It was inevitable that sooner rather than later somebody was going to suffer at the hands of Navan O'Mahonys in an SFC final . Unfortunately for Summerhill it was them as the Brews Hill team made up for defeats at the last hurdle in the previous two years by beating the other Hill XV in the 2008 decider. The loss represented a very disappointing end to a memorable campaign for a generally young Summerhill side which included a fabulous win over the second favourites for the title, Wolfe Tones, at the semi-final stage. If they want to take encouragement for next year, that's the match they should look back on as their finest hour of this year's championship. Last year Summerhill were first to suffer as Seneschalstown took the knockout stages by storm on the way to a surprise outright success. Losing that quarter-final was a blow, but joint managers Mattie Kerrigan and Paraic Lyons must have known that their team was making the sort of progress that could enable them to challenge for a first senior title since 1986 when Lyons was their captain. With Kerrigan and Lyons still at the helm this year, as well as Mick McGlynn acting as a selector, Summerhill were drawn in the 'group of death' which also included champions Seneschalstown, O'Mahonys, Wolfe Tones, Skryne and Rathkenny and they opened with a not so impressive victory over Rathkenny at Bohermeen when the championship action got under way. A fisted goal from Mark O'Reilly two minutes into the second half was the crucial score in a 1-10 to 1-6 win. The 'Hill led by 0-4 to 0-3 at the interval, but that score helped them to be 1-7 to 0-4 clear by the three-quarter stage. They extended their advantage to seven points, but Thomas Rowan's goal from a penalty revived Rathkenny's fortunes and they cut the deficit to three. O'Reilly was sent off late in the game, but the accuracy of Stephen Kennedy was vital in seeing Summerhill through. Kennedy contributed 1-6 in a superb performance in the second round against Wolfe Tones, but Summerhill were beaten by 1-10 to 2-13 at Dunsany on a day when free-taking proved a huge problem for them. Cian Ward was essentially the difference between the sides as he contributed nine points for Tones, seven of them from frees. Wolfe Tones opened up a 2-2 to 0-3 lead thanks to goals from Stephen Sheppard and John Tiernan, but Summerhill recovered and a brilliant Kennedy goal helped them to lead by 1-9 to 2-4 at the break. Kennedy extended the lead from a free eight minutes after the restart, but missed chances proved costly as Tones reeled off nine unanswered points to secure victory. Veteran Billy Shaw was handed the role of free-taker for a third round meeting with Skryne at Pairc Tailteann and it was a prudent move as he converted eight placed balls to help Summerhill to a 0-16 to 1-11 victory. Rory Donnelly notched four points from play in the opening half and there was also a notable contribution from midfielder Brian Ennis who got three brilliant scores. A Trevor Giles goal from a penalty kept Skryne in contention in the first half, at the end of which Summerhill led by 0-10 to 1-4, but the Tara men got to within a point of them on three occasions in the second period. However, Summerhill were able to respond whenever their lead was threatened and they shaded the verdict. Nobody knew it at the time, but the fourth round meeting with O'Mahonys at Pairc Tailteann was a dress rehearsal for the final. The Navan men led by 0-8 to 0-4 at the break, but they were down to 14 players following the dismissal of Niall McKeigue late in the first half which seemed to hand the initiative to Summerhill, especially with wind advantage to come. But it was O'Mahonys who bolted from the blocks for the second half and pushed ahead by 0-13 to 0-4 within seven minutes. The 'Hill dominated the last quarter, but they were playing an unsuccessful game of catch-up. A 0-16 to 2-6 victory over Seneschalstown in the last round of group matches at Dunshaughlin was enough to see Summerhill through to the last eight, with Skryne missing out. They were rocked by a goal from a Joe Sheridan penalty in the first minute and conceded another goal to the same player late in the first half. But in between those scores Summerhill had notched some superb points and led by 0-10 to 2-3 at the interval. Seneschalstown levelled early in the second period and despite having Paul Rispin sent off, the 'Hill did the brunt of the scoring subsequently to win. It was back to Dunshaughlin for a quarter-final meeting with Dunboyne where an injury time point from O'Reilly earned a 0-9 to 0-8 victory. Missed chances were the order of the day in a close contest and Summerhill led by 0-4 to 0-2 at the end of a low scoring first half. The second period was much better and Dunboyne were level on three occasions, but never managed to lead. Summerhill spurned a number of goal chances, including a Kennedy penalty which was well saved by Johnny O'Connor in the third quarter, and they were more than happy to see O'Reilly notch that late winner. The victory meant Summerhill had progressed one step further than in 2007, but they were presented with a considerable semi-final obstacle in the shape of 2006 champions Wolfe Tones who had already beaten them in the second round of group games when the 'Hill had those free-taking problems. This was a superb game of football and it also marked one of the best displays produced by a Summerhill team in many years as they won by 1-14 to 2-8 to book their place in the senior final for the first time since they lost to O'Mahonys after a replay in 1990. The 'Hill had many stars in this match, including forwards Rory Donnelly and Stephen Kennedy who