Denn destroyed a lot of teams in league and championship fare in 2004. The glittering prizes eluded them though as Kevin Carney recalls. Monaghan gaels used to maintain that only for Cavan they'd have a lot more Ulster SFC titles. Cavan churned out 33 senior provincial titles between 1922 and '56. Monaghan folk believe they'd have won half of them if Cavan hadn't been as strong as they were in that period. So be it with Cavan Gaels' domination on the domestic front in 2004. One wonders would Denn have been lords of the manor in Cavan had the county town side not been at the race(s). For the 2003 intermediate championship winners, the past year reminded one of the curate's egg, partly palatable and partly not. Looking at the big picture, the Crosskeys-based crew has every right though to feel that progress was made in the past year and that lessons can be learned, experienced garnered put to good use and confidence bolstered. Blame the narrow misses over the year on the Gaels? Why not? After all who was it that dumped the maroon and whites out of the quarter-final of the South Ulster League? An omen for the year or what? Sunday, April 4th saw the Vincent Kelly-managed Denn side go down to the Gaels in the novel league at Terry Coyle Park by 0-7 to 0-17. Somehow the script for 2004 had been written a long way back. The weakened maroon and white squad trailed by 0-2 to 0-11 but made life hard for themselves by missing a twice-taken penalty - denied on both occasions by Gaels custodian Eoin Elliott. Denn came more into the match in the second-half and with the match entering the final ten minutes they reduced the arrears to seven points. However that was as good as it got for the visitors. Before April had shot its bolt Denn got their bid for back-to-back titles off to a good start at Stradone by shrugging off the shackles of a fired-up 13-man Killygarry side to win their SFC clash by 2-11 to 0-9. With just nine minutes remaining the sides were still on level terms, at 0-9 apiece. But a mix-up in the full-back line helped Jerome Kiernan bang home a vital 23rd minute goal for Denn. Some ten minutes earlier the dismissals of defenders James McGovern and Gary Brides made Killygarry's bid for victory a mountainous challenge. Earlier three fisted points by Paraic McGovern inside the opening 15 minutes served to ease the Crosskeys men into a somewhat fragile 0-3 to 0-2 lead. Then in the 19th minute Denn stretched their lead to 0-4 to 0-2 with the best move of the game. Donnacha Brady and Fergal Brady carried the move on from the half-back line to slip livewire attacker Colin Kiernan in for an excellent point. A hat-trick of points marked the first five minutes of the second half with Denn just edging ahead by the odd point in 13 but still all the while searching the authority and self-assuredness of winners-elect. And despite the aforementioned sendings-off, Killygarry managed to look well-positioned as a Jamie Coffey free brought them on level terms at 0-9 apiece by the 21st minute. Denn finished with a flourish with points by Colin Kiernan and Martin Cahill adding salt to Killygarry's gaping wound. In the dying minutes a clever flick by Pauric McGovern set up the impressive Colin Kiernan to put the tin hat on it with a well-taken goal on the stroke of full-time. Denn's up and down season was reflected in their 0-10 to 0-13 defeat in early May to Mullahoran in the championship. Using the long-ball tactic to good effect, Mullahoran led by 0-6 to 0-4 at the interval and an inspirational point by man of the match Paul Brady just one minute after the restart helped to consolidate Mullahoran's ascendancy. Denn hung in there though and three unanswered points saw the Crosskeys-based side draw level by the 12th minute. A trademark Danny Brady point one minute later restored the lead for Mullahoran and they were never to be headed thereafter. One week later Denn came back with just the response to their championship defeat by edging out Belturbet in the league by 1-8 to 0-10 at Crosskeys, thus registering their first points of the campaign, despite being short eight of their regulars. After a dour opening quarter, the game sprung to life with a goal from Jerome Kiernan midway through the first half which helped give the homesters a 1-6 to 0-4 interval lead. Denn edged proceedings in the second half but, that said, were ultimately thankful for a great Brian Boylan save from a close range Ian Gorby effort in sealing the spoils. In mid-August the Denn machine got another filip with a 0-17 to 0-11 SFC win over Ramor Utd at Mountnugent. This was a hard-earned win for Denn who had to withstand a gritty fightback by their opponents late in the game to make sure of the spoils. Denn had very much the better of things in the first half and scores from John Smith, Hubert Smith and Padraig McGovern helped give them an 0-8 to 0-3 interval lead which proved just enough of a cushion to claim the points in the end. Just a week later Denn gained an important 1-14 to 0-9 win over the same opposition in the league at Ramor Park. The visitors had a stranglehold on midfield with Donnacha Brady fielding at his ease and six unanswered points in the last five minutes of the first-half from John Smith and three from left boot of Fergal Brady as well as two more long-range efforts from Hubert Smith and Kenneth Rothwell - plus a brilliant goal