In 2009, Sean O'Mahonys will participate in the Louth senior football championship for the fourth time in five seasons. Having retained their top-flight status against the odds, the Point Road men can look back on 2008 as a successful campaign - but they'll be hoping to do a little bit better next time around! For the second successive year, Sean O'Mahonys' senior status came under serious threat. Once more, they had to negotiate a relegation play-off before they could relax for the winter, knowing they were safe and that more senior fare awaited them. In 2007, the Quay men edged out St Josephs at the eleventh hour and this time they got the better of Naomh Malachi to stay in the top flight for a third consecutive year. Under the mitigating circumstance (injuries, absentees etc.), it was definitely a case of 'Job Done'. Of course, every club likes to challenge for senior honours, but this isn't always possible. In an ideal world, there would be no credit crunch, no pain, no bad weather and no traffic congestion. No relegation battles. We don't live in an ideal world, though - especially, when it comes to sport. Indeed, it's arguably the uncertainties, the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs, and the sheer unpredictability that make sport so engrossing. We should be thankful that things are not all neat, orderly and pre-arranged. Sometimes, it's an achievement just to consolidate until the storm passes. This is what the O'Mahonys have been doing rather impressively for the past couple of seasons, and they deserve immense credit for it. When they were senior in 2005, they slipped straight back down. They bounced back in '06 and have now copper-fastened their senior standing - albeit narrowly - in each of the past two campaigns. Considering that they lost key men Conor Crawley and Stephen Fisher - who were on army duty in Kosovo - and blooded five minors during the course of an injury-ravaged '08 season, the Point Road club can look back on the season with a decided degree of satisfaction. Okay, they didn't quite set the Wee County GAA world on fire - but at least they produced some answers when it mattered most. In the senior play-off decider, they came up against a team that traditionally causes them problems, but ten different players got on the scoresheet as the Mals were ousted by 1-13 to 2-7 at Clan na Gael Park on Sunday September 28. All in all, this was a top-quality display under pressure. The relegation final was a closely-contested affair that saw the sides level on no fewer than five occasions. A decent crowd turned up at the town venue even though the game was - rather strangely - fixed for the morning of the Blues/Mattock senior county final and an exciting match ensued, played out in a flash of sunshine that seemingly mocked the lack of summer we'd just endured. Donal McElroy had the Courtbane men ahead with an early goal but O'Mahonys refused to press the panic button and were back on even terms when Brendan Nordon slotted over a 17th-minute point. David Dowling and Conor Finnegan made it four Seans points on the trot as the winners moved 0-6 to 1-1 ahead. After the Malachis had regained control with four consecutive scores of their own, O'Mahonys closed the first-half scoring with a tidy Niall McLaughlin brace. The Point Road men registered the first three scores after the interval but were pegged back by a 41st-minute goal. They moved ahead again but the Malachis were level at 2-7 to 0-13 by the 51st minute. McLaughlin almost struck for a decisive goal but his effort was saved by the opposition goalkeeper before Brendan Traynor set Shane Brennan - who'd only been on the field five minutes - up for Sean O'Mahonys' most important score of the year. The year had started poorly with five straight defeats in the ACC / Sheelan Cup (against Dreadnots, Hunterstown, Naomh Malachi, Dundalk Gaels and O'Raghallaighs). Clearly, there was work to be done if there would be senior football on Quayside again in '09. The Division One campaign began encouragingly with a home win over the Gaels on April 12 and O'Mahonys also got the points from their scheduled away fixture against the Pats (which wasn't played). For a time, the Point Road became a fortress as superb victories were recorded at the expense of would-be county champions Newtown Blues and St Marys, but the Division One campaign gradually fizzled out as championship survival became the be all and end all. In the SFC, Sean O'Mahonys were pitted in Group One, alongside Mattock Rangers, defending champions St Patricks, Glyde Rangers, Dundalk Gaels and Naomh Mairtin. Three of the six would advance to the knockout stage; the bottom team would go into a relegation play-off against the basement side from Group Two. On the face of it, there was cause for optimism, but this gradually dissipated as all but one of their five group matches were lost. The SFC campaign began with a 2-10 to 0-8 defeat to Mattock Rangers at the Gaelic Grounds on May 4, which was followed seven days later by a 2-13 to 1-7 reversal at the hands of town rivals Dundalk Gaels at the Clans. At the same venue on Sunday June 22, the Green & Golds forced a 0-7 to 1-4 draw with Glyde - a good result but one that would could for nothing when the final group standings were tallied up. When the domestic action recommenced on Sunday August 10, O'Mahonys could consider themselves unfortunate to lose to the Mairtins by 3-5 to 2-6 back at the county grounds. And they were unable to force anything from their final group match against the holders at Dowdallshill on August 23, 1-12 to 0-7. That defeat condemned the team to their second relegation play-off 'final' in twelve months and this time Naomh Malachi provided the opposition. The stakes were enormous at Clan na Gael Park on the last Sunday of September and it was a last-minute goal from substitute Shane Brennan that separated the teams at the long whistle. Putting the experience garnered in '07 to good effect, the O'Mahonys recovered admirably from the concession of a second-minute goal to level by the interval. They effectively won the game with a purple patch in the ten minutes following the restart, though the match looked destined for a replay until Brennan's decisive 59th-minute intervention. They'll be senior again in '09 and - ultimately - that's the most important thing. Sean O'Mahonys, 2008 SFC relegation play-off V Naomh Malachi: Liam Byrne; Tony Del Duca, Gerard Dollard, Ronan Byrne; Donal McArdle (0-1), John O'Brien, Conor Finnegan (0-2); David Dowling (0-2), Brendan Nordon (0-1); Colin Finan, Gary Mulligan (0-1), Niall McLoughlin (0-2); Barry Mackin (0-2), Conor Martin (0-1), Conor Brennan (0-1). Subs: Alan Craven, Brendan Traynor, Brendan Nordon, Shane Brennan (1-0). Tweet

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