A sting in the tail
November 30, 2008
The man who guided Dunshaughlin to so much success in the early years of this decade masterminded their elimination from this year's Senior Football Championship when they lost to Blackhall Gaels at the quarter-final stage after cruising through the group campaign with four wins from as many outings.
Eamonn Barry was at the helm when Dunshaughlin won three successive titles between 2000 and 2002 and also claimed the Leinster Club crown in a glorious era for the black and amber brigade. But this year the former Walterstown player, who managed the Meath senior team for one term, was the Blackhall 'gaffer' as they scored a surprisingly easy victory at the last eight stage.
Since they made the breakthrough at intermediate level in 1997 Dunshaughlin have been highly consistent in the senior grade, reaching the knockout stages every year since, apart from 1998 and 2006. Last year, with former Laois player Leo Turley at the helm, they topped their group after four wins and one defeat, but then exited the race for the Keegan Cup when losing to Navan O'Mahonys at the quarter-final stage.
This year, with Gordon Ward occupying the hot seat and Simon Farrell and Martin Summerville acting as selectors, they were even more successful during the group campaign, winning all their matches and comfortably topping their section. Therefore, another reversal in the quarter-finals must have been a big disappointment to all concerned.
Dunshaughlin, who have been steadily introducing young players into their team in recent years, were drawn in group C of the championship and it would have represented a massive surprise if they failed to advance from it. The section also included the newly amalgamated Duleek/Bellewstown, intermediate champions Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Trim and Kilmainhamwood, the favourites to be relegated after dicing with death on so many occasions in recent years.
When the championship action got under way, Dunshaughlin were pitted against Duleek/Bellewstown who were making their championship debut under that name. The game took place at Ratoath and if Ward's side thought they would have it even reasonably handy they were mistaken.
They made the ideal start when Conor Staunton scored a goal after only two minutes, but in the end they were forced to come from behind in order to start their campaign on a winning note. Without Caoimhin King, who had sustained a hamstring injury during Meath's infamous National League match against Dublin, they failed to build on that productive opening.
Kieran Collins goaled for Duleek/Bellewstown on six minutes and they went on to hold a useful 1-7 to 1-2 lead at the interval after playing with the advantage of the wind. The amalgamated team looked set for victory when Meath minor player Mark Collins scored their second goal after 39 minutes, but they didn't score again as Dunshaughlin took over.
The score that really ignited Dunshaughlin's challenge came after 42 minutes when Niall Kelly goaled and with Richie Kealy, Martin Reilly, David Crimmins and Staunton getting among the point scorers they were on level terms with 10 minutes of normal time to play. They had built up the necessary momentum to go on and win the match at that stage and they crossed the finish line in front thanks to late points from Cillian Finn and Kelly as it finished 2-10 to 2-8.
Donaghmore/Ashbourne, in their first year at senior level, had scored a comfortable victory over Kilmainhamwood in the first round and they more than put it up to Dunshaughlin next time out at Ratoath.
King was back after his injury woes and he was outstanding at centre-back as Dunshaughlin shaded the verdict on a 1-7 to 1-6 score line. Andy McEntee's team made a great start when David Morgan found the net in the early stages, but Dunshaughlin settled and moved into a 1-3 to 1-1 lead at the break.
The goal was scored by Crimmins in confident fashion after a great move involving Denis Kealy, Staunton and Reilly, but with only four points added to their tally in the second period they were always going to be vulnerable against a Donaghmore/Ashbourne side that was responding well to the demands of senior football.
They came back well in the second period, but Dunshaughlin finished strongly with points from Cathal O'Dwyer, Reilly and a brilliant Kelly score to earn the win which left them in a very strong position in terms of reaching the business end of the title race.
With a game against struggling Kilmainhamwood to come they always looked likely to strengthen their standing even further when the teams met in the third round at Walterstown. And that's how it turned out as they won by 1-16 to 0-11, despite wasting chances in the second period.
As was the case in the opening round of group matches against Duleek/Bellewstown, Staunton was on the mark with an early goal after a King shot had come back off the crossbar and with King and Kelly in dominant form around the half-way line they went on to lead by 1-8 to 0-4 at the interval.
