After experiencing all the joy, excitement and elation that goes with winning the title in dramatic fashion five year earlier, St Vincent's were at the receiving end in the Junior B FC final in 2008 when the Donaghmore/Ashbourne second string defeated them on a wet Saturday at Pairc Tailteann. Back in 2003 the Ardcath side, which was coached by former Meath forward David Beggy, pounced late with a goal from a Richie Dunne penalty to defeat a stunned Boardsmill team in the decider and it was a proud moment for captain Ronan Sheridan when he took possession of the cup. St Vincent's spent four years back in the JFC, but slipped down to the Junior B ranks last autumn when they failed in two bites at the cherry to secure their status in the higher grade. They had finished at the bottom of their qualification group on two points, then lost to Kildalkey in a play off and were demoted when Gaeil Colmcille's second string got the better of them in the relegation final. But, to their credit, they accepted their fate, regrouped and made it back to the Junior B decider at the first time of asking, only for their brave effort to fall short on the biggest day of all. St Vincent's were coached by Ronan Nally for the 2008 campaign, their manager was Ambrose O'Sullivan and the other selector was Shay Lane and they were drawn in group C of the championship which also included the second string teams from three senior clubs - Blackhall Gaels, Duleek/Bellewstown and Walterstown - as well as St Paul's from Clonee. Just like the Junior B final in 2003, Vincent's commenced their 2008 qualification campaign with a dramatic victory earned with a goal from a penalty. Walterstown provided the first round opposition at Duleek where the Ardcath men held a slender 0-7 to 0-6 lead at the interval, before the blacks went on to be in front by 0-10 to 0-9 with three minutes to play. A draw was probably the best result St Vincent's were hoping for at that stage, but when Alan Kearns raced towards goal he was fouled and Darren Lane netted from the resultant penalty. The talented Lane contributed 1-2 and Barry Bowens, Stephen Creed, Shane Ennis, Sean McNally and Maurice Carberry proved particularly effective. St Vincent's only defeat of the group stages came in the second round at Dunboyne when St Paul's won thanks to a dominant first half performance. The Clonee men were well on the way to both points when they led by 1-5 to 0-3 at the interval, and though Carberry and substitute Martin Byrne netted for Vincent's in the second period, Paul's finished strongest to triumph. Kilbride provided the setting for a third round outing against Duleek/Bellewstown and a comprehensive 1-15 to 1-6 victory gave St Vincent's qualification prospects a big boost. A goal from Carberry helped them to lead by 1-8 to 1-4 at the change of ends and with Tommy Field and Lane in magnificent form they went on to dominate the second period. Another easy win followed in the fourth round when Vincent's defeated Blackhall Gaels by 1-12 to 0-3 at Ashbourne to secure their ticket to the last eight. The outcome was beyond doubt by the break when they held a commanding 1-9 to 0-0 advantage, with Byrne getting the goal, while the performance of Lane was particularly noteworthy. He contributed four points. With their first big priority of the championship achieved in the shape of knockout football, St Vincent's had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Dunshaughlin in a quarter-final played at Dunganny. A Byrne goal helped them to lead by 1-5 to 0-5 at the interval, but they had to withstand a late Dunshaughlin rally as a point from Field booked their place in the semi-finals on a 1-10 to 1-9 score line. Byrne top scored with 1-2, Field notched four points and Lane again made a very useful contribution by splitting the uprights three times. The semi-final against St Patrick's at Donore provided tremendous entertainment and St Vincent's looked capable of enjoying a comfortable passage through to the decider when they opened up a 0-5 to 0-0 lead. But the Stamullen men gradually settled and recovered well to be on level terms at the interval, 0-6 each. The second period was very close and exciting and after St Vincent's had edged ahead, St Patrick's got back to level terms again by the three-quarter stage. With the excitement intensifying in a thrilling contest between two well matched teams they were tied at 0-10 each as the final whistle approached and it was anybody's guess who would snatch a dramatic victory. It appeared that it might be St Patrick's when they were awarded a close range free, but