Kilbride may have ended their Junior Football Championship campaign with a heavy quarter-final defeat, but they can certainly look back on 2008 as a progressive year which suggested that they can look forward to the future with renewed optimism following their promotion in the league. Two years ago Kilbride got through to play knockout football in the race for the Matthew Ginnity Cup when they finished third in their qualification group following five victories and that entitled them to a place in the preliminary quarter-final. However, that was where their dreams of glory ended when Drumbaragh defeated them by seven. Kilbride's 2007 Junior Championship campaign wasn't so progressive, though they still weren't a long way away from the top teams in their section. They achieved two victories and finished second from bottom on four points, one more than basement team Gaeil Colmcille who ended up in the relegation dogfight. It was a case of normal service being resumed as far as qualification for the championship knockout stages was concerned in 2008 and, to go along with that good run, Dermot White's side was also highly consistent in Div. 4 of the All County A League, so much so that they gained promotion and qualified for the final against Drumbaragh, which they only lost out in by a point. Kilbride were drawn in group B of the JFC and that section included two of the more fancied teams for outright honours, Slane and Dunsany, as well as Ballinabrackey, Kildalkey and the second string team from Navan O'Mahonys. When the championship action got under way they faced Dunsany at Ratoath and a narrow win against one of the most consistent teams in the grade over the past decade gave Kilbride a very good start to the competition. They held a 0-3 to 0-2 lead at the end of a low scoring first half after they had failed to turn much of their possession into scores. Dunsany got on top for a significant spell in the second period after Kilbride had a player sent off and looked capable of going on to win, but the game's only goal made a massive difference as Kilbride won by 1-6 to 0-7. That score came from Brian White, but it still took two late points from David Harford to seal the victory. It was a significant win for the Kilbride men in more ways than one because it marked the first time in over 10 years that they succeeded in winning their first championship match of the campaign. The fixture schedule meant that Kilbride played two of the better fancied teams in the junior grade in the first two rounds and when they got the better of Slane next time out at Duleek people were starting to stand up and take note. The severe wind dominated this encounter and Kilbride managed to win despite failing to register a single score in the second period. With the elements favouring them in the first half they built up a very substantial 2-5 to 0-1 lead at the change of ends after Brian White and John Bruton had scored their goals, but with Slane enjoying the advantage of the gale in the second period it was always very likely that they would make a significant recovery. That was how it turned out, but significantly Kilbride prevented them from scoring a goal and that was of vital importance in the end. However, it did necessitate a strong defensive showing from Kilbride who were particularly well served by John Bruton, Andy Rennicks, White and Robbie Bruton. It finished 2-5 to 0-9. Kildalkey ended up at the bottom of the section, but they really gave Kilbride a fright in their third round meeting at Kiltale where it took a couple of late points to earn victory by the narrowest of margins. Kilbride were under-strength due to a combination of injuries and holidays and conceded an early goal. Kildalkey moved into a 1-2 to 0-0 advantage and Kilbride didn't get off the mark until Harford opened their account from a free after 25 minutes. They trailed by 0-2 to 1-2 at the break, but it should have been more because the opposition had been wasteful in the opening period. Kildalkey rocked them with another goal early in the second half to push six points clear, but Kilbride had introduced Martin Brady as a half-time substitute and this proved to be important. They battled away against the odds and a goal from debutante Gareth Lynch was highly significant in their recovery. Kilbride rallied so well that they were a point in front with 10 minutes to play, but Kildalkey hit back to lead again, before Harford levelled the scores and Brian White fired over a brilliant winner as it finished 1-8 to 2-4. It was a very close thing and it took a great battling performance to achieve the success, but with three group wins in the bag from as many outings things were looking good. They were looking even better after the fourth round meeting with Ballinabrackey at Dunsany when Kilbride won with ease to book their passage through to the business end of the title race. It was a convincing performance against a side they have met quite regularly in the group stages of the championship in recent years and with Ollie Nolan and Harford in especially impressive form they were well on the way to victory at the interval when ahead by 0-7 to 0-1. The second period was much closer as Ballinabrackey improved, but Kilbride had done more than enough in the opening half and were comfortably in front at the end, winning by 0-11 to 0-3. White, David Barron, John Bruton, Paddy O'Neill and Martin Brady were particularly effective in a solid team performance, with centre-back Barron doing much to limit the effectiveness of county panelist Chris O'Connor. The result of Kilbride's last group match against Navan O'Mahonys at Bellewstown didn't matter to them in terms of qualification and it brought their only defeat of the championship's group stages when the town team won by 1-10 to 0-7. O'Mahonys were quickest into their stride and had opened up a substantial eight point lead by the interval which left Kilbride with a mountain to climb. They were still six points adrift at the end, but on a positive note John Smith made his return as a substitute after a lengthy absence with a cruciate injury. Kilbride had already achieved their first big goal of the competition by reaching the knockout stages and were only just deprived of top position in the section. That distinction went to the Dunsany team they had beaten in the first round after they had both finished on eight points following four victories and just one defeat. However, Dunsany, who were later to exit the championship race at the penultimate hurdle against Ratoath, headed the section because their score difference was plus 15, compared to plus seven for Kilbride. O'Mahonys missed out on qualification when they finished up in third place on six points. Moynalvey had suffered the disappointment of being beaten in the final by Clann na nGael last year and as they recovered from a shaky start to the 2008 championship they built up a head of steam that would eventually lead to them winning the title in some style with a clearcut final victory over Ratoath. A meeting with PJ Cummins' team was always going to be a big ask for Kilbride and so it proved as Moynalvey won with plenty to spare at Walterstown on a day when Kilbride clearly didn't play up to the standard they are capable of. Kilbride didn't manage to register a score in the first half and the champions to be led by seven points (1-4 to 0-0) at the break after playing with the aid of the wind as the vastly experienced Cathal Sheridan caused plenty of problems. But it was in the second period that they really cut loose and put significant daylight between themselves and the opposition. The Kilbride men did manage to register four points after the change of ends from Mark Sheridan, who got two, Brian White and substitute Joe Barron and they also had a goal from Chris Rafter ruled out. But the concession of three more goals, all of them to young Mark O'Sullivan, inflicted massive damage and they were adrift by 0-4 to 4-9 when the final whistle brought an end to a very one-sided contest. Such a heavy defeat marked a very disappointing end to the championship for Kilbride, but they are undoubtedly much better than the final score line might suggest and after such a consistent campaign in championship and league in 2008 their progress next year will be monitored with interest. The Kilbride team that lost the quarter-final was - E Farrell; P Roche, C Rennicks, N Farrelly; M Brady, D Barron, R Bruton; J Bruton, C Sheridan; J Sheridan, B White (0-1), F Clarke; M Sheridan (0-2), A Rennicks, D Harford. Subs - O Nolan for R Bruton, J Barron (0-1) for Clarke, C Rafter for Harford, P Roche for C Sheridan. Tweet

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