Patience - the operative word
November 29, 2002
Like the terrain of Farney country itself, the year just gone by was an up and down kind of one for the Killanny club. However the notion that progress is being made, is something with which long-time club stalwart John McMahon certainly concurs.
Like the curate's egg, 2002 contained some tasty things for the gaels of Killanny and also bits which weren't so palatable. In the overall scheme of things, the border side would probably settle for a school-like report something along the lines of 'tried hard but could do better.'
For some of the GAA folk nestling just inside the Ulster border, the past year was probably perceived as one in which nothing of major significance was achieved at adult level. However, scrape under the veneer of that which declares where the trophies eventually landed and one discovers that Killanny weren't that far below the water-line. Certainly, according to club chairman John McMahon the Good Ship Killanny may not have managed to sail to paradise but it at least proved that it is buoyant and heading in the right direction.
"The past year was a bit of a mixed bag for us at adult level with our league position being disappointing and our championship performances being reasonably good. There was a bit of balance about our year but that wasn't really what we would have hoped for at the start of the year. We had set our sights on at least reaching the semi-finals of the league and maybe getting to the championship final as well but that wasn't the way things turned out unfortunately. We sort of fell down between the two stools."
So what were the missing pieces in the jigsaw for Killanny in 2002?
"If I knew that I wouldn't be long seeing that things were fixed for next year! But there's no magic formula and not everything falls into place in the way you'd hope when you start off at the beginning of every season. In fairness to the players, I felt that we lacked a bit of luck in the championship." So the Farneysiders could have went the distance if Dame Fortune had smiled on them just a teeny bit more?
"I think so. I think we would have went on to win the championship had we beaten Corduff in the semi-final. We genuinely believed at the start of the year that we were good enough to win the junior championship. I think we played Corduff four times all told in 2002 and didn't lose by anymore than two or three points in any of the games. I think we'd have won the competition out if we had gotten past the semi-final," adds John, a minor league and championship medallist with the Geraldines along with the likes of such as John Grimes in times past.
Not that trading in hypothesis is John's pre-occupation before, during and after a season of football. Rather he is simply proffering the belief that Killanny have got the stuff to beat any team at junior level on their day. As with the club's ultimate fate in the championship, John accepts though that a touch of inconsistency by the team scuppered a lot of hopes which were hatched at the start of 2002.
"In the league, for instance, we lost three or four games at the start of the campaign by just a couple of points and that worked against us a lot later on in the year. Those kind of results didn't help the confidence of some of the younger members of the team. Having said that, as the year went on, we still had high hopes of climbing up a grade."
Compared to what transpired in 2001 when Killanny got rare 'oul thumpings from Doohamlet and Cremartin, the Geraldines certainly stepped up a gear and more to make quite an impression on proceedings in the blue riband competition in 2002. The Geraldines had a tough baptism in the 2002 junior championship, having been drawn against one of the competitions co-favourites, Corduff.
Featuring as part of a double bill at the Magheracloone venue which also featured Oram and Blackhill, the Killanny versus Corduff tie fairly resembled the dogged affairs the two sides engaged in in earlier in the league. Once again, both sides proved themselves to be exceptionally well-matched.
"We played Corduff in the league earlier on and lost by two points and then by four or five the next time around but we didn't fear them in the championship and I'm sure they weren't that happy about having to face us. Anyway with the back-door system in place, the first round game was never going to be a do or die effort although there was no holding back all the same. At the end of the day, there was no shame in losing our first game to Corduff because they had been intermediate in 2001 and were obviously determined to get back up," John insists.
The way things panned out, it was Killanny who needed to avail of the second chance saloon after Corduff shaded the championship clash by 2-9 to 2-7. "Even before the opening round of the championship, I was of the opinion that the back-door system suited the likes of Killanny because it helps teams like us in trying to make the step up, especially if a slip-up is made in the first round," John opines. Yet had Killanny managed to capitalise on a number of good scoring chances, the result might have been oh so different and Kilanny wouldn't have had to avail of the back-door.
"We did have chances which we should have put away but we've a relatively inexperienced squad right now and the younger fellas will have learned from playing Corduff. In fairness, Corduff were that couple of points the better team on the day, in my opinion."
In the end, Killanny were always chasing the game having started slowly and allowed Corduff to engineer a five point lead before county Under 21 player Peter Dooley opened the Reds' account. Killanny battled hard to get on level terms but despite a good goal by the aforementioned Dooley, Killanny still trailed by 1-3 to 1-6 at the interval.
Unfortunately it was Killanny's reliance on Peter Dooley which proved to be their achilles heel on the day - his personal tally of 2-5 over the hour not quite enough to prevent David Marron of Corduff sealing the tie with a late goal. In Killanny's next outing in July in the second round, they came up against Toome. This time around, star forward Dooley was afforded much more support up front and this was one reason why the Geraldines triumphed by 2-12 to 1-11.
"It was a good win against Toome and a good morale booster but we were on a bit of a hiding to nothing for that game because we were the clear favourites and really had everything to lose going into that game.
As things transpired, it was Leo Hughes' two fisted goals which helped catapult Killanny into a useful 2-6 to 0-7 interval lead and proved crucial ultimately in sealing Toome's fate. And, of course, Peter Dooley's six point haul also helped. If Toome represented a potential banana skin, then the threat offered by Currin on August 11th was no less tricky. Just what had the competitions minnows got in store for the wannabes
"With all due respects to Currin, they were very poor on the day and we knew after about 15 minutes or so, that we had things well in control and that it wasn't going to be Currin's day to spring a surprise. The big concern though for us was that we might get complacent - there was always the danger of that. But we played them in the league not long before the championship and even though they seemed to just have the bare 15 players, we only just managed to scrape home with a win. That game really helped in protecting us against being complacent once the game against them in the championship came around."
Killanny duly brushed Currin aside, impressing en route to a comprehensive 1-18 to 0-10 victory. Killanny dominated the game throughout and were well on their way past the finishing post in pole position at half-time by which stage they led by 1-9 to 0-3. Currin did fight back somewhat thereafter but Killanny never looked like easing their grip and easily booked their place in the semi-final and a meeting with old foes Corduff at Emmet Park, Carrickmacross in late August.
Killanny went into the game against Corduff as rank outsiders but it was nearly the Gaels who saw their chances of a meeting in the final with Aughnamullen blown away; this despite the fact that the black and yellows raced into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead inside the opening 12 minutes. However the introduction of Fergal Duffy to the Killanny defence had an immediate settling effect and gradually the Reds fought back to trail by a single goal, 0-5 to 1-5, at half-time.
Sadly though it was a game of catch-up that the Reds were destined to lose by 0-10 to 1-10 with Corduff staging a storming finish to rattle over two insurance points in injury time to clinch the match.
"We were far the better team in the second half but conceding a very slack goal to them in the first half made things really tough for us. And when their goalkeeper made a tremendous save with about ten minutes to go, it was sort of obvious that it wasn't going to be our day, especially once they went straight down the field and got a point," John reflects.
Still the outgoing chairman remains philosophical about how things went for Killanny in 2002. He maintains that the club "has turned the corner and the lads know that." He is also convinced that there's only a kick of the ball between the Geraldines and the rest of the pack at junior level. "This team won't be seen at their best for another couple of years yet. But when that time comes they will have the experience," John assures us.
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