Gerry Robinson reflects on a season which saw Sean McDermotts come within a whisker of a place in the top flight. Sean McDermotts haven't played senior football since the intermediate grade was introduced. Yet they found themselves agonisingly close to the premier grade in 2001 - so close they could almost touch it. Only in the dying moments of the replayed '01 IFC final did the Mountrush men's dream finally bite the dust . . . but they certainly gave their loyal supporters value for money during the course of a dramatic rollercoaster championship ride. The Seans booked their place in the final having recorded a sensational 1-9 to 0-10 victory over St Kevin's in the semi-final. And let's call a spade a spade: victories simply don't come any more dramatic than the one plundered at Ardee on Saturday night, August 25th. The game had gone two minutes into injury time and the mid-Louth men were trailing by two points when substitutes Brendan McGahon and Kevin Carroll linked for the latter to blast to the net and send his team through to the last two. What made the circumstances of the win all the more remarkable was that the Seans' quarter-final defeat of Hunterstown Rovers was also achieved by virtue of an injury-time goal, that one courtesy of Michael McMullen from a '45'. Meanwhile, Naomh Fionnbarra advanced to the final courtesy of a comprehensive 1-10 to 0-7 victory over neighbours O'Connells in their semi-final at Dunleer, after completely dominating the last quarter, outscoring the Castlebellingham men by 0-6 to no score to clinch their first final appearance since 1997. The original 2001 Louth IFC final took place at Castlebellingham on Sunday September 30th. Both sides had confounded the experts by blazing their ways to the decider - not many would have selected either as likely championship winners at the start of the year. It was never going to be easy: Naomh Fionnbarra were doubly determined as they had lost three intermediate finals in the '90s. The McDermotts, on the other hand, weren't lacking in motivation either as they haven't played in the top flight since the intermediate grade was introduced in the late 'seventies and hadn't made it to an intermediate final since losing to Stabannon Parnells in 1989. They were on a roll, aiming to emulate the recent feats of both the Brides and Dreadnots by clinching promotion in successive seasons, having ran away with the 2000 junior league. On the way to the final, the Finbarrs beat Sean O'Mahonys, Naomh Malachi and O'Connells; Sean McDermotts accounted for St Mochtas, Hunterstown Rovers and St Kevins. Much to nobody's great surprise, a thrilling final ended in stalemate: Sean McDermotts 2-8, Naomh Fionnbarra 1-11 It was a see-saw encounter and there was little between the sides in the first half but the Finbarrs gradually built up a sizeable second-half lead before the late-scoring specialists from Mountrush rocked them with 2-1 in the space of a couple of minutes to move into a 2-8 to 0-10 lead with time almost up. It looked as if the Seans would prevail but the Togher men refused to give up and bagged a late goal and point to bring the match to a replay. Oh, McDermotts had been so close... The replay was another thriller and went right down to the wire before the Togher men won the day, 0-15 to 1-8. Unsurprisingly, all the drama was reserved for the closing minutes. With time almost up, Naomh Fionnbarra led by three points but the Seans have a penchant for late goals and, sure enough, they delivered yet again, this time through Bob Doheny in the 56th minute. Their supporters went wild when the net bulged and the game appeared to have been pulled from the fire but there was to be no fairytale ending this time as the Finbarrs tagged on four late points - three of them injury time - to break the Seans' hearts and bring their fairytale season to an anti-climactic and disappointing end. The Seans kicked off their campaign with a 2-9 to 1-10 preliminary round victory over St Mochtas at Tallanstown on Sunday July 8th. They weren't really at the races in the first quarter but received a great boost with the game's first goal from Ronan Valentine in the 16th minute. The tide turned with that score and the winners never looked back. Trailing 0-3 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter despite scoring first through David Matthews, the Seans scored their goal at just the right time. Points from Valentine and Ronan Woods soon had them in a 1-4 to 0-3 lead and they led by the goal at the break. McDermotts pulled away in the 40th minute when Daniel Woods' low shot found the net and gave them a 2-5 to 0-5 lead. Mochtas tried to claw their way back into it and moved within two points but the green-and-reds replied with points from Kevin Carroll and Michael McMullen (2) to make it 2-9 to 0-10. An injury time penalty for the Mochtas served no other purpose than putting some respectability on the scoreboard. High-flying fellow parishioners Hunterstown provided the quarter-final opposition at Knockbridge on Saturday July 28th and the 3-8 to 2-10 scoreline tells only half the story. The drama was exceptional, the excitement almost palpable as the Seans stole the day with a sensational injury-time goal - direct from a '45'. The game was a full four minutes into added time when Michael