The Kevins are still standing at the doorway to senior football, but the door refuses to open. In 2003, they once more pushed hard for IFC honours, reaching the semi-final stage for the third time in four years. However, frustratingly, top grade football continues to elude the Philipstown men. By this stage, St Kevins are old hands at reaching the business end of the intermediate football championship. They had an uncharacteristically quiet year in 2002 but were back to their old selves in '03 and once again came close to booking a place in senior football for the first time ever. The Kevins got to the intermediate final in 2000 but were edged out by Dreadnots. The following year, the Red & Blacks were stunned by an injury-time Sean McDermotts goal in the IFC semi-final. Two-thousand-and-two was a non-event as the Philipstown men failed to progress beyond the group stage of the championship and suffered relegation to Division 2B (having been promoted at the end of the previous campaign). In 2003, however, under the guidance of Vinny McCoy, St Kevins got the show back on the road and normal business resumed at Pairc Chaoimhin Naofa. Playing like the Kevins we've come to know, with boundless championship craft and guile as well as no shortage of physical strength, they stormed through to the last four of the IFC and found themselves only two hours away from the top flight. Unfortunately, Dundalk Gaels, who had made the drop from senior at the end of '02, proved too strong in a one-sided semi-final at The Grove in Castlebellingham on Saturday September 13th. The Kevins had already drawn with the Dundalk side in the group stage of the competition and got off to a decent start with two early points, but the Gaels dominated most of the game and the only other scores the losers could muster were two further points midway through the second half. That 1-10 to 0-4 defeat was an inglorious end to St Kevins' championship odyssey. In mitigation, Gaels were an outstanding intermediate side. The reinvigorated Philipstown outfit still enjoyed a commendable run under their new manager. Goalkeeper Paul Brennan was on the senior county panel in 2002 and would undoubtedly have retained his place in '03 but for injury. The top-class custodian feels that St Kevins' championship campaign was good but not great: "Ultimately we were disappointed to be so well beaten because in recent years we had done much better in the latter stages. "Having said that, this year was always going to be very tough because we had a bad season in 2002 and were trying to bounce back from that, which we achieved to a certain extend. We brought in a new manager in Vinny McCoy, and Vinny did an excellent job with the team. It was a good move to appoint an outside man and Vinny's arrival freshened things up and gave us some impetus again." Having struggled for anything approaching form in 2002, the Kevins knew that a drastic improvement was required. Vinny came in and revitalised them - the Philipstown men hit the ground running. What were their objectives for the year? "We definitely wanted to have a good year in the league after being relegated in 2002, but we were going all out for a run in the championship as well. Having gone so far, it would have been nice to have got to the final. Vinny has done a great job this year because we only won two or three games altogether the previous year and he got us back on track." Is it more difficult to win the intermediate championship playing out of Division 2B, the lower of the two intermediate grades? How much of a disadvantage is it playing against the so-called 'weaker' intermediate sides? "It's not necessarily any more difficult because teams from the lower division regularly get to the last four. I know the 2003 finalists [Oliver Plunketts and Dundalk Gaels] were both in the higher division, but there's not really that much between the two grades. Teams from 2A do tend to win the championship but there's no reason why that has to be the case every year. Championship football is on the day and everyone has a chance." St Kevins are a case in point. They undoubtedly felt they were in with a chance in 2003. Kevins commenced their Group C programme with a 1-9 to 0-7 victory over 2002 junior champions Na Piarsaigh in the very first championship match of the year at Louth village on May 30th. Leading by 1-4 to 0-2 after 20 minutes, they comfortably retained the five-point cushion until the final whistle. On June 21st, at Drogheda, the Kevins effectively booked their place in the last eight with a 0-9 to 0-6 defeat of St Nicholas. Two late points from Liam Boylan gave the winners a slender interval cushion, 0-4 to 0-3, and they registered five points on the resumption to take the honours despite a late surge from the Nicks. Having won their two previous outings, both St Kevins and Dundalk Gaels were already through to the quarter-finals by the time they clashed in the final group game at Castlebellingham on July 15th. The game was of little or no significance and finished level: Kevins 1-7, Gaels 0-10. Both teams went through to the knock-outs unbeaten. St Kevins faced O'Raghallaighs in the quarter-final of the 2003 Louth IFC at Dunleer on the evening of Friday, August 22nd. O'Raghallaighs were having a dream campaign (having already ousted both Geraldines and Naomh Fionnbarra) but St Kevins burst their bubble with a workmanlike 2-11 to 3-4 victory. Yet another semi-final place beckoned, but there would be no joy therein: Paul Brennan returned from a serious injury in time to take his place between the posts for the championship. The exceptional netminder explains: "I broke my leg in August and my original target was to get back for February/March. I was named on the Louth panel shortly after Christmas but when it became clear that I wasn't going to return as soon as I had originally hoped, I had to drop off. "I then set a new aim to get back for the club championship and this time it went well. I was actually back in action in the middle of May - five games before the championship." Paul's return was a big boost to the team and they went on to enjoy a respectable campaign. Unlucky to have his burgeoning intercounty career disrupted by injury, Paul is keeping his fingers crossed that new Louth boss Val Andrews will bring him back into the Wee County fold. The St Kevins clubman made his senior championship debut in a qualifier victory over Monaghan at Clones in 2002. It was a big step-up but Brennan yearns for more of the same: "It's harder football and there's a lot more pressure on, but that's the level you want to play at. There's certainly a lot more responsibility than playing at intermediate club level. "There's more movement going on in front of you and everything's faster - you have to be on your toes. You also have to release the ball a lot quicker. In one respect, it's easier because you have so many good footballers in front of you but you've to stay focused because you can't afford to make a single mistake under the high ball. One error at that level will usually cost your team the game." Thankfully, Paul came through his championship debut unscathed and he's now looking forward to more of the same. As for the Kevins, they too have a promising future. Surely it's only a matter of time before they make the breakthrough into senior football? "We had a good year this year, so we hope to keep improving. I think it's important that we hold on to Vinny McCoy. He got us back on track and all the players are very happy with him. The management has changed that often in the past that it has certainly done us no favours. It would be nice to have a good manager in place for a few seasons to give the team a bit of continuity and to give us the best chance possible of maximising our potential. "Our aim this year was to reach the knock-out stage of the championship and next year we'll want to do even better. The Kevins will be aiming for a place in the intermediate final and also pushing hard for promotion in the league." Paul Brennan has been on the St Kevins first team for seven years and during that time his burning ambition has been to play senior football with the Philipstown club. He has represented the Wee County at all grades (minor, U21, junior and senior) and would dearly love to experience senior club football: "I'm not getting any younger! Of course I'd love to play senior football - that's what it's all about. And I'd prefer it to be with the Kevins rather than anybody else. As the Kevins have never been senior, it's a huge objective of everybody associated with the club. We've consistently been there or thereabouts in the knock-out stages of the intermediate championship, so hopefully the breakthrough is coming..." Tweet

Most Read Stories