All good runs come to an end
November 27, 2011By all accounts, 2010 was a magnificent year for Corduff, who won the Monaghan JFC in style and would also have been crowned Ulster junior football club champions but for the inadvertent use of an ineligible player in the provincial decider. They went into the new season full of confidence and determination and immediately set about their goal of completing a remarkable rise from junior to senior in the space of two seasons. They came very, very close … losing the championship final to Carrickmacross and their league semi-final to Currin (both of whom were promoted). On a normal season, where intermediate grade didn't contain a side clearly punching below its weight, the Gaels would no doubt have clinched promotion.
"We were certainly happy enough with the commitment the players showed over the course of the year," says Declan Larkin, Corduff's 2010 Footballer of the Year and a versatile player equally at home in a variety of central positions. "After the good run we had the previous year, we carried that on into intermediate football.
"In the end, we were disappointed that we didn't perform in the final the way we know we can. We are capable of playing a lot better than we did that day against Carrick' but we didn't show our true quality on the day. It just didn't work out for us."
Corduff's transition from junior to intermediate football was seamless. They moved up grades without breaking stride and Declan believes this is because they never should have been on the bottom rung in the first place: "I thought we shouldn't have gone down junior in 2009. That was very disappointing. We had a lot of draws and we lost games that we shouldn't have lost. We knew we were capable of being a very good intermediate team and we showed that this year, with a few good youngsters coming through like Brendan and Shane McNally and Keith McEnaney, who have blended in extremely well with the more senior members of the team."
The 2011 Monaghan IFC final was played at O'Neill Park, Clontibret on Sunday, October 1st. Corduff - who had been junior the previous year - carried an unbeaten run of 15 championship matches into duel with neighbours Carrickmacross - who had been senior the previous year. It was the town side who prevailed by 1-11 to 1-7.
On the day, Carrick' were simply too strong for their rural opponents, taking control of the game early on, when they were helped out by a fortuitous fourth-minute Mark Downey goal from a sideline ball. Substitute Shane Malone bagged the Corduff major towards the end of the match and it served to put a more respectable bent on the final scoreline but the losers could have no complaints as their starting forwards managed just two points from play over the hour. Keith McEnaney had been superb all year but he was well-marshalled in the final. Declan Larkin, Shane McNally Jnr. and Martin Mills carried the fight to Carrick' but a total of 13 wides undid a lot of the underdogs' good work.
The winners led by 1-4 to 0-3 at the break with all Corduff's scores coming from placed balls - two from goalkeeper Jason Hand and one from Mills. The Gaels didn't score in the first 19 minutes of the second half and they trailed by eight points by the time Mills registered their first score from play. Carrick' maintained total control despite converted frees from McEnaney and Raymond Byrne (2). Mills twice tested the Emmets goalkeeper and Malone was on hand to bulge the net from the rebounder second time around. Shane McNally Jnr. almost grabbed a second Corduff goal in the dying embers of the game but it was Carrick' who took home the Paddy O'Rourke Cup.
Corduff had made a purposeful start to the intermediate league and they opened their championship campaign in similar fashion when easing to a comprehensive 2-8 to 0-3 victory over Eire Og at Clontibret on Sunday, June 12th. Player-manager Raymond Byrne and Declan Larkin struck the goals before the break, while Shane and Cathal Connolly controlled midfield throughout. Martin Mills had opened the scoring with a point before Byrne punched Keith McEnaney's delivery to the net. Larkin rushed through to blast the second goal a minute from the short whistle and Corduff were full value for their 2-3 to 0-1 interval advantage. McEnaney notched five points as the Black & Amber coasted to the winning line.
That result brought Corduff's run of championship games without defeat to twelve and it was soon 13 when neighbours Donaghmoyne were beaten at the quarter-final stage in Aughnamullen on Sunday, August 14th - 2-10 to 1-11. Full forward Raymond Byrne registered the all-important majors. This was a tough, uncompromising contest and Donaghmoyne refused to give up, despite trailing by five points coming up to half time. Time and time again, they battled back into contention but the game was done and dusted when Martin Mills drilled over a late insurance point to book a semi-final berth.
