A hat-trick of underage titles in 2006 gave Denn GAA a right rosy hue. Here's a summary of all three triumphs While Denn's campaign may have been truncated by the county's prepartions for the Ulster MFC the club's race to the MFC Division Three title was nothing less than fluidity itself. A four goal blitz by Killygarry had served to help dump Denn unceremoniously out of the league competition and even the most self-assured Denn supporter must have doubted that a comeback was on the cards. Playing against their conquerors and other wannabes such as Drumgoon, Lavey, Ballyhaise and Gowna was to be the preamble though for Denn's subsequent win of wins in the blue riband championship campaign. According to Denn team-manager Gerry Brady, it wasn't that difficult to lift his charges' chins off their chests in the wake of the six points setback to Killygarry. "The lads were down after the match but once the league was over they were determined to put it behind them and look ahead to doing better in the championship. "I think everyone of them wanted to prove themselves, prove a point in the championship because they reckoned they hadn't done themselves justice in the league." Denn's minor championship campaign saw them take on Gowna in the first round in mid-August in Crosskey and after a fairly competitive game, the homesters won by a half-a-dozen points. Assisted along the line by Seamus McKiernan, John Tighe, Jim Hyland and Barry Coyle, team-manager Brady felt the maroon and white minors still had some room for improvement nonetheless. The semi-final of the competition was a local derby duel against Lavey in Stradone; a team, Gerry maintained, deemed favourites by most neutral observers given the excellence of their league campaign. "They would have been favourites partly because we were without five lads who were playing for Virginia school," the seasoned coach explains. As things panned out, Denn careered to an emphatic win, getting on top early on and maintaining their vice-like grip to the close of play. Ahead of the Brady-managed troupe in the final was a Killygarry team that was well known to the Denn lads of course and which had won the Under 16 Division Three title in 2005. In the event, dynamic Denn proved best after a thrilling decider at Kingspan/Breffni Park which saw Denn pip their opponents by 2-15 to 1-12. Denn's victory owed most to a cohesive, never-say-die and tigerish performance plus the individual display of midfield maestro Darren Costello whose 12 points tally (eleven frees) was simply inspirational. Long-time leaders Killygarry could hardly begrudge their opponents the spoils as they were forced to bow to the better team on the day. Ultimately, Denn stayed the distance the better and had a veritable ace in Virginia vocational schools star Costello whose combination with team captain Martin McKiernan was a potent mix over the hour-plus.. Denn trailed by 0-0 to 1-4 with 13 minutes on the clock and shades of last year's All-Ireland SFC final began to come into focus. "It definitely looked like the final was going to be a repeat of our earlier meeting with them," Gerry recalls. However rather than being stuck on red, Denn fairly shifted the traffic lights around and after opening their account in the 14th minute with a converted free by top scorer Costello. Denn remained largely under the cosh as the second quarter kicked in but change was afoot. Soon the Denn attackers upped their performances and the Killygarry defence began to receive quite an examination. So much so in fact that between the 14th and 20th minutes the leaders conceded three points which served to alter the direction of the tide in no small measure. And then in a flash Denn were right back in contention just before the break with Darren Costello finishing off his driving run by bringing out the best in Killygarry 'keeper Sean Sheanon. However Sheanon could only parry the shot, leaving the opportunistic Shane Cooney to nip in and fist the rebound to the net. Trailing by 1-6 to 1-9 at the interval, Denn sought to eat into Killygarry's lead in double-quick time but they were out of luck when sub. Niall Sheridan saw his shot well smothered by the alert Sheanon after the former had been placed by Costello. Denn gradually began to threaten with more conviction and purpose in the last third of the field on the restart and a brace of frees by young Costello left them on level terms for the first time in the match, 1-10 to 1-10, with eight minutes of the second half having elapsed. "I felt if we could stop them getting through for another goal, we had a great chance," Gerry explains. And with the aid of the stiffening wind, Denn proceeded to have the greater spring to their step in the last third of the field. Killygarry 'keeper Sean Sheanon was again forced to be at his best to deny Niall Sheridan a snap goal in the 52nd minute with the sides deadlocked at 1-12 apiece. From there to the finish, Denn held practically all the aces with a great long range point by Martin McKiernan setting the maroon and whites on their way. Killygarry were still eyeing the finishing post but their cause was doomed when Shane Cooney and Martin McKiernan combined to put sub. Niall Sheridan in for a match-clinching goal on the hour mark. "I think we were the better team overall," Gerry opines "with the better ball players and the greater will-to-win and I don't think