While they may have failed (narrowly) to realise their prime objective of promotion, John Mitchells certainly turned the corner in 2002. A disastrous '01 campaign culminated in relegation to junior ranks and left the club very much in the doldrums. However, during the season just ended, new trainer Enda Kerr oversaw a dramatic improvement that has set the Ballybailie men in good stead for the challenges that lie ahead. John Mitchells' 2002 season could be termed successful by a lot of club's standards. They won a County Board trophy in the form of the early-season Kevin Mullen Shield (subsidiary league) and amassed 19 points from a possible 24 in Division Three of the league . . . all this from a side that endured a nightmare 2001, winning only a solitary league match as they accelerated out of control in relegation freefall. Former St Mary's player and juvenile/minor coach Enda Kerr trained the team and helped them regain their confidence. One would assume he'd be smugly content with his performance, clapping himself on the back behind closed doors even. But no. There is a clearly discernible note of disappointment in his tone as he reflects on the events of the past season. You see, Enda's target for the Mitchells was promotion - and a return to the intermediate grade to which he is convinced they belong. This was not accomplished. There is no such bonus attached to the Kevin Mullen Shield (the only one of the three 'junior' trophies that doesn't offer promotion as a reward) and - amazingly - the Mitchells' stellar league showing was not enough to top the Division Three table as St Nicholas finished the year with a massive 21 points to their credit. Thus, the Mitchells finished second. For second place, you go away with . . . nothing! Goodbye! Unless you win the junior championship. But a surprise 1-8 to 1-3 quarter-final defeat at the hands of Na Piarsaigh on August 11th put paid to any such aspirations. John Mitchells would still have been promoted had St Nicholas - as expected - taken the double. But Dowdallshill caught the Nicks on the hop in a lacklustre semi-final and that was that. No promotion for the vastly-improved Mitchells = no satisfaction for their trainer! Looking back on the year, Enda is a little dejected. He wanted more for his players and feels largely responsible for what he perceives (some might say rather harshly on himself) as failure: "The league table never lies at the end of the season and we were second, which wasn't good enough. St Nicholas are very strong and a good footballing side and I'm convinced they'll do well in intermediate next year. I suppose you could say we were unfortunate to come up against them, but it was a very competitive division with very little between the teams and they thoroughly deserved to win it. "We made a very good start to the season - winning the Shield and leading the league at the halfway stage - but fell away somewhat after that." But the Mitchells didn't do much wrong, this writer ventures in an attempt to lighten the mood: "Well, we lost crucial games at crucial times - two against the Nicks in the league and the championship game against Na Piarsaigh. The disappointing thing from my point of view is that I wanted better for the players. I don't look at those lads as junior footballers - they're better than that. We set out to get promoted and we didn't achieve that, which leaves me with mixed emotions. We improved, but we didn't achieve what we set out to achieve..." Enda Kerr makes no excuses. But he could. He could point to the fact that the gods hardly smiled favourably on his team. The Mitchells played Na Piarsaigh five times in 2002 and only lost once ... they played Dowdallshill three times and won all three ... yet these two sides (both of whom finished well below the Red and Whites on the league table) contested the JFC final. Frustratingly, their sole championship outing of the year coincided with arguably John Mitchells' worst performance: "The Piarsaighs played very well on the day," says Kerr graciously. "In the first half, the game was there for the taking but neither side was able to step up a gear. But some of the Na Piarsaigh players took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and they were deserving winners. "It probably was our worst performance of the year and it's something we'll definitely have to look at and get right for next year. On the day, the Piarsaighs were more up for it than we were and they asked more questions than we did." To their credit, John Mitchells never let their league form suffer after that defeat and continued to apply the pressure, hoping for a slip-up from St Nicholas, which would've opened the door for a play-off. "We knew we needed the Nicks to slip up and we went to Dowdallshill the Thursday after the championship and - in the first half - played our best football of the year. That performance answered our critics. The lads then went out and drew with Na Piarsaigh and beat Glen Emmets to finish just two points adrift." And the Mitchells were almost granted an unexpected second chance when the Nicks only just about managed to scrape past Na Piarsaigh in their final league outing. Enda pays tribute to the Dundalk outfit for the gallant effort they made in that game, even though they had nothing to play for and a championship final appearance on the horizon: "We had five very exciting games against the Piarsaighs