Paddy Clarke made a triumphant return to the Mattock Rangers managerial hot-seat this year by guiding the Collon outfit to only their second Louth senior football championship crown. Here, he reflects on the success which came 26 years after his previous stint with the club. Former Louth manager Paddy Clarke completed some unfinished business on October 2 last when he led Mattock Rangers to victory over Newtown Blues in the county senior football championship final - 29 years after he lost a county final with the Collon club. Clarke, who is regarded as one of the finest coaches in Leinster, began his managerial career with the Rangers in 1974 and in his third year at the helm, guided them to the county final where they succumbed to Cooley Kickhams. The Drogheda man managed Mattock for another two seasons after that, but had to wait until this year to lead them to the Promised Land. "This was my first year back with Collon and I'm thrilled to have finally won a senior championship with them," he says. "I managed them for five years during the 1970s and had helped them out a few times since then, but it has taken until now to win the Joe Ward Cup. Collon was where it all began for me and in many ways, I felt as if I was coming home. "Everything revolves around football in Collon and when the team is playing, the whole parish gets behind them. The enthusiasm of the supporters rubs off on the players and I have no doubt that it was a factor in our success this year." Despite their historic senior championship breakthrough in 2002 and their subsequent appearance in the Leinster club final, Mattock Rangers were considered as outsiders in the race for the Joe Ward Cup this season. But according to Clarke, who was assisted by Brendan Reilly, their success in the inaugural Leinster club senior football league gave their championship hopes a massive boost. "At the start of the year, nobody was looking beyond Cooley Kickhams, St. Pat's or Newtown Blues for the championship. We seemed to be well off the pace, but our achievement in winning the Leinster league bridged the gap for us. We had a great win over St. Mary's of Saggart in the final at the end of May which brought us up to speed for the Louth championship," he reflects. Mattock recorded good championship victories over Newtown Blues and O'Connells, but a 1-8 to 1-10 reversal to Glyde Rangers set the scene for a three-way play-off to determine who would progress to the knock-out stages. A crushing defeat to the Blues left them needing to beat Glyde. The signs looked ominous when Donal Geraghty suffered a horrific ankle injury in the early stages which caused a 15-minute delay. But when play resumed, the team in black and red played like men possessed as they ground out a 1-7 to 0-7 victory. "The Glyde match was the turning point in our season. Losing Donal in those circumstances was a terrible blow, but the lads regrouped during the delay and pulled out all the stops to win by a goal." In the quarter-final, Mattock comfortably accounted for Oliver Plunkett's to set up a last four meeting with local rivals Naomh Mairtin. The Collon side set the early tempo to lead by 0-4 to 0-1 after 10 minutes. A Francis McCullagh goal brought the Mairtin's back into it before a similar score from Adrian Reid gave Mattock a five-point cushion after 21 minutes. But they managed just a solitary point over the next 27 minutes, during which time Naomh Mairtin registered seven to edge in front. Mattock were desperately in need of inspiration and it was provided when Reid grabbed his second goal to put them back in the driving seat. Naomh Mairtin rallied again and reduced the deficit to the minimum before Rangers hit two late points to seal a hard-earned 2-11 to 1-11 victory. There was no lack of motivation in the Mattock camp as they prepared for the county final against Newtown Blues at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda. The Collon men were anxious to avenge the heavy defeat they suffered at the hands of the Blues earlier in the championship as well as their loss in the 2001 decider. In the event, Mattock played the better football to deservedly take the Joe Ward Cup back to Collon on a 1-12 to 2-6 scoreline. Shane Grimes gave them a dream start when he netted inside the first 90 seconds and despite playing against a strong breeze, they went on to lead by 1-3 to 0-3 at the interval. However, two goals from Jamie and Thomas Carr changed the complexion of the game and the Drogheda side led by 2-6 to 1-8 as the game ticked into stoppage time. But after David Reid levelled from a free, Niall Callan, Gerard Hanratty and Reid tagged on points to give Mattock their second title in four years. "We were well up for the final and I think that came across in the pre-match parade. I recently looked at the video of the 2001 final against the Blues and the difference in the Mattock players' body language was very evident. Whereas they looked apprehensive and nervous then, they were confident and focused this time around," Paddy says. "The team had built up huge resolve over the course of the championship. They showed an innate ability to win close matches and never panicked at any stage. The loss of Donal Geraghty and the unavailability of Christy Grimes for much of the championship only served to make them stronger." At the time of writing, Mattock had qualified for the Leinster club championship semi-final after one-point victories over The Downs (Westmeath) and Horeswood (Wexford). "We would love to win the Leinster club championship, it would make amends for the defeat to Dunshaughlin in the 2002 final. As I already said, the spirit is excellent in the club and no effort will be spared in our bid to win a provincial championship." Paddy is no stranger to Leinster club championship success, having coached St. Brigid's of Blanchardstown to a provincial title win two years ago. The Drogheda native has over three decades of coaching experience under his belt and still retains the same enthusiasm that he showed when he started out with Mattock in 1974. The Dispatch Manager with Irish Cement has managed a string of clubs in Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan and Dublin, including St. Mary's, Stabannon Parnells, O'Raghallaighs, Dowdallshill, Mattock Rangers, Kilmainhamwood, Rathkenny, St. Colmcille's, Kingscourt, Castleblayney Faughs, Naomh Mearnog and St. Brigid's. Paddy has managed/coached Meath, Monaghan and Louth at senior inter-county level, and Meath, Louth and Armagh at underage level. He won Leinster club titles with St. Brigid's in 2003 and trained Kingscourt to an Ulster final appearance in 1990, reached two Leinster minor finals with Meath in 1975 and 1983, and won county senior championships with Kingscourt Stars, Stabannon Parnells, Castleblayney Faughs, Kilmainhamwood and St. Brigid's. He was also assistant to Ireland International Rules manager Brian McEniff in 2000 and 2001. Two of Paddy's most notable achievements were in guiding Louth to an All-Ireland 'B' championship in 1997 and a National Football League Division 2 title in 2000. Despite these successes, he was ousted as Louth manager in 2001 following the county's surprise defeat to Longford in the Leinster championship after three months inactivity due to Foot and Mouth. "It's still something that rankles with me and the two lads who were with me (Eugene Judge and Stephen Melia)," he admits. "We felt the county board had humiliated us by making derogatory remarks at county board meetings and asking us to go through the interview process again. The whole affair left a bitter taste in our mouths. It was all very unsatisfactory the way it was handled." While soured by the experience, Clarke isn't ruling out a return to the Louth managerial post at some stage in the future. "I would give it serious consideration if I retired from Irish Cement in the morning. Managing an inter-county team has become a full-time job and you have to give it your full attention. That's the way things have gone," he concludes. Tweet

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