After losing out to the eventual winners, Wolfe Tones and Seneschalstown, at the penultimate stage in each of the previous two Meath SFC campaigns, Simonstown Gaels failed to get out of their group in their latest attempt to get their hands on the elusive Keegan Cup. This time it was Blackhall Gaels who ended the dream as they put up the no entry sign to the championship's knockout phase. When they sides met at Walterstown in a last round of Group B tussle a draw was enough to earn Blackhall Gaels a quarter-final spot while Simonstown were out after only managing to win once in their four outings. St Patrick's, Dunboyne and Blackhall Gaels were also in the section and Des Lane's charges were idle in the first round as St Patrick's and Dunboyne got off to winning starts with the Stamullen side's success over Blackhall a surprise result. The two losing teams in the opening round of Group B were winners the following weekend and 'Blacks bounce back' was a headline in one of the local papers following Walterstown's 2-7 to 0-8 victory over Simonstown at Seneschalstown. The Navan had to do without their injured county star Shane O'Rourke for that game and he was missed up front with Wayne McCarthy the only one of their forwards to get a score. The former Dublin star put over all bar a point of the losing total with five converted frees, a 45 and one from play. Simonstown trailed by 0-4 to 1-4 at the break and two points was the closest they got to the leaders in the second period. That was on 40 minutes when a free from McCarthy following a foul on former Cavan county player Michael Brennan, making his championship debut with the team in blue and navy, on 40 minutes left the board reading 1-5 to 0-6 Brennan was showing up well after being moved from full back to midfield for the second half but picked up a second yellow card from referee Cormac Reilly in the closing seconds. For a long time it looked as if McCarthy would be Simonstown's only scorer but then Michael O'Rourke pointed with a little over five minutes to go. Despite kicking a total of 17 wides, Simonstown Gaels got their only win of a disappointing campaign when defeating St Patrick's by 1-11 to 0-8 in a poor game at Skryne. The fact that the losers put just three shots outside the uprights gave an indication of how much they were outplayed and yet they qualified for the last nine while their opponents on the day did not! One report suggested that so wild was some of the Simonstown shooting in the first half that cars parked at that end were in danger of being damaged. Michael Brennan was one of their top performers and the midfielder netted the goal after six minutes and could have had a second in the third quarter when Michael Calvey made a fine save at the expense of a point. The goal was Simonstown's only score from play in the first half even though Shane O'Rourke was back in action. They did better in the second half with O'Rourke, Paul Meade and Wayne McCarthy (two each) and Eanna Donoghue getting on target from play. For the second successive game the Navan side had a player dismissed on receipt of a second yellow card in the closing stages, this time Shane O'Rourke having to leave the action earlier than intended. Following the win Simonstown were in fourth place in a tight group, just above St Pat's. Simonstown slipped from fourth to fifth place in their section when losing by 0-8 to 0-9 to Dunboyne in a Sunday evening tussle at Dunshaughlin. After being in control around the halfway line against their Stamullen opponents, they were second best as county player Nigel Crawford showed impressive form. Shane O'Rourke was allowed to line out in the fourth round after an appeal against a suspension of four weeks was successful but that was the only outcome that went their way that weekend. It had looked so good for Simonstown as they ran up a 0-5 to 0-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes. However Dunboyne worked their way into the game and were on level terms with less than 20 minutes gone before points from Stephen Moran and Seamus Kenny gave Des Lane's side a 0-7 to 0-5 advantage at the break. Simonstown only managed to add a solitary point after the switching of ends with substitute Sean Tobin getting on target. They had a chance of snatching a dramatic winning goal at the end but Michael Brennan's attempt hit the side netting. Although rooted at the bottom of the table, Simonstown could still qualify for the knockout stages if they beat Blackhall Gaels in their last group outing. But they didn't quite manage that as their 1-10 to 0-13 draw in Walterstown was sufficient to send the Batterstown-Kilcloon side through as Simonstown ironically finished below St Patrick's despite