during the year - including the Kevin Mullen Shield final, which went to extra time - and you have to give them credit. They went out against the Nicks in that last-round game and they gave them a real run for their money. And fair play to them for that! Fair play to the Nicks too because they won it on merit and to only drop three points all year in such a competitive division is quite an achievement." Quite clearly, nobody regrets the Mitchells' failure to secure promotion as much as their trainer. Enda rates the players highly and would love to have seen them take the step back up to the secondary grade. He concedes: "I am slightly annoyed that they didn't get promoted because there is definitely the makings of a very good, competitive intermediate side there. They definitely have the ability to play one or two divisions above the level they're at now. They also have a good strong committee working behind them and they probably shouldn't be where they are." But it's certainly not all doom and gloom. To the contrary, Enda is confident that the lads can learn from their experiences of 2002 (when, let us not forget, massive progress was undoubtedly made): "There's a lot of cause for optimism. Carl Courtney and Diarmuid Durnin are two young lads who came into the team at 19 and acquitted themselves well. It's very hard for lads to come in at that age and stand up to the physical demands of junior football but they did us proud and they were there when we needed them. "You'd like to think that those lads will improve with further coaching and greater experience and that they'll be even better next year. There's absolutely no reason in the world why the Mitchells can't come back even stronger next year. We have a great blend of experience and youth and with the kind of leadership being shown by men like Des Halpenny and Derek Breagy, the younger lads won't go far wrong." Enda is extremely confident about John Mitchells' 2003 prospects: "I would like to think that if they applied themselves next year and learn from the mistakes of last year, they have good footballers and are well able to move up to intermediate level. The main thing is that they have to get rid of the habit of losing the crucial games. "We concentrated totally on football last year and we had very few yellow cards and no sendings-off all year. That's the approach we have instilled in the players and that will stand to them in the long term. These players are very well coached and they will come good. Prior to myself, Damien Reid was here for a few years and the players received a good grounding. The foundations are there and the future is bright." Enda points out that there were mitigating circumstances contributing to the Mitchells' unwitting 2001 decline: "The Foot & Mouth crisis really caught them out," he says. "It's a rural area and a lot of people's livelihoods were under threat and naturally the football took a back seat and the team went into decline as a result. Work had to come first. Under the circumstances, it was hardly that big of a surprise that they only managed to win one game all year." Over the winter, with the FMD threat vanquished, Enda was brought in to train the team. He played all his own football with nearby St Marys of Ardee and also coached the Marys to two minor league titles and a minor championship final, as well as training various juvenile sides going back into the 'eighties (the Ardee man sat his coaching course in Galway in 1987!). "The Mitchells just approached me and asked if I'd be interested in the job and I was happy to oblige them. I enjoy coaching and when you have been successful at different levels you always want to move on to fresh challenges. It was a good opportunity, especially with the proximity of the club, which is still very close to me even though I now live in Collon." Kerr is very much a hands-on trainer, having played competitive football himself up to three years ago. He started out with the Mitchells in January 2002 in conjunction with three selectors: Declan Bingham, Paul Kane and Ray Sweeney. "We started training in early February, on the long, cold, wet nights. I tried to change things about as much as possible and brought them indoors some nights and varied the training and it was well received. We had over 30 out at that stage, which is a great turnout for a junior club." The Mitchells went unbeaten for their first five games and had only suffered one defeat - to the Nicks in Drogheda - by the time they squared up to Na Piarsaigh in the Kevin Mullen Shield final. "It was a fabulous game," Enda relates. "We played them at The Ramparts and it was an absolutely brilliant match. There was nothing between us and it went to extra time before we eventually got on top. The lads stuck to the task and showed great spirit. Their fitness told in the end and we pulled away in extra time. "That was a great start to the season. It gave the lads great confidence to win a County Board trophy, especially after having only won one game the previous year. It also improved competition for places amongst the players. Everyone suddenly wanted a piece of the action, which has to be a good thing." Unfortunately, John Mitchells' efforts over the remainder of the season failed to produce any further silverware. But the Ballybailie men will represent a true force to be reckoned with in junior fare next term... Tweet

Most Read Stories