Paul McKeever believes O'Connells are on the verge of senior football. The young forward helped the club to an intermediate semi-final in 2003 and insists that the long-awaited breakthrough to the top flight is imminent. Indeed at the time of writing, with only two games left to play, O'Connells were lying second in Division 2A with an excellent chance of claiming promotion via the league. Up until their semi-final clash with Oliver Plunketts, O'Connells were very much the form team of the 2003 Louth intermediate football championship. The Kilsaran/Castlebellingham combination came through their group with a 100% record and looked a good bet to claim a place in senior football for the first time ever. Alas, a four-point defeat at Dunleer on September 6th put paid to their 2003 IFC aspirations, but it was nonetheless an encouraging year for all associated with the club. Their league form was excellent throughout and a crucial 2-8 to 1-9 defeat of the Plunketts in Round Ten left O'Connells on the verge of top-flight football. Lying second to Dundalk Gaels (who had already been promoted), with two matches left, their fate was in their own hands .. Fact is, O'Connells currently look better equipped than they've ever done to step up to the top table. County men Stuart Reynolds and Mark Stanfield are two of the top club footballers in the Wee County, while Stefan White's return to the fold in '03 was most welcome. These are complemented by a profusion of exciting young blood, players with no shortage of talent and a hunger for senior football. Paul McKeever is one of the new breed of young players hoping to catapult the club to the top grade. The corner forward had an excellent 2003 season, posing a major threat in every game and featuring prominently on the scoreboard. Surveying the landscape around him, Paul believes O'Connells have probably never been in a healthier state. The precise attacker is confident that top-grade football is now well within the Maroons' grasp: "It would be great to play senior football and it's a dream O'Connells are good enough to realise. We have a very nice blend at the moment and there's a lot of confidence in the camp. I think we're ready for senior football ... we were on course this year but didn't do ourselves justice in the semi-final, having played some decent football in the group stage we then turned our attention to the league." The team consists exclusively of local players, all emerging at the same time, not unlike what's happened already in Collon, Knockbridge and even Tallanstown. Says Paul: "If we stick at it, there's no reason why we can't go up with this team. The hardest part is actually getting there; once we do that, I'm sure we'll have no problem consolidating ourselves as a senior club. The area is expanding, with a lot of development going on, and we'd have no bother sustaining a senior team. "We've never been better equipped. The spirit is excellent and the players really want it. There's a fierce determination here these days. We're very close and I've no doubt we're going to get there." For a long time, O'Connells looked as though they were going to "get there via the IFC" in 2003. They were in Group A of the IFC and won all four of their group outings, against Sean O'Mahonys, Dreadnots, St Fechins and St Mochtas. O'Connells kicked off their campaign with a 1-8 to 1-6 victory against the Fechins at Dunleer on June 20th. The key to victory in this game was greater economy in front of the posts. Sean O'Mahonys provided the opposition in O'Connells' second championship outing of the year and the Kilsaran/Castlebellingham side turned on the style to win by 2-13 to 1-7 at Rassan on July 12th. O'Connells gave an exhibition of football and blazed into a commanding 2-9 to 0-1 interval lead. Stefan White grabbed five points, with David Doyle and Jonathan Conlon getting the goals, while Stuart Reynolds, Mark Stanfield, Jason Carroll and Paul McKeever all weighed in with a brace apiece. After having a bye for Round Three, O'Connells returned to action with their second two-point victory of the campaign, 1-10 to 1-8, over Dreadnots at Dunleer on July 19th. Even though Dreadnots netted inside the first minute, O'Connells gradually gained control - Stanfield, White, Reynolds and McKeever accounted for all their scores. With the hard work done, the Maroons closed their group programme with a run-out against group whipping boys St Mochtas. At Knockbridge on July 24th, they cantered to a 3-15 to 1-3 success to book a place in the latter stages of the competition. Oliver Plunketts in the semi-final was probably the draw nobody wanted but, having said that, O'Connells had clearly demonstrated (with scintillating displays in the group phase) that they were capable of turning anyone over. They went into the game brimming with confidence but produced a below-par performance on a day when Lady Luck refused to intervene. Nothing went right and a 1-9 to 0-8 defeat was O'Connells' lot. O'Connells had been agonisingly close to a place in the intermediate final but fell short at the vital moment. Paul McKeever reflects: "We had a good run in the championship and played well in the group stage, particularly against O'Mahonys and Clogherhead. "But we had no luck in the semi-final. We dropped about eight