St. Malachy's are tipped to have a major say in the destination of the Flanagan Cup in 2006 after making remarkable progress last season. According to team trainer Eddie Bouabbse, they are determined to build on their extended run in the championship and Feis Cup success. Regarded by many as relegation candidates at the outset of 2005, St. Malachy's surpassed all expectations by reaching the last four of the senior championship and securing their first Feis Cup success in 25 years. The progress made by the Castletown-Geoghegan/Dysart outfit over the past 12 months has been nothing short of astounding and all the signs are that they will be leading contenders for the Flanagan Cup in 2006. They won the Feis Cup the hard way, beating both Garrycastle and The Downs to claim their first major trophy since the intermediate championship win in 2001. "It was an unbelievable year, we even surprised ourselves," admits St. Malachy's physical trainer and selector Eddie Bouabbse. "At the start of the year, nobody really gave us a chance and I suppose you couldn't blame them after we won just one match in the 2004 championship. But we always had the talent and the emergence of players from our successful underage teams gave us an added boost last year. We have been a senior club for four years and it was probably time for us to make some sort of an impression." Bouabbse is much too modest to accept praise for his role in St. Malachy's remarkable revival. Before becoming a senior selector, he had worked tirelessly with the underage in the club and was manager of the St. Malachy's/Ballinagore team which captured the minor club '1' championship in 2004. "A lot of the lads have come through the underage system and from a personal point of view I was delighted to see them make their mark at senior level last year. They deserve the praise because they have been prepared to work hard on their game and to put in the effort in training." Under the management of Kieran Kirby and selectors Bouabbse and Willie Corcoran, St. Malachy's made a losing start to their championship campaign against the holders Garrycastle. They paid the price for a poor first half display which left them 0-3 to 1-8 in arrears at the interval. They fell nine points behind shortly after the restart, but inspired by Alan Mangan, who scored a whopping 1-10, they reduced the deficit to two points, 1-11 to 1-13, at the final whistle. Taking encouragement from their second half performance against the county champions, St. Malachy's secured their first win of the campaign against St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge. The team in red and black led all the way and aided by an Alan Mangan penalty, they had built up a seemingly unassailable 1-12 to 0-6 lead by the end of the third quarter. However, they failed to score after that as St. Mary's hit an unanswered 2-2 in the closing stages to leave the minimum between the sides at the finish. Those who had doubted St. Malachy's championship credentials were made to eat their words when Kieran Kirby's charges recorded a sensational 1-13 to 1-3 victory over Mullingar Shamrocks in round three. Producing arguably their finest performance since the glory days of the early 1980s, St. Malachy's ran riot against a shell-shocked Shamrocks team. Once again, Alan Mangan was in top form, accounting for 1-7 of the winners' tally. St. Malachy's chalked up their third straight win when easing to a 1-10 to 0-5 victory over old rivals Ballymore. There was little to separate the sides for much of the first half, but St. Malachy's found their rhythm in the closing stages of the half and a well-taken Joe Clarke goal helped them to a 1-6 to 0-4 lead at the break. The second half was a poor spectacle, but St. Malachy's remained firmly in the driving seat and booked their place in the quarter-final without ever breaking sweat. St. Malachy's had hoped to complete their group programme on a winning note, but it wasn't to be as they succumbed to Castledaly on a 1-9 to 1-11 scoreline. Needing to win to be sure of their place in the knock-out stages, Castledaly took control midway through the second half and looked to be out of sight when Alan Kelly fired past St. Malachy's goalkeeper Mark McCormack. But a goal from Ronan Whelan with six minutes remaining brought Kieran Kirby's charges back from the brink and they had reduced the deficit to the minimum before JP Casey hit an insurance point for Castledaly. In the quarter-final, St. Malachy's made light work of Coralstown/Kinnegad to win by 2-13 to 1-7. An early goal from Ronan Whelan put Malachy's on their way and they had victory wrapped up before substitute Conor Daly added a second major in the closing stages. Appearing in their first semi-final in 15 years, St. Malachy's had high hopes of avenging their earlier loss to Garrycastle. But with Dessie Dolan making a surprise return from injury, the Athlone side never looked in danger after Paul Dillon and Justin McAteer netted in the 16th and 32nd minutes to give them a 2-3 to 0-2 interval lead. St. Malachy's rearranged their defence for the second half, but the damage was already done and Garrycastle went on to win by 2-7 to 0-6. "We were disappointed with how the championship ended. I would say the first half against Garrycastle was the worst half of football we played all year," Bouabbse ruefully reflects. "We were well in it until just before half-time when Paddy Corcoran was forced to come off and they scored their second goal while he was leaving the pitch. It was always going to be difficult to come back after that. "But overall, I was happy with our championship form. We played some good football and surprised a lot of people along the way. We gave a great display against Mullingar and turned in a very accomplished performance against Coralstown/Kinnegad also. I was worried going into that game because we had drawn with them in a challenge match earlier in the year and I was expecting it to be close again. But as it turned out, we won comfortably enough." Once the championship ended, St. Malachy's turned their attention to the Feis Cup. A brace of late goals from Eddie O'Neill and Shane Carey gave them a dramatic victory over Mullingar Shamrocks in the quarter-final and it was a case of third time lucky against Garrycastle in the semi-final when they recorded a surprise 0-12 to 0-10 win. Despite playing second fiddle to their opponents for much of the game, St. Malachy's secured victory courtesy of two late points from Ronan Whelan. With Dessie Dolan and Justin McAteer to the fore, Garrycastle held a slender 0-4 to 0-3 lead at the break. Points following the restart from McAteer, Dolan and James Duignan saw Garrycastle extend their advantage before Alan Mangan landed four frees in-a-row to level proceedings. Mangan and Dolan traded points before Whelan's late brace saw Malachy's through to the final. The great progress made by St. Malachy's during 2005 was fittingly rewarded when they captured the Feis Cup at the expense of county champions The Downs on December 4. Having already secured a league and championship double, The Downs were expected to complete a historic treble, but St. Malachy's had other ideas and powered to a 1-10 to 0-7 victory. A Ronan Whelan goal after five minutes gave Malachy's a dream start and they went on to lead by 1-3 to 0-4 at the break. In the second half, Alan Mangan and Shane Carey added points to seal a memorable win. One of St. Malachy's primary objectives in 2006 will be to secure promotion from Division 2 of the All-County League. "It's vital that we get out of Division 2 next year," Bouabbse says. "Despite winning our last four league matches last year, we still missed out on promotion. It might have been a different outcome if we hadn't been missing seven or eight lads in the early part of the year because of hurling commitments." Bouabbse stresses that St. Malachy's are determined to build on last year's progress, but doesn't go as far as to say they will win the senior championship. "Our goal for 2006 is to prove to people that last year wasn't a flash in the pan and that we can live with the best of them. I'm not going to make any bold predictions, but I know that we have the players to compete for a senior championship," he concludes. The St. Malachy's team that captured the Feis Cup was: Gary Jackson; Johnny Tuite, Ronan Corcoran, Barry Whelan; Adrian Austin, Tommy Carey (captain), Eamonn Og Clarke; Paddy Corcoran, Ollie Kirby; Joe Clarke, Ronan Whelan, Eddie O'Neill; Sean Whelan, Shane Carey, Alan Mangan. Subs used: Patrick Clarke, John Gallagher and Kieran Favier. Tweet

Most Read Stories