it was missed and from the resultant kick out St Vincent's raided up the Donore pitch and Field edged them ahead with a point. The same player, who made a very significant contribution of six points over the hour, found the target again and the Ardcath side were through to the final, winning by 0-12 to 0-10. Donaghmore/Ashbourne had to battle even harder to book their place in the decider when they saw off Moynalty's stern resistance in the other semi-final, getting through after extra-time. They provided the opposition to St Vincent's in the final which was staged at Pairc Tailteann on a wet Saturday as the curtain-raiser to the IHC decider between Gaeil Colmcille and Dunderry. Vincent's failed in their attempt to make an instant leap back up to the JFC, but nobody could fault the great effort they put into attempting to achieve it. Donaghmore/Ashbourne just about deserved their victory on a 1-8 to 0-8 score line, but they had to survive a battling recovery from the Ardcath men in the last quarter as they bravely tried to pull the game out of the fire. It's said that a good start is half the battle and that certainly was the case in this match when Donaghmore/Ashbourne charged from the blocks and built a solid base from which to go on and win the title. Poor defending cost St Vincent's a goal as Faolan Smith hit the net for Donaghmore/Ashbourne and they found themselves five points (0-0 to 1-2) in arrears inside the opening 10 minutes. That meant they already had a small mountain to climb and they were even further behind at the break. Vincent's had squandered three 45s in the opening quarter and although they probably enjoyed as much possession as Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the first half they were adrift by 0-2 to 1-5 at the turnaround after a Lane point from play and a Field effort from a free accounted for their only scores up to that stage. On the positive side for Vincent's, they did have the advantage of the wind to come in the second half, but it was imperative that they made a good start to the period if they were to have a realistic chance of making a successful recovery. When Sean McNally split the uprights within seconds of the restart their big contingent of supporters must have seen hope, but they were still well adrift at the three-quarter stage as they struggled to make serious inroads into the deficit. But the manner in which they battled against the odds had to be admired and they were the dominant team in the last quarter. Lane aided their cause with a brace of points in this productive period and Field and Maxie Connor also hit the target, but they really needed that elusive goal if they were to pounce for another dramatic final win. Lane had been denied a goal when Donaghmore/Ashbourne 'keeper Daniel McShane tipped his effort over the crossbar for a point and even with four minutes of injury time being played they just couldn't find a way through for that major score they needed so badly. Losing finals is a heart breaking experience and it was a disappointing end to the campaign, but the effort it took to reach the decider in their first year back in the Junior B grade should stand to the St Vincent's players and they will again be among the more fancied teams for outright honours when the draws for next year's championship are made. St Vincent's also displayed very consistent form in the All-County A League Div. 4 in 2008 and can consider themselves unlucky not to have earned promotion to the higher division and a place in the final. Going into the last round of games it was all to play for at the head of the division between Drumbaragh, Kilbride and Vincent's as they all stood on 17 points after achieving eight wins and one draw, but after that it was a case of bad news for the Ardcath men. They defeated Bective in their last game by 3-7 to 0-7, but Drumbaragh defeated Ballivor (2-9 to 1-5) and Kilbride got the better of Kildalkey (3-11 to 0-4). When the calculations were completed the results revealed that Drumbaragh and Kilbride would meet in the final and earn promotion, with St Vincent's the unfortunate ones to miss out due to an inferior score difference. The St Vincent's team in the Junior B final was - Paul Caffrey; Enda Murphy, Darren Hand, Barry Bowens; Shane Ennis, Niall Tallon, Eamonn Reilly; Sean McNally (0-1), Ronan Sheridan; Robert Tallon, Darren Lane (0-4), Sean Og Travers; Alan Kearns, Tom Field (0-2), Martin Byrne. Subs - Maurice Carberry for Travers, Stephen Creed for Bowens, Maxie Connor (0-1) for Kearns. Tweet

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