balls short into the goalkeeper's hands at you can't afford those mistakes at that level. It was very disappointing..." On the back of their performances in the initial phase of the competition, O'Connells were many people's favourites to go all the way in 2003. Thus, the semi-final defeat went down like the metaphorical lead balloon in and around Castlebellingham. Paul was as bemused as anyone: "We all thought we had a great chance of winning the intermediate championship but we just didn't show on the day and things didn't happen for us. It wouldn't have been so bad if we'd played to our potential and lost ... that's the worst thing about it. We know we let ourselves down on the day. We should've won the game in the first half, but we let the Plunketts off the hook and paid the price. "It was point for point in the second half and the game could have gone either way,. We were right in there with ten minutes left but the late goal with ten minutes left killed us off." As is invariably the case with championship football, defeat was a bitter pill. From the start of the season, O'Connells had set their stall out to win the IFC. "We were going all out for it," Paul confirms. "We want to be the first O'Connells side to play in the senior championship. "At the start of the year the manager, David Reilly, said he wanted to win the championship ... and so did we. We all want to play senior football and we believe this is probably one of the best O'Connells sides ever. We're a very young team in general and there are plenty of young lads still coming through as well, so we're going to be there or thereabouts for a good few years. "We had a decent league campaign as well and, even after getting knocked out of the championship, our promotion hopes weren't gone. We were still sitting in third place and the top two teams - Oliver Plunketts and the Gaels - were through to the intermediate final, so the door was still open. We were still training into October because we knew we still had everything to play for. When we beat Oliver Plunketts in our third-last game, it threw the door wide open. We were two points ahead of Plunketts with two games left ..." O'Connells started training earlier than most clubs in the county ... shortly before Christmas! The programme was varied and enjoyable; morale in the camp was high: "David brought lads in from a few different counties and they introduced some fresh ideas. Things were changed around a lot at training and it was very enjoyable with plenty of variety. He got the fitness going and also managed to instill a great deal of enthusiasm." The return of former Louth legend Stefan White to The Grove was a big bonus. White's original intention was to play for the reserve team, but a player of his calibre is always going to make the first starting XV. "Stefan's presence gave all the younger lads a huge boost and everyone was interested in playing alongside a player of his stature, as well as playing on the same team as Stuart and Mark. From a personal point of view, it was a big honour to play in the same forward line as Stefan and I learned a lot from the experience. Hopefully he'll be there again next year and we could do with his leadership and experience when we finally get to play senior, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see what happens. "Stefan might not be as fast as he was but he's still well able to put the ball over the bar. He has a great brain and is a great man to pick out a pass. It was wonderful to get him back and he's a big asset to the club. He talks a lot in the dressing-room and at training and he's a tremendous influence on us younger players." Paul McKeever himself has been on the O'Connells first team for three years now. He had an outstanding 2003 season in the corner and is looking forward to one day playing senior football in the maroon jersey. He points out: "There's good football being played at intermediate level but it's very difficult to just make that step up to senior. Getting there is the big problem. There's not really that much between senior and intermediate ... it's just a matter of making the breakthrough. I believe that once O'Connells get there we can stay there in much the same way that the Brides, Glyde and Mattock have done. "It's not that long since Mattock and the Brides were in a similar situation to ourselves, but all the young lads came through at the same time and look where they are now! With the exception of two or three, most of the team are under 25/26, and a number of the lads have played for the county at minor and under 21 levels." Paul himself was with the county under 21s in 2003 but missed out on much of the campaign due to a broken hand. His father Gerry McKeever played for the club for years, while brother Wayne is wing forward on the present team. Looking to the future, Paul is optimistic: "The future is looking good. It's a huge bonus to any club to have two players of the quality of Stuart Reynolds and Mark Stanfield and hopefully a few other O'Connells players can come into the reckoning at county level as well. I think we're on course for senior football and if we stay focused, hopefully we'll be able to go on and sustain a challenge at senior level..." Tweet

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