early in the second half by Kenneth Rothwell - put the Denn men on the road to victory. Thereafter a 0-18 to 1-7 over near-neighbours Crosserlough at Crosskeys cemented Denn's growing influence in the top flight during 2004. Colin Kiernan capped a 'man of the match' performance for the Denn side with his sixth point - four from play - midway through the second half to put the issue beyond doubt. Denn's season continued to rocket skywards with a 1-12 to 0-3 hammering of match favourites Bailieboro Shamrocks in an amazingly lop-sided SFC quarter-final tie in Virginia. Wind-aided Denn were workmanlike as they in eased their way into a 0-5 to 0-2 interval lead. But then a string of fine points on the restart by the fired-up Denn lads catapulted them into a 0-9 to 0-3 lead before Hubert Smith's fine solo goal in the 42nd minute put the 2003 intermediate champions out of sight. Ironically Denn's final game in the league saw them again take on Bailieboro. Again it was all too easy for Denn as they cantered to a facile 2-15 to 0-3 victory in Crosskeys. Denn needed a win to secure a place in the league final and they did just that with some panache with Pascal Galligan having a particularly fine game. Sadly a 0-3 to 2-13 SFC semi-final defeat to Cavan Gaels at Breffni Park served to take some of the gloss of the team's fine run. Denn were made to pay dearly for failing to convert their bevy of possession into some worthwhile scores in that opening quarter proved ominous in the extreme. Hubert Smith did actually open the scoring with a neat point for Denn after three minutes but once Cormac Nelligan flicked a Mickey Lyng free to the net ten minutes later, a real sense of what was to come was all too pervasive in the Park. The second half saw things fall apart for Denn in the face of unrelenting attacks by the county town side. Michael Lyng pointed after barely 30 seconds to get the Gaels up and running and a goal by Mickey Graham thereafter in the 9th minute left Denn chasing a 0-2 to 2-6 deficit and in obvious trouble. There was never any indication though that the maroon and whites would engineer a get-out clause and they were actually saved by the woodwork on two separate occasions in the final quarter. The Denn line-out against the Gaels in the SFC semi-final was as follows: Brian Boylan; Pascal Galligan, Thomas Corr, Kevin McGovern; David McKiernan, Philip Galligan, Martin Cahill; Padraig McGovern (0-1), Ronan Kiernan; Colin Kiernan, Pat Baker, Adrian McKiernan; Fergal Brady (0-1, free), Hubert Smith (0-1), John Smith. Subs; Jerome Kiernan for Colin Kiernan; Thomas Farrelly for John Smith; Keneth Rothwell for Fergal Brady; Tommy Smith for Padraig McGovern. Denn showed a lot of commitment and courage thereafter in facing their nemesis in the ACFL Division One final. Alas there was no less joy for Denn as they lost out by 1-5 to 1-19 at Killygarry. Trailing by six points at half-time, Denn shot themselves in the foot just two minutes into the second half when defender Philip Galligan was red-carded. On a perfect day for football, Denn were bright and breezy in the opening few minutes and duly opened their tally with John Smith's converted free countering a first minute effort by Sean Reilly.Crucially, Denn weren't to score again for a further 21 minutes as the Gaels went about dominating practically every sector of the field. By the time, man of the match Sean Johnston - scorer of 1-8 - fired over his second point in the 13th minute, Denn were already looking at a 0-1 to 0-7 deficit. But, in fairness to the maroon and whites, the Gaels didn't have it their own way in the final quarter. Indeed by for a brilliant block by Darren Rabbitt of a Pauric McGovern goalbound effort, Denn may well have been closer to their opponents than their 0-4 to 0-10 half-time deficit. Hubert Smith did grab a point thereafter in the 7th minute but the second half was, in essence, an exercise in damage limitation for the match underdogs. However before being afforded the luxury of some target practice, the Gaels were given a reminder of Denn's capabilities given time and space when, in the 12th minute, John Smith fisted home a ball following a speculative delivery into the square. Pointedly, that to was to be Denn's final score of the afternoon as the defending champions proceeded to go into overdrive. Denn had given it their best shot in 2004 and while they came up short, the team certainly laid down a marker for the future. Second best team in Cavan? On the form shown by them in the league and championship, few could argue that they were the Gaels' most potent challengers over the course of the entire season. The squad of players who stepped up to the plate in taking on the champions in the SFL final and the SFC semi-final are destined to have a big say when the blue riband medals are dispensed at peak time in 2005. There is undoubtedly a lot more in the tank and a lot of promise still to be fulfilled. Denn (SFL final v Cavan Gaels) Brian Boylan; Philip Galligan, Thomas Corr, Ciaran McGovern; David McKiernan, Paul Hyland, Martin Cahill; Pascal Galligan, Ronan Kiernan; Pat Baker, Thomas Farrelly, Fergal Brady; Hubert Smith (0-1), Colin Kiernan, John Smith (1-3). Subs; Pauric McGovern (0-1) for Fergal Brady; Jerome Kiernan for Thomas Corr; Donnacha Brady for Thomas Farrelly; Aidan McKiernan for Paul Hyland. Tweet

Most Read Stories