When you've one of the smallest panels in the senior grade, it's always going to be difficult to challenge for honours. When that panel is depleted further by injuries, suspensions and players going abroad, then a tough task becomes even tougher. By James Rogers. That was the challenge that Kilkerley Emmets had to overcome this season and although there were a few difficult periods for them throughout 2008, by the year's end their status in both the senior league and championship had been secured. That in itself was a victory almost as good as winning some silverware, especially considering some of the problems they faced throughout the year. Kilkerley have always been a club that has punched above their weight. Two years ago they went close to knocking St Patrick's out at the championship quarter-final stage while in 2007 they were desperately unlucky not to make the latter stages, having opened up their campaign with back-to-back wins. This year the aim was once again to ruffle a few of the bigger names in senior football. However, without some of their bigger hitters that was always going to be difficult. Regular full back Brian Gernon was unavailable for the first half of the year having gone on a trip Down Under while former Louth star Barry Clarke delivered the club an even bigger blow when he left on an inter-county transfer. When you add constant injury problems, in particular to key midfielder Donal McElroy, to that then you begin to realise the kind of problems Brendan McArdle's men were facing from an early stage. Short a number of experienced players, the club were forced to blood a number of youngsters throughout the year but, drawing from a small parish, numbers were more or less always at a premium. The problems with personnel soon began to tell on the field as they went down to Naomh Mairtin, St Brides and St Mary's in their opening three league matches. The championship draw was not very kind to Kilkerley either as they were paired with championship big hitters the Newtown Blues, Cooley Kickhams and St Mary's, not to mention neighbours Naomh Malachi and St Brides. It was the Knockbridge men that provided Kilkerley with their first championship test in early May but the kind of luck the Emmets had had up until was summed up on the morning of the game when inter-county star Shane Lennon slipped coming down the ladder of an ice bath and was forced to sit out the bulk of the game. To their credit, Kilkerley gave a good account of themselves, overcoming the setback of falling four points behind inside the opening nine minutes to get back on level terms six minutes into the second half. With James Fegan and Shaun Hand in inspirational form, the Emmets were within a point of St Brides with 13 minutes remaining and arguably in the ascendancy. However, a Donal McNally goal against the run of play pretty much ended the tie as a contest with Kilkerley's decision to introduce a clearly unfit Shane Lennon backfiring against them as their opponents coasted to a flattering 2-13 to 0-11 victory. Less than a week later they were pitted against St Mary's in Dunleer but again without Lennon, they threw away a 1-3 to 0-3 half-time lead to finish up on the wrong end of a 1-9 to 1-5 scoreline. As action returned to the league things didn't appear to be getting much better as they went down to the Sean O'Mahony's. Then on May 25th Brendan McArdle's men finally got off the mark when they earned their first league point by drawing 0-11 to 1-8 with St Joseph's in Dromiskin. A Ciaran Clarke goal had given the Emmets a 1-3 to 0-4 lead at the break but a heavily-understrength side was unable to hold out for the win in the second half as the Joe's fought back to level. A further league defeat followed against Mattock Rangers before Kilkerley came up against St Patrick's on June 15th. The reigning county champions had provided Emmets with their only win of the year up until then, having beaten them in the Paddy Sheelan/ACC Cup. For a long time in this game it looked like they would also account for their first league scalp. Shaun Hand's goal had given Kilkerley a 1-3 to 0-3 half-time lead and when Shane Lennon found the net on the restart the North Louth outfit had managed to double their advantage at 2-6 to 0-6. With Paddy Keenan in inspired form, the Pat's managed to reduce the deficit back to three but a third Kilkerley goal from Cathal Bellew looked like it would be enough to provide the club with their first two points of the campaign. However, once again they were unable to hold out for the win as an Evan White goal two-and-a-half minutes into injury time saw the sides finish all square at 1-13 to 3-7. A subsequent championship defeat to the Newtown Blues a week later killed off any realistic hopes the club had of reaching the latter stages and suddenly it became very clear that the club would have to fight for survival on both fronts. A battle is something that Kilkerley never shy away from, however, and just a week later on June 29th they welcomed league holders Cooley Kickhams to Pairc Emmiti and claimed their first victory of the campaign with a 1-10 to 1-6 triumph. Alan Page's early goal had given the peninsula outfit a four point lead in the opening stages but a reply from Shane Lennon meant that it was the home side who led by 1-5 to 1-3 at the break. Then with Lennon, Cathal Bellew and Shaun McElroy all in fine scoring form in the second half, Kilkerley held out for what was a huge morale-boosting victory. At the start of August Cooley exacted some revenge, however, when they beat Kilkerley by 3-13 to 1-7 in the championship at Clan na Gael Park meaning that nothing short of victory would suffice for Emmets in their last match against neighbours Naomh Malachi if they were to avoid going into the dreaded relegation play-offs. However, when the going got tough Kilkerley got going as they produced their best performance of the year on Thursday August 21st in Roche to run out comfortable 3-12 to 1-5 winners over their bitter rivals. Three Shane Lennon points and two from Shaun McElroy set Kilkerley's stall out early and when James Fegan found the net midway through the first-half the eventual outcome looked inevitable as the Emmets led by 1-6 to 0-1. A further goal from Lennon only strengthened that lead but with Feidhlim Daly pulling a goal back before the break, Kilkerley couldn't afford to take anything for granted in the second half having held only a 2-7 to 1-3 lead at the break. It was all one way traffic on the restart, however, with the Malachi's managing just a further two points as both Gerry Hamill and Peter McShane saw red. Four unanswered points from early in the second half from Shaun Hand, Dessie Lennon, Ciaran Clarke and Shane Lennon pretty much