being so much superior to them some weeks earlier. It was the first time for Simonstown Gaels not to reach the closing phase of the Meath SFC since 2001 and they were left to regret a missed penalty at the start of the last quarter when Wayne McCarthy's kick was comfortably saved by Martin Whelan. The Navan side's defence was inclined to concede too many frees and Tadhg Brosnan took advantage by converting six as well as netting the goal which left the half-time scores 1-5 to 0-5 It was hardly any fault of Shane O'Rourke that his side did not qualify as he put over five points and veteran midfielder Paul Meade also showed up well. However, nine wides by the losers compared to just three by their opponents were to prove costly. A pointed free by Sean Tobin gave Simonstown the draw but it was not enough to keep them in the title race and John Lunney had a chance to kick a winner with the last scoring chance of the match but his attempt went well wide. Losing twice was to prove the Navan side's undoing as St Patrick's, who finished a point above them on the final table, were minus 10 in score difference with Simonstown on level terms. The point gained from the final group outing enabled them to avoid a relegation play-off as Walterstown finished bottom. . Simonstown Gaels provided hope for the future with an exciting Under 16 FL Division 1B victory as Skryne were decisively defeated, 2-15 to 1-7, in the Pairc Tailteann final in July. The side trained by former All-Ireland winner Hank Traynor and managed by Shane O'Brien had the better of the midfield exchanges through the fine efforts of Conor Sheridan and Shane Barry with the latter kicking seven points, five of them from frees. Simonstown netted their goals early and late in the first half. Corner forward Liam Burke was another to display brilliant form, especially in the first half. With two minutes gone he dashed down the right flank and after Christopher Hand made the pass, MacDara Fitzpatrick, grandson of minor committee chairman Ultan, finished to the net to give the Navan lads an early boost. Although Skryne soon responded with their goal, Simonstown quickly responded and with Burke putting over two points, they forged into an advantage of 1-5 to 1-1 by the end of the opening quarter. Goalie James Heaney brought off a crucial save before Burke took a pass from Niall O'Mahony and netted on 28 minutes to give his side a 2-7 to 1-5 advantage at the break. The Simonstown half forward trio of Dean Curran, Niall O'Mahony and Amir Khalifa also showed up well in attack and captain Shane Barry led by example. The Navan side never looked like conceding the initiative in then second half with Barry putting over five of their last six points as they finished with 11 to spare. The Simonstown Gaels team and scorers in the 2008 Under 16 FL Division 1B final : J. Heaney; S. Trappe, C. Wickham, B. Clarke; N. Coughlan, S. Gaffney, M. Gardiner; C. Sheridan (0-1), S. Barry (0-7); D. Curran, N. O'Mahony (0-2), A. Khalifa (0-3); M. Fitzpatrick (1-0), C. Hand, L. Burke (1-2). Subs - N. O'Brien for Hand, R. Burlingham for Curran, R. Quinn for O'Mahony, P. Gaffney for Khalifa, M. Stokes for Clarke. Shane Barry was also a member of Simonstown's minor side which got to the last four in the under 18 championship and although he scored a goal in their semi-final, holders Donaghmore/Ashbourne defeated them by 1-10 to 1-7 in a game played under lights at Donore. The Navan lads were in arrears by 0-4 to 1-5 at the break and while Barry's goal had them well in contention and Keith Crosse, Stephen O'Reilly, Shane McGivney and Sean Tobin showed up well, they fell short on the night. Simonstown also reached the Under 12 FL Division 1 final only to lose out to St Peter's and Paul's who won by 5-4 to 2-5 at Skryne. Goals proved decisive and the Dunboyne lads led by 2-4 to 0-5 at the break, Conor Farrell having put over three points for the Navan side. The hill became steeper for Simonstown when they conceded two more goals in the opening three minutes after the restart and although Christopher O'Neill replied with two goals, it was not to be their day. The Simonstown Gaels team and scorers in the Under 12 FL Division 1 final : B. Gallagher; K. F. Rael, B. Conlon, O. Lavin-Kelly; B. McGrath, Cillian Farrell; D. Murtagh; R. McLarney (0-1), A. Farrelly; I. Shealy, C. O'Neill (2-0), B. Hoey; C. Nash (0-1), G. Nelson, Conor Farrell (0-3). Although Simonstown Gaels had another disappointing SFC campaign in 2008 and have a lot of work ahead of them in order to emulate their town rivals, they have some promising young players on the way up and that should give them hope for the future. Tweet

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