played hugely significant roles as they built up a healthy advantage in the first half, despite playing against the wind. Donnelly got their goal following a surging run and with a 1-5 to 0-1 advantage near the end of the opening quarter the 'Hill were looking good. They also led by 1-8 to 0-3 during that period, but Tones cut the deficit to 0-5 to 1-8 at the interval and then stunned Summerhill with goals from Ward and Sheppard in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as the 2006 champions made a great recovery which enabled them to go ahead by 2-6 to 1-8. It all appeared to be going wrong for Summerhill after their superb showing in the first half, but that was when their courage and will to win came to the fore as they battled with tremendous conviction to turn things around again. Mark O'Reilly, who became a growing influence as the game wore on and leadership was required, settled them with a point and four late frees from Kennedy booked their passage to the final. Adrian Kenny, who marked Ward very tightly, Michael Gorman, Brian Ennis, Gary Rispin, Michael Byrne, Maurice Kennedy and Conor Gillespie were other stars in a magnificent victory. Unfortunately for Summerhill, that was as good as it got and with O'Mahonys determined not to fail at the last hurdle for the third successive year they turned in a great performance in the final to win comprehensively by 2-12 to 0-7. There were no signs of what was to come when Stephen Kennedy pointed Summerhill into the lead from a free after a minute and they were level at 0-2 each after five minutes thanks to a Michael Byrne score, also from a placed ball. But their only other scores of the opening half were two more Kennedy frees and a brilliant score by Paul Rispin which was their only one from play in that period. With O'Mahonys really warming to the challenge and playing with tremendous confidence they scored two first half goals which enabled them to lead by 2-5 to 0-5 at the break. The Bray brothers were a huge threat and David notched the first major score in emphatic style on 12 minutes after Stephen's pile-driver had come back off the left post. It got even worse for Summerhill eight minutes later when O'Mahonys' captain Paddy Smyth was fouled and Henry Finnegan confidently netted from the resultant penalty. The 'Hill were in trouble and such was the fluency and pace of the winners' play that it was difficult to see them coming back in the second period. Unfortunately, their only points of that half came from Michael Gorman in the 39th minute and Conor Gillespie near the end and with O'Mahonys adding seven points to their tally they simply coasted to a 17th title. Summerhill had made changes and switches in a bid to revive their fortunes, but there was nothing they could do. Twice in the second half they were denied goals by O'Mahonys' 'keeper Mark Brennan - first Paul Larkin and later Rory Donnelly. None of their starting forwards managed to score from play and it's an accurate reflection of O'Mahonys' overall dominance that they notched 1-12 from play. Once the match got away from Summerhill in the first half they were always playing a game of catch-up and with O'Mahonys in such devastating form it was a game they were never likely to win. But Summerhill can take so many positives from this year's campaign and with a bit better luck on the injury front in 2009 who knows what can be achieved. Players like Damien Byrne and Richie Hatton were a big loss to them, so getting to the final represented a tremendous achievement. Winning the SFC is an extremely difficult thing to do; getting to the final isn't easily done either. Summerhill achieved the latter in 2008 and given that their panel contains so many young players who will have learned so much from the campaign, they have every reason to be hopeful that the club will reclaim the Keegan Cup very soon. The Summerhill team in the final was - T McDonnell; P Rispin (0-1), G Rispin, A Kenny; M Gorman (0-1), B Ennis, C Malone; M Kennedy, C Gillespie (0-1); M Byrne (0-1), M O'Reilly, P Larkin; B Lyons, R Donnelly, S Kennedy (0-3). Subs - D Dalton for Byrne, W Milner for G Rispin, A Lyons for B Lyons, J Loughrey for Malone. U21 delight for the 'Hill The senior final may not have gone to plan but that may soon be put right as Summerhill showed they are certainly in for the long haul by taking a second U21FC title in the space of three years with a double scores (2-8 to 0-7) win over Gaeil Colmcille. Added to the two minor titles also claimed by many of this squad, it is plain to see that the south Meath men will be in the shake up when it comes to senior honours for the next decade of so. A fluent attach laid the foundations for the final win and only five minutes were on the clock when Bobby Lyons fired home after an excellent passing move and five minutes before the break goal number two arrived as Paul Larking fired home. Those two majors knocked the stuffing out of the Kells lads and meant that Summerhill led by 2-5 to 0-3 at the break having been backed by the elements. The second half was all about maintaining the advantage as Davy Dalton dropped back to ensure they were not going to concede any goals. The scoring rate dropped but Gaeil Colmcille never looked like breaching a tight knit defence. The Summerhill side which claimed the U21 crown was: P Carton; W Ryan, G O'Neill, C Young; M Gorman, W Milner, C Malone; C Gillespie, M Byrne; D Larkin 0-5, P Larkin 1-2, C Byrne; B Lyons 1-1, D Dalton, S Dalton. Subs - S Husband for C Byrne, D Lyons for Malone, D Larkin for S Dalton, A Lyons for B Lyons. B Hatton for D Larkin. Tweet

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