. However, in the final they came up against a side that hadn't lost a championship match since 2009. The south Monaghan derby was well-hyped, so Carrick' - who were four points clear in the league at the time - had to stay focused. In the final analysis, their extra experience and quality told.
This was Carrickmacross' sixth appearance in a county IFC final and their fourth success in the middle-tier knockout competition. Their last triumph prior to 2011 came in 2006 when they got the better of Monaghan Harps in the decider.
The '11 semi-final against Tyholland took place in Aughnamullen on Saturday September 10th and the champions-elect dominated after the interval to prevail by better-than-double-scores, 2-13 to 1-6. Playing against the wind in the first half, Carrick' faced a Tyholland onslaught but they held on doggedly and Stephen Gollogly's goal on the stroke of half time gave them a crucial 1-5 to 0-5 interval advantage.
Tyholland never rolled over, however, and they were back within a point when Cyril Ronaghan rattled the net but the Emmets dug deep and coasted to victory with an unanswered salvo of 1-6 in the last 20 minutes, including a goal from the impressive Sean Downey. Gary McEnaney had returned home to Ireland in time to play a role in the latter stages of the championship. The semi-final team was as follows: John O'Connor; Gary McEnaney, Mark McNally, Owen McNally; Declan Finnegan, Eoin Sherry, Neil McEnaney; James McGeown, James Conlon (0-1); Conor McEnaney, Stephen Gollogly (1-2), Peter O'Hanlon; Andrew Callan (0-4), M Downey (0-4), S Downey (1-1). Subs: S Mulholland (0-1) for Callan (58), R McMahon for C McEnaney (60).
The opener against the Seans was a real battle, played in atrocious conditions, with strong wind and heavy rain making a lottery of proceedings. James Conlon and James McGeown were magnificent in the Carrick' engine-room, while the evergreen Andrew Callan and Mark Downey impressed up front. Carrick' led all the way- including by 0-6 to 0-4 at the break - but were left panicking when Threemilehouse landed 1-1 in the last two minutes to close the gap to the minimum.
There were no such problems in the next round as Carrick' proved far too strong for Aughnamullen (first-round conquerors of Drumhowan) over two months later. That match never developed into a meaningful contest and a ruthless, clinical Carrickmacross bossed it from the fifth minute onwards, having fallen two points adrift early on. As was customary for the would-be champions in 2011, the quintet of James Conlon, Stephen Gollogly, Andrew Callan and the Downeys were instrumental in everything Carrick' did, while the defence was meanness personified. They led by 1-9 to 0-4 at half time and could have eased up at that stage, safe in the knowledge that they were through to the last four.
Ultimately, Carrick' will be delighted to have returned to the top flight and to have two major pieces of silverware to show for their season's work. At the same time, this crop of players is proud and realistic enough to know that they probably should never have been playing at this level in the first place and they will be doubly determined to make sure that they're not in contention for intermediate honours again any time in the near future.
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