Kilmainhamwood aren't that far away from being serious Keegan Cup contenders, judging by most of their performances in 2004, but the clock is ticking on the class of 1996. Kilmainhamwood will have to wait for another year to renew their acquaintance with Meath's most prestigious sporting trophy - the Keegan Cup, following their quarter-final exit at the hands of Simonstown (after extra time) this year. But how many more times can the 'Wood's battle weary troops go back to the well? At least 10 of their 1996 championship winning team featured in the Senior Football Championship in 2004. But somewhere over the horizon Father Time is lurkin. Only once since the heady summer of 1996 have the 'Wood made it back to the senior final. In 2000, under the guidance of Eamonn McEneaney, they battled their way to the show piece event but shipped a heavy defeat at the hands of Dunshaughlin. The likes of Liam and Paul Shankey, Ray Madden, Ken Russell, Larry McCormack, Francis Owens, Colm Gilcreest, Raymond Cunningham and Ray Magee would dearly love to add another Keegan Cup medal to their collection. But how many more bites at the cherry will they get? If this highly talented group of footballers could add another Keegan Cup to their highly impressive footballing CV, they would be rightly regarded as one of the top club sides of all time in the county. Incentive enough to launch another assault on the senior football championship in 2005. If they can maintain their zest and appetite for the game, they will be knocking on the door again in 2005. If they could recapture the form, they saw them stroll through the 1996 senior championship; they would be real contenders for ultimate honours. 2004 will go down as another lost opportunity, although its was eminently better than the previous year, when they just about avoided the ignominious drop back down to intermediate, when they beat Ballivor in a relegation play-off. The 'Wood's 2004 campaign started brightly with back-to-back victories over Walterstown (1-8 to 0-10) and Dunderry (2-11 to 0-14). In Round 1 the 'Wood played some scintillating football filled with style and panache. Ray Magee and Raymond Cunningham showed why they are still two of the county's most lethal forwards, while Larry McCormack gave a master class in hard running and foraging The 'Wood who were forced to field without a number of regulars, moved the ball with pace, which unsettled the opposition. Even though Walterstown dominated in terms of possession, the 'Wood's economical use of the ball and more accurate finishing were the cornerstones of this narrow victory. That victory set up a mouth-watering clash with Dunderry in Round 2. Magee and Cunningham were up to their old tricks again and led the Dunderry defence a merry dance. Magee, who captained Meath's O'Byrne Cup winning team earlier in the year, produced another outstanding performance to baffle and bewilder the Dunderry defence. Almost every effort that left his boot bisected the posts. Cunningham was also on fire and grabbed the 'Woods two goals and was a constant thorn in Dunderry's side for the entire match. The wheels came off the Kilmainhamwood wagon in Round 3 when they were out fought and out thought by reigning champions Blackhall Gaels, who had made an inauspicious start to their championship campaign. Having trailed 0-2 to 1-5 at the interval, any prospect of a second half revival was dashed 30 seconds after the restart when Blackhall netted for the second time to extend their lead to nine points The remaining exchanges were evenly contested, but the 'Wood couldn't make any inroads in Blackhall's lead. Magee grabbed a goal five minutes from time, but it proved too little too late for the north Meath outfit who were comprehensively beaten 2-13 to 1-6 Kilmainhamwood got their title aspirations back on track in Round 4 when they scored a deserved victory over Seneschalstown in Kells. Yet again Magee and Cunningham made telling contributions. The 'Wood led 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval, but that scoreline failed to reflect their dominance as Cunningham, Magee and Aidan Rogers all squandered good goalscoring opportunities. The 'Wood also wasted another brace of goals scoring chances in the second half. However, they were well worth their 0-12 to 0-8 victory. The 'Wood practically booked their place in the quarter-finals when they got the better of Cortown in a scrappy match in Round 5. It wasn't pretty, but the 'Wood deserved their 2-6 to 0-9 victory By the end of the first quarter the 'Wood built up a four point lead, 1-1 to 0-0. Their goal came from a speculative long range Aidan Crosbie that found its way to the net/ Crosbie had a hand in the 'Wood's second goal after 21 minutes, when he sidestepped his opponent before off-loading to Paddy Carolan. Carolan found Magee in space who unleashed an unstoppable shot to the net. Magee pointed minutes later. By half time the 'Wood led 2-2 to 0-5. The third quarter was dour to say the least as both teams battled for supremacy. However, Kilmainhamwood's defence in which Paul Shankey and Sean Mulligan were superb held sway and proved the launching pad for victory. Two points a piece from Magee and Michael Shankey ensured the 'Wood held out for a deserved victory in this often bruising encounter The 'Wood had another poor day at the office in Round 6 when they were humbled by St. Patrick's at windswept Rathkenny. Wind assisted St. Patrick's raced to a 1-7 to 1-0 lead at the interval. Paddy Carolan accounted for the 'Wood's solitary first half score, when he finished to the net on 16 minutes following good work by Bernard Bennett and Colm Gilcreest. St. Patrick's pounced for their second goal midway through the third quarter to give them a 2-8 to 1-2 advantage. That goal effectively ended the game as a contest, although the 'Wood battled to the final whistle. The 'Wood stumbled into the quarter-finals despite suffering another defeat at the hands of relegation threatened Summerhill in their final group game, which was played at Pairc Tailteann, Navan. Although Magee, who had an off day against St. Patrick's, was back to his brilliant best the 'Wood came out on the wrong end of a 1-12 to 1-9 scoreline. The elusive attacker notched seven points, but it wasn't enough to waken his teammates out of their inertia. Only Paddy Carolan, Colm Gilcreest and Bernard Bennett, who grabbed the 'Wood's goal seemed up for the challenge. In what proved to be a wide-open group, the 'Wood qualified for the quarter-finals on the back of their victories over Walterstown, Dunderry, Seneschalstown and Cortown. The manner in which Kilmainhamwood capitulated against St. Patrick's and Summerhill in their final two group games suggested that the 'Wood would have their work cut out to overcome the challenge of Simonstown in the quarter-finals. However, for the first 25 minutes of this enthralling encounter the 'Wood looked virtually unbeatable. The moved the ball with pace and precision, defended stoutly and looked a class apart from their opposition. During that purple patch Kieran Shankey and Sean Mulligan were superb. By half time they had surged into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead. On resumption Simonstown launched a spirited comeback, but the 'Wood still held the initiative until deep into injury time. When Magee pointed with 90 seconds of injury played, to give them a two-point lead (0-10 to 0-8) it looked as if they were home and dry. But to their credit Simonstown fought back with two late-late points to force the game into extra time. Simonstown had played a large chunk of the second half with 14 men following the dismissal of Ronan McGrath for an off-the-ball incident with Magee. However, they were restored to full strength for extra-time and took the lead after two minutes. That they had an eight point lead (0-20 to 0-12) at the final whistle illustrates the magnitude of the 'Wood's collapse. Joe Tallon will look back on his year at helm with mixed memories. When the 'Wood were good, they were awesome, but they also plumbed the depths of mediocrity on too many occasions. Club stalwarts like Henry Corbally, Francie Owens, Denis Farrelly, Christo Shankey, and Percy McKeever will probably spend the winter wondering how the 'Wood managed to let that two-point lead slip deep into injury time. They'll also ponder just how far the 'Wood could have gone had they protected that lead to set up a semi-final meeting with Trim. It will irk that the North Navan outfit blew Trim out of the water. Tweet

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