A runaway win looked very much on the cards when they pushed nine points (1-10 to 0-4) clear in the early stages of the second half, but as can often happen in these situations they eased off the gas and endured a barren spell of 17 minutes without a score. However, they did have the cushion to guard themselves against a Kilmainhamwood revival, though if the 'Wood had taken some of the goal chances that they created it might have been closer at the end.
They did manage to add significantly to their points tally as they battled away with determination despite the seemingly hopeless situation they found themselves in, but Dunshaughlin pushed on again in the closing stages to be eight points clear (1-16 to 0-11) at the final whistle.
Bective was the venue for a rearranged fixture against struggling Trim whose only victory of the group campaign came against Kilmainhamwood. Dunshaughlin won again, but it wasn't an overly convincing performance against Paddy Clarke's team which held the upper hand in the early stages.
It took Dunshaughlin all of 17 minutes to open their account when Finn split the uprights and that was one statistic which must have concerned coach Ward as he prepared his players for the quarter-finals against a Blackhall team that was likely to provide more formidable opposition than the reds.
Trim opened up a 0-3 to 0-0 advantage as they were the more productive side in the early stages, but they managed only one other first half score as Crimmins and Staunton found their range for Dunshaughlin to leave them behind by the minimum margin (0-3 to 0-4) at the change of ends.
Denis Kealy had them on level terms with a point seven minutes into the second period, but they were rocked back when Conor O'Keeffe notched the only goal of the contest in the third quarter to give Trim a big boost.
But Dunshaughlin found their range again and finished off the game with points from Trevor Dowd, Martin Reilly, Staunton, David Devereux, Kelly and Crimmins to be ahead by 0-13 to 1-6 at the end.
When all was said and done in group C, Dunshaughlin were sitting at the top on a maximum eight points and were safely through to the last eight. Duleek/Bellewstown and Donaghmore/Ashbourne drew the same evening that Dunshaughlin beat Trim and they finished tied for second position in the section on five points.
However, the fact that Duleek/Bellewstown had scored a massive 5-16 to 1-4 victory over Kilmainhamwood in their third group assignment gave their points difference a huge boost and that was significant in them going straight into the quarter-finals on plus 30, compared to Donaghmore/Ashbourne's plus 14. The latter went into the preliminary quarter-final where they beat St. Patrick's.
As Dunshaughlin readied themselves for the greater challenges that lay ahead they probably didn't know quite how good they were after easily emerging from what wasn't the strongest group in the competition by any means.
Blackhall had experienced a far less comfortable run through to the knockout stages, but they had clearly learned more during that struggle. They started without Anthony Moyles and Alan Nestor, who were both introduced in the early stages of the second half, but they still managed to win very comprehensively on a 1-13 to 0-7 score line at Pairc Tailteann.
Dunshaughlin played below what they are capable of and with Tadgh Brosnan contributing nine points, eight of them from frees, Blackhall possessed a scorer in chief who inflicted serious damage.
Blackhall, seeking a first senior title since 2003, led by 0-7 to 0-3 at the interval and when Sean Whelan scored the only goal of the game in the 39th minute to push their advantage out to 1-8 to 0-4 they were well on their way to the semi-finals. Dunshaughlin did give themselves some hope with three points on the bounce from Reilly, Kelly and O'Dwyer, but that was about as good as it got as they failed to hit the target in the final 17 minutes.
They moved Kelly to full-forward in a desperate attempt to rescue the situation in the dying minutes and he broke the ball for a Dowd shot which was saved by Blackhall goalkeeper Martin Whelan three minutes from time. That stop ended any chance of a Dunshaughlin revival and they were a well beaten team at the end.
It was a disappointing way to exit the championship, but this Dunshaughlin team contains a lot of talented young players and they will learn from the experience of this year.
Of course, among them is Tommy Johnson who captained Meath to their Leinster Minor Championship success this year. He is certainly a player who looks to have a very bright future.
The Dunshaughlin team which lost to Blackhall Gaels was - R Gogan; T Johnson, A Johnson, D Kealy; M Ahern, R Kealy, C King; C Finn, N Kelly (0-2); T Dowd (0-1), M Reilly (0-2), C Staunton (0-1); R Maloney, D Crimmins, C O'Dwyer (0-1). Subs - D Devereux for Crimmins, R Yore for Reilly, M Johnson for Dowd.
Another year to remember
2008 was another year to remember for this group of players. For the past number of years, this team under the coaching guidance of Tommy Clusker have progressed up through the age groups, winning leagues and championships at U12, 13 and 14 as well as representing Meath at the national Feile competition.