Rockcorry, who have been knocking on the door of senior football for a couple of years, provided the semi-final opposition and two matches were required before Corduff eventually progressed to the IFC decider with plenty to spare. In the original encounter, at Clontibret on Sunday, September 11th, the sides were level on five occasions in dreadful playing conditions and Rock' appeared to have done enough only for Keith McEnaney to pull it out of the fire with a last-gasp equalising point. Corduff restricted the opposition to just two points from play over the hour, while Martin Mills was the only one of their attacking sextet to score from play.
If McEnaney's late free got the south county men out of jail, there was no room for debate in the replay as Corduff were in total control at Inniskeen five days later, winning by 0-13 to 0-6 and emphatically justifying their pre-match favouritism.
Suddenly, Corduff, who had played junior in 2010, were just an hour away from playing senior in 2012. What a shame it was Carrickmacross who stood between them and the Holy Grail as the Emmets were without doubt one of the strongest sides to feature at intermediate level in Monaghan in many years (which they proved by romping to an IFC / IFL double and also making a mark in Ulster). Having said that, Corduff could have tested them more had they performed to their potential on October 1st.
Regardless of the fact that they narrowly missed out on promotion, Corduff have come a long way in the past 24 months, since slumping down to the bottom grade. They re-adapted to intermediate football very quickly and reached the final via the front door, stringing together one of the most impressive unbeaten championship runs in recent Monaghan GAA history, scoring 5-45 in their five IFC matches and conceding just 2-38.
They certainly have some excellent players for the future. Full back Ciaran Brennan led by example in 2011, while Ben Woods and Shane McNally Jnr. are also playing great football in defence. Equally at home at centre back or in midfield or anywhere else, Declan Larkin would be an asset to any senior club and captain Shane Connolly is an outstanding midfielder (Corduff showed their strength in depth, too, as he missed both Rockcorry games). Up top, county U21 Keith McEnaney has both talent and family tradition on his side, while men like full forward and top scorer Raymond Byrne, Martin Mills and Padraic Keenan were never found wanting in 2011.
Twenty-eleven was just Corduff's second ever IFC final appearance. The last time they contested the middle-grade decider was against Inniskeen 13 years earlier, when they won.
In the league, Corduff had to beat Currin in their semi-final - in Clones on Sunday, October 23rd - to keep their promotion dream alive. Only a point had separated the teams in the final league standing and their two league meeting had been extremely close as well - a draw and a one-point win for Corduff. A tight game was expected and so it proved, with Currin prevailing by 1-13 to 2-7. That defeat spelt the end of another long, impressive season for the most-improved team in Monaghan over the past 24 months.
The management team of Raymond Byrne, Frank McEnaney, Barry McArdle, Barry Keenan, Liam Duffy and Vincent Hanratty did a great job with the Gaels in 2011 and no doubt there's plenty more to come from all concerned.
Declan Larkin admits that they have one eye fixed firmly on the top grade: "We were only a couple of points away from going up. We got to a championship final and a league semi-final and when you're getting that far you feel you can take it forward. We didn't perform to our potential against Carrick' or Currin when it counted but we will learn from that experience. There's plenty of hunger in this team.
"We believe that on merit we can play senior football. It certainly wouldn't hold any fear for us. We know it would be a big step up but we'd relish the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Carrickmacross and Clontibret.
"We had a fantastic management team in there this year with the likes of Raymond, Barry and Frank. Frank McEnaney is a great man. When he talks, everybody listens. And there's a great bunch of lads there, who worked hard over the year. If they apply themselves again next year, we're good enough to win promotion to senior."
During twelve years on the Corduff first team, Declan has won a junior league, two junior championships and an Ulster club championship. He also collected a couple of minor medals and two U14s souvenirs coming through the ranks. The next major honour he collects in the Corduff colours will be a very interesting one. The odds on it being the 2012 IFC will be quite short, one imagines.
Corduff - 2011 Monaghan IFC finalists: J Hand (0-2); B Woods, C Brennan (captain), G Mee; G King, S McNally Snr., S McNally Jnr.; D Larkin, C Connolly; J McEnaney, M Mills (0-2), R Byrne (0-1); C McEnaney, K McEnaney (0-2), P Keenan. Subs: C Marron for C McEnaney (44 mins); S Malone (1-0) for King (47); M McDermott for Brennan (54). Tweet
