After going agonisingly close to reaching the final in 2006, Oldcastle's life in the Intermediate Football Championship has been a big struggle and it went all the way to the wire as they won the relegation rattle against Ballivor. Oldcastle, Ballivor and Drumconrath were the three clubs to finish at the bottom of the qualification groups, but the Drums secured their status in the middle grade when they defeated Ballivor in a play-off. That left Ballivor to battle it out with Oldcastle to decide who would drop back to the junior ranks, but the involvement of Sean Corrigan with the Kildalkey team that reached the SHC final caused a delay. That decider went to a replay which held things up further and it took a 0-8 to 0-2 November win to save their status in the middle grade. It was all so different for Oldcastle two years earlier when they were incredibly consistent, losing just one competitive match in league and championship, but they ended up with nothing to show for their efforts after Wayne Reilly's wonder point from a line ball for Drumconrath deprived them of a place in the IFC final. Last year they finished second from bottom of their IFC group and were relegated to Div. 3 of the All-County A League and it got a lot worse this year when they failed to win a game in the divisional stages of the championship and picked up their only point when drawing with Cortown in the second round. Oldcastle, who were coached by Jody Clarke, were drawn in group A of the IFC along with Na Fianna, Nobber, St Michael's, Cortown and St Colmcille's and a look at their results reveals a couple of very narrow defeats which would have made a massive difference if they had gone the other way. One of those 'close things' came in the opening round against St Colmcille's at Rathkenny where a poor start left Oldcastle playing a game of catch-up. The seasiders notched 1-1 in the early stages, before Niall Fitzpatrick opened Oldcastle's account with a point, and they found themselves well adrift at the interval, 0-3 to 1-8. Terry Farrelly pointed for Oldcastle on the restart and a well executed goal from substitute Scott Grey gave them real hope. St Colmcille's edged three points clear in the last quarter, but battling Oldcastle got back to level terms in the final minute. However, they were shattered when the east Meath side pounced for a late winner. A late pointed free from Ronan Farrelly earned Oldcastle their draw with Cortown in the second round at Ballinlough, but this was a match they might well have won because they missed late chances. Cortown started best and opened up a 0-6 to 0-4 advantage, but Oldcastle were awarded a penalty after Meath minor player Paddy Gilsenan was fouled. Ronan Farrelly's kick was saved, but he followed up to net from the rebound to give his side a significant boost. However, Cortown replied with a goal, before four successive points helped Oldcastle to lead by 1-9 to 1-7 at the break. It was nip and tuck in the second period, but Cortown looked capable of inflicting another narrow defeat on Clarke's team until Farrelly rescued a deserved point with that late free. Oldcastle's only heavy defeat of the group campaign came in the third round at Athboy when Na Fianna won by 4-13 to 2-8. The Enfield/Baconstown combination scored a goal after only two minutes, but Oldcastle were in front by the 20th minute after they had netted from a Packie Kevin penalty. Niall Fitzpatrick also goaled for Oldcastle in the opening half, but Na Fianna netted on two other occasions in that period and were in front by 3-5 to 2-5 at the break. The concession of a fourth goal didn't help Oldcastle's cause and the south Meath side finished strongest to be 11 points clear at the end as it finished 4-13 to 2-8. Oldcastle's second defeat of the group stages by the narrowest of margins followed in the fourth round when they just fell short against Nobber at Moynalty where they deserved to take something from the game after a very spirited performance. They held a 0-5 to 0-3 lead at the change of ends, by which stage they had restricted Nobber to just a point from play. Nobber got back to level terms within seven minutes of the restart and when Oldcastle had Vincent Reynolds sent off they faced a really tough challenge, especially when their opponents pushed ahead. Niall Mangan aided their cause when he slotted over a couple of late frees, but they just fell short as Nobber shaded the verdict by 0-10 to 0-9. That outcome meant that Oldcastle were in real danger of slipping into a battle for survival in the intermediate ranks as they had managed to take only one point from a possible eight. St Michael's had demonstrated tremendous improvement in the second half of the group campaign as they recovered from losing their first two games to reach the last eight and their win over Oldcastle in the last round at Martry confirmed their progression. It also confirmed that the losers were in severe danger of suffering relegation to junior football a decade after they had contested the SFC final. Goals helped to sustain Oldcastle's challenge for most of the contest, but they gave one away in the very early stages when St Michael's took full advantage of a goalkeeping error. Paddy Gilsenan, a hugely talented player who appears to have a bright future, replied when he netted at the other end, but the Carlanstown/Kilbeg combination took their points with greater consistency and that helped them to lead by 1-7 to 1-3 at the interval. A goal from Alan McCann was Oldcastle's only score of the second period and with St Michael's adding three points they were sufficient to earn them the victory which squeezed them through to the quarter-finals where they lost out to champions to be St Ultan's. When all was said and done in group A it was Cortown, the only team that Oldcastle succeeded in taking a point off, who were on top of the table. They finished on seven points and there was a big queue up behind them as Na Fianna, St Michael's and Nobber all ended up on six, with the Nobber men the unlucky ones to miss out on advancing to the knockout stages. St Colmcille's were safe from the threat of a relegation struggle thanks to the four points they earned from wins over Oldcastle and Cortown, while Oldcastle were tailed off at the bottom of the section with that solitary point they picked up in their draw with a Cortown side that was later to lose the final to parish rivals St Ultan's. Oldcastle were demoted from the Senior Championship when they lost the relegation final to Summerhill at Kells in 2002 and at the time of writing they were still awaiting that do or die confrontation with Ballivor as they try to avoid making their second drop six years later. Of course, the Ballivor men were also in this position last year when they survived by virtue of a relegation final win over Ratoath. One of the most pleasing aspects of the GAA year for the Oldcastle club were the performances of the immensely talented Paddy Gilsenan with the successful Meath minor team as he demonstrated the sort of promise which suggested that he has the makings of a star senior player of the future. The majority of the skilled attacker's appearances with the minors came as a substitute, though he did start the All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone at Croke Park when the Royal County's dream of a place in the final came to an end. Gilsenan didn't figure in the opening round of the Leinster Championship when Meath defeated Louth by 1-14 to 1-9 at Pairc Tailteann, but he played a big role in the quarter-final at Parnell Park when they scored a fabulous extra-time victory over a Dublin team that was managed by Gerry McEntee. Gilsenan was introduced in the second half and scored the insurance point in the 0-14 to 0-10 win. He didn't figure in the 3-10 to 2-9 semi-final victory over Longford at Pairc Tailteann, but made an appearance as a substitute early in the second half of the final against Offaly at Croke Park and contributed a valuable point in the 1-14 to 2-10 success. Gilsenan was again introduced as a substitute in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Tipperary at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise, and again rowed in with a point as Meath won by 2-9 to 0-10. He had clearly impressed sufficiently at that stage to earn a starting place for the semi-final against a very talented Tyrone side. He lined out at right corner-forward and scored three points from frees, but Meath bowed out of the hunt for the title when the Ulster county won by 1-21 to 2-7. Nonetheless, the experience gained during the lengthy campaign will undoubtedly have benefited Gilsenan enormously. He is just one of a very talented bunch of young players who carry the future hopes for Oldcastle. Tweet

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