anyone at the game could say otherwise." Denn's minor triumph made it a tremendous double for the club as earlier in August, the club's under 16s also came good with Eamon Conaty joining the club's minor team-management along the sideline. Denn's under 16 troupe went head to head with Arva, Kildallan, Butlersbridge, Templeport, Gowna and Laragh and while losing to the last named club at the group stage, Denn rebounded to finish top of the section. "The players were good listeners, were keen to learn and once they beat Butlersbridge they just kept on improving," says the aforementioned Brady. Mountnugent formed the opposition in the semi-final and it wasn't into the second half when Denn bagged two goals that they faced down their opponents. Denn duly progressed to the decider where Munterconnacht awaited - the same Munterconnacht squad that, at under 14 level, handed out a severe beating to Denn's corresponding crew. Played in Kilnaleck, the Under 16 final proved a grand advertisement for underage football in Cavan. Denn worked hard in the first half to chisel out a three points lead at half-time but the fact that they hadn't quite made the most of their possession generated some concern among their number. "In the ten minutes after half-time though, the lads opened up and our forwards really got the better of their backs and once the whole team settled down we went something like eight points ahead," Gerry recalls. "The lads did very well, a lot better than we had expected and winning last year will encourage them to stick with it and I'd be disappointed if a good few of them don't go onto make the senior club team." Meanwhile Denn's crop of talented under 13 footballers produced a power-packed second half display to lift the Under 13 Roinn D Championship title (4-10 to 0-6) at the expense of a game Killygarry side at Kingspan/Breffni Park. The Crosskeys-based side weren't at their best in the first half but they more than made up for that on the restart, outscoring their opponents by 3-6 to 0-1 in a sparkling exhibition of potent football. In fairness though, it must be said that the red and blacks were a much more forceful opposition than the final scoreline suggests. Played in perfect conditions save a greasy sward, Denn laid siege to the Killygarry goal in the opening ten minutes, storming their way into a 1-2 to 0-1 lead. In what was a whirlwind start to the match, Noel Crowe (Denn) opened the scoring only for Killgarry to reply with a similar score in the third minute. Killygarry were quickly forced onto the backfoot though thereafter and their goal lived a charmed life on several occasions with Alan Tierney, for one, firing just wide of the post in the 6th minute. However Denn weren't exactly at their most accurate in the opening quarter and a hat-trick of wides in quick succession threatened to eat into their confidence. But in the 9th minute, Denn's fortunes in front of goal changed dramatically for the better when Declan Treacy side-footed the ball home after his first effort was parried by the Killygarry 'keeper Brian Bogue. Moments later, the young Killygarry 'keeper had to be alert to save from the impressive Noel Crowe. By the end of the first quarter Denn were looking really assured as they sought to add to their 0-1 to 1-3 lead. Denn continued to press forward in search of a second goal but the Killygarry netminder once again proved his worth by denying Bracken McGivney close to goal. The game continued to ebb and flow and moments later Cian Reilly cut in along the byline but Niall Smith did a great job in shepherding him away from the danger area. Leading by 1-4 to 0-4 on the restart, Denn increased their lead when Alan Tierney pointed for Denn barely 40 seconds after the throw-in but Killygarry came back off the ropes three minutes later with a neat effort to leave just three points separating the sides once again. However the lights became largely fixed on green as the second half gathered pace with a fine save by Aaron Galligan and a narrow miss in the follow up by Cian Reilly posting notice of Killygarry's fate. And when Denn's Dean Hyland swept the ball to the Killygarry net in the 36th minute - after reacting quickest to a rebound off the post from Alan Tierney's shot - Killygarry were left facing into a 0-5 to 2-5 deficit. Denn's greater physical strength, their more astute reading of the game and their ability to weave a direct route towards goal much more easily than their opponents became all the more pronounced as the final quarter beckoned. Denn's forward line in particular was a revelation in the second half and although they tried their hearts out, the Killygarry defenders never quite got to grips with their opponents' zest and ball control in the second half. The points flowed from the increasingly confident Denn lads with Noel Crowe's 42nd minute goal leaving Denn with one foot in the winners' enclosure as they sat pretty on the back of a 3-8 to 0-5 lead. Killygarry were left fighting a fruitless counter-attacking game from there to the conclusion of the match. Denn proceeded to show their ruthless streak and the ambition of true champions by bagging another goal via the cultured boot of sub. Darren Caffrey. It was a score which put the icing on Denn's great display and confirmed them as deserving and impressive title winners. What a year for Denn underage football! Tweet

Most Read Stories