McMullen stepped up to take the kick and, incredibly, it deceived everybody to dip into the net and send Sean McDermotts through to the semi-finals. Hunterstown lived up to their hot favourites bill when easing 1-4 to 0-2 ahead inside the opening 15 minutes despite missing a penalty. The Seans demonstrated remarkable character for the remainder of the half and took a 1-7 to 1-5 lead into the break. Ronan Valentine, John Curran and Bob Doheny all fired points before Kevin Carroll produced an excellent finish under pressure to score his side's first goal. Doheny and Curran added their other two first-half points. John Levins dealt them a blow with a goal 25 seconds after the resumption and the Rovers still led by three points with 15 minutes left. McMullen then scrambled the ball across the line to make it 2-8 apiece 11 minutes from time. When Hunterstown finished strongest with two points from Levins they appeared to have done enough to advance but McDermotts stole the day with their incredible late Houdini act. The semi-final was at Ardee at the end of August and the Seans left it late again before pipping St Kevin's, 1-9 to 0-10. This was a game in which two of Sean McDermotts' emerging young stars, Daniel Woods and Kevin Carroll (both of whom won minor championship medals with Baile Talun in 2001), came to the fore. Corner forward Woods scored five crucial points, earning himself the Man of the Match accolade, while Carroll came on as a second half substitute and scored the vital winning goal after gathering possession from the experienced Brendan McGahon two minutes into injury time. It was an amazing win for the Seans as they hadn't led at any stage in the match until Carroll struck the late, late winning goal. Ten minutes in they trailed by four points to one. A fine Ronan Valentine point didn't have the desired effect of lifting his team and and they remained three points adrift, 0-6 to 0-3, as the game entered its second quarter. Two points from Woods then put a different perspective on matters. A late Kevins free made it 0-7 to 0-5 to the Philipstown men at the break. The gauntlet was delivered early in the second half when Kevins quickly moved four points clear. The Seans answered all questions asked of them - and then some. They began to dominate, bearing down ominously on goal. Twice, they almost hit the net but they still managed to record four unanswered points to draw level. Five minutes from time, Kevins sneaked in front, 0-10 to 0-9, and they appeared on course for a second successive final appearance. But once again the Seans had other ideas. The drama in the closing minutes of the drawn intermediate championship final at The Grove on September 30th was nothing short of remarkable. During that extraordinary conclusion, it swung one way then the other in one of the most absorbing climaxes imaginable. When the long whistle sounded, the spectators were almost as drained as the players! Having trailed by 0-3 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter, the Seans led by a point at the interval, 0-6 to 0-5, their first-half scores coming from Ronan Valentine (2), Daniel Woods, Bob Doheny, Adam Finlay and David Matthews. The Finbarrs registered the first four points of the second half to establish a 0-9 to 0-6 lead. They still led by two points in the 53rd minute but up popped veteran Brendan McGahon ten minutes after his 43rd-minute introduction to gather possession from Colin Curran and score a vital goal. The Seans looked to be home and dry two minutes later when Curran collected from McGahon to add another goal. With five minutes left, the mid-Louth side led by four points, 2-8 to 0-10. But it wasn't to be: Naomh Fionnbarra somehow managed to conjure up a goal and a point in injury time to force a replay. While the draw was probably a fair result, it was tough luck on the Seans who had been so close to the top flight. The replay was every bit as tight but the Finbarrs again finished very strongly in injury time to steal the day and leave the luckless Seans heartbroken. McDermotts battled back admirably to level at the end of normal time but four injury time points from the Togher side put the issue beyond doubt. The Seamus Flood Cup wasn't going to Mountrush after all. A blow was delivered to the underdogs even before the game commenced when the influential Ronan Valentine was ruled out. The Finbarrs raced into a three-point lead but the Seans fought back to level by the 18th minute. A point from Declan Carroll in the 25th minute gave them their only lead of the match. At half time, it was 0-5 apiece. With the scores tied at seven points each (Daniel Woods scoring a brace of equalisers after the resumption), the Seans got on top but they were unable to make their dominance tell on the scoreboard, wasting some very presentable opportunities. The green-and-golds punished them ruthlessly, moving 0-10 to 0-7 in front and David Matthews' 53rd-minute point was quickly cancelled out. Enter substitute Bob Doheny. With his very first touch he punched to the net to level matters, 1-8 to 0-11, 56 minutes gone. It was very much in the melting pot but the Seans seemed to run out of steam and - more importantly - ideas in the crucial few minutes added on for injuries. Tweet

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