killed the tie off as a contest before Hand put the icing on the cake with a third goal eight minutes from time. The 13 point victory was enough to secure Kilkerley's safety in the senior championship for at least another year as they finished off their Group One campaign with a 21 point better scoring difference than the Malachi's. The Kilkerley team that beat Naomh Malachi on the night was as follows: Frank Noonan; Eddie Moley, Brian Gernon, Ultan McElroy; Fintan Clarke, Gerard Scully, Alan McGeough; James Fegan (1-1), Donal McElroy; Shaun McElroy (0-2), Cathal Bellew, Dessie Lennon (0-1); Ciaran Clarke (0-2), Shane Lennon (1-5), Shaun Hand (1-1). Sub: John Mulholland for S McElroy. With safety secure in the championship, Kilkerley then took a massive step towards securing the same in the league when they shocked the just-crowned county champions Newtown Blues in the first week in October with a 1-10 to 0-10 victory at Pairc Emmiti. Shane Lennon was in stunning form for Kilkerley on the night as he hit nine points but the real hero of the hour was 17-year-old Conal McGeough who rifled a left foot shot to the net late on to secure only a second league victory of the season for his club. Going into the final game against Naomh Malachi, however, safety was far from secure and Kilkerley did themselves little favours in their battle to avoid the drop as they put in a hugely disappointing display in Courtbane to go down by 1-13 to 1-4. As the Emmets players trudged off the field at half-time, many actually thought they were relegated but with St Mary's losing out to Mattock Rangers by 3-14 to 1-7 at the same time, Kilkerley had managed to avoid the drop on the basis of score difference - the same thing that had saved them in the championship. In the end just seven points had kept them up. The important thing was that they had secured their safety in the two main competitions after a difficult year, with half-forward Shaun McElroy admitting that his side had got a bit of a rub of the green in the end after a campaign in which little else went in their favour. He said: "I thought we were down (after we lost to Naomh Malachi) and we were probably a bit lucky not to be. "We were very disappointing on the day against the Malachi's. We just didn't perform at all but fair play to the Malachi's because their fitness levels were far better and they deserved the victory. "I suppose we got one over them in the championship though and that was probably the more important match from our point of view," he said. McElroy, who himself missed a portion of the year through suspension, admitted it had been a tough year for Kilkerley numbers-wise but once again expressed his relief had having stayed up in both the league and championship. "From the start of the year we had a lot of injuries and things just didn't work out well for us at all," said McElroy. "The teams we would realistically be looking to beat, we got them all at the start of the year but we were missing that many players that we struggled a bit. I suppose we did well against the top three or four teams. Five of our six points came from the top three teams in the county so it wasn't a bad year when you look at it that way. "We showed we can still compete in the senior grade and what we are capable of but there were times when we played games in the league with only 16 or 17 players available to us and it's hard to perform at senior level when you're as short as that. "Staying up was what it was all about though and we done that in both the championship and the league. You really don't want to go down nowadays because intermediate is a lot tougher and harder than it was a couple of years ago. "You've the likes of Roche Emmets, Na Piarsaigh and a few more who are all brilliant teams and if any of them came up then they'd beat a lot of senior teams," he said. McElroy feels that his side's struggles this season will only make them stronger next year, however, and is hopeful of a much better showing in 2009. He said: "Hopefully we can get everyone flying fit and have a bit more luck on the injury front. "We were lucky this year that we had some good young lads to bring in when we were missing so many and the likes of Cathal Bellew, Conal McGeough and Shaun Hand will all be a year older so hopefully the experience will stand to them. "We had a couple of tight games this year so it wasn't like we were easy opposition for anyone but hopefully the experience of this year will stand to us so that we can win those tight matches next year. "Hopefully next year we'll get a good run in the championship and get things right. For now we're just delighted to stay up and it gives us a chance to build again next year and push forward once again," he said. Elsewhere it was a good year for the club with their camogie side clinching the Senior Championship by beating St Kevin's in the final while their annual golf classic was once again a major success. The outing in Dundalk Golf Club was held in August with Louth star Shane Lennon going close to winning himself a Hyundai i10 car when he was just four feet away from a hole in one on the ninth tee. Another player, Alan Geraghty went ever closer, however, as his shot hit the flag before rolling down the green. Kilkerley Emmets chairman Adrian Conlon said it was another fantastic outing for the club but admitted they were relieved not to have to give out the prize of a car. "It was a brilliant day. The ninth hole has become an added novelty to the day. Last year, a Dundalk man, Jim Conroy came within 12 inches of the hole after his shot looked like it was going all the way in. "This year, we had Alan hit the flag and we were panicking. It bounced on the green and then hit the flag so we thought it was a certainty to go in, but it rebounded off the flag and rolled away so there was a sign of relief. "Due to that, Shane ended up being the closest to the hole as he was about four feet away. We always have a man on the green to let us know if anyone was close. "This year, it was Harry Reilly, the vice-chairman of the club, but last year it was Shane, so he knew the hole quite well and that was probably the reason he came so close. "The team Alan was on, they were a very good team. All four of them hit the green on the ninth hole and it was no surprise that they won the competition overall. But it was a great day and there was some great prizes, but I think next year it might finally be the year when we have to part ways with the car because they are getting closer every year." This year the club flirted very close to losing their prized senior status. It's something they won't run the risk of losing again next year in such a hurry. Tweet

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