This year started out with challenge games against Celbridge and Tullamore. Our first championship outing was at home to O'Mahony's. Having dominated the first half, O'Mahony's came back into it with two goals and were it not for the goalkeeping skills of young Stephen McCarthy we would have been in trouble. However, points from Conor Devereux, Robert Connolly and a goal from James Reilly got us back on track and we ran out winners on a scoreline of 1-13 to 2-6.
Our next game was against St. Vincent's/Curraha, which saw the welcome return of Henry Komalafe. Eoin Hannon moved from corner back to the half forward line and gave a great account of himself. David Baggot, James Reilly and Andrew Kiernan kept the team going through the early exchanges. After a slow start, we gradually got on top of a very spirited opposition and eventually ran out deserved winners.
Our next two outings in the championship had to be postponed due the bad weather and the waterlogged pitches. The team got a wake up call in a final qualifying round when we were decisively beaten by a well organised and skilful Round Towers team. This defeat has a positive effect as it saw the return of a very skilful Liam Ormsby to the number 2 shirt. Sean Duggan also impressed in this game.
By the end of June we had progressed to a semi-final meeting with Ratoath. After all the bad weather, this game was played on a beautiful summer evening in front of a large crowd at Dunsany.
Aidan Boswell, who had broken a bone in his hand earlier in the year, returned to goalkeeping duty and what an important role he was to play. Conor O'Brien was unavailable and his no 6 shirt was filled by Conor Devereux. Ratoath played an excellent brand of football in the first half and it was goals from Niall Clusker and Eoin Hannon that kept us in the game. The first half will also be remembered for a superb point by Joe O'Brien.
However, the second half belonged to St. Martin's and excellent scores fro Alan O'Brien, Eoin Hannon and David Baggot set us on our way. When Ratoath scored a goal to restore the lead with minutes to play, this was immediately cancelled out by a long range point by Fergus Toolan. This was quickly flowed by an outstanding goal from Eimhin Kinsella and when Conor Devereux pointed from the penalty spot in injury time, we had qualified from the county final on a scoreline of 4-11 to 2-12.
Special mention must be made of the full back line of Liam Ormsby, Alistair Doyle and Keith Doherty who became men on the night and a very young Gavin Malone who did everything right when introduced.
Our final opponents were Round Towers, who we had lost to in a previous round. For this game Conor O'Brien returned to the number 6 shirt having missed the semi-final and Conor Devereux moved to the wing to cover fir Fergus Toolan who was unavailable. Michael McCarthy also returned and Henry Komolafe took over at number 13, a reward for all his hard work during the year. Alan O'Brien got us off to a great start with a point straight from the throw in. Niall Clusker immediately followed up with a great goal after Conor O'Brien has carved open the middle. Five minutes later Conor Devereux converted a penalty after good work by Michael McCarthy. The remainder of the half was all Round Towers.
When Joe O'Brien failed to return after half time having received an injury, he was replace by young David Doherty who proved that age means nothing when you have speed and skill. But things were looking bad for us as we quickly conceded two goals and were under a lot of pressure.
However, when the going got tough, the tough get going! Alistair Doyle was outstanding as were Liam Ormsby and the ever reliable Keith Doherty. Niall Hannon proved that the art of high fielding is alive and well, Michael McCarthy showed the importance of a good gaol poacher. Neil Ridgeway was a tower of strength and his many runs along the wing were a highlight. Once again Conor Devereux stepped up to the mark and his tally of 1-5 gave him the man of the match award and when Joe O'Brien returned to the fray with 10 minutes to go we eventually got on top and ran out winners on a scoreline of 3-11 to 2-4.
St. Martins - Aidan Boswell, Liam Ormsby, Alistar Doyle, Keith Doherty, Conor Devereux 1-5, Conor O'Brien, Neil Ridgeway, Joe O'Brien 0-1, Niall Hannon, Alan O'Brien 0-3, Eoin Hannon, James Reilly, Henry Komolafe, Niall Clusker 1-0, Michael McCarthy 1-2. Subs - David Doherty for O'Brien, Joe O'Brien for Reilly, Robert Connolly for Komolafe.
On October 13th we lost Tommy Clusker after a brave fight with cancer. He will forever be remembered by these young men for what he has given them.
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