An unfortunate run of narrow defeats, three of them by a single point, ruined St. Vincent's chances of making it through to the knock-out stages of the Junior Football Championship, but at least the Ardcath side maintained their status in the battle for the Matthew Ginnity Cup for another year and can live in hope that 2007 will bring better fortunes. Vincent's, who also struggled to make an impact in Div. 4 of the All-County A League, were back in the junior ranks for the third successive year following their sensational Junior B FC triumph in 2003 when a late, late goal from a penalty netted by long-serving forward Richie Dunne earned them a one-point victory over a stunned Boardsmill in the final at Navan's Pairc Tailteann. They diced with death in the Junior Championship at the first time of asking in 2004 and were in serious danger of slipping straight back down to the lower grade. However, when the pressure was really on they came up with a decisive winning performance as they defeated Moynalty in a do or die relegation play-off to maintain their position in the third highest grade. Vincent's retained their status in the junior ranks in 2005 and the same situation applied in the championship gone by when they operated in Group A - a tough section that also included some of the more fancied sides for outright honours, notably St. Ultan's, Clann na nGael and Dunsany, who seem to be permanently involved at the business end of the title race without achieving that much sought after outright success. Also in the group were St. Mary's, Moynalvey, Dunboyne's second string and Boardsmill, the previous year's Junior B winners and the team they shattered with that extraordinary final victory in that grade in the autumn of 2003. Given that Ardcath is the second smallest parish in the county and has experienced a decline in population at a time when so many other areas are seeing dramatic increases due to the phenomenal surge in house building, it is quite understandable that the club is struggling to make an impact in the Junior Championship. But, to their credit, they are still there and with a little bit of luck they might have found themselves in a decent position in the early stages of the group campaign. Dunderry, who had been drawn in Group B of the Junior Championship, withdrew from the competition after playing in the opening three rounds, leaving all the struggling clubs with the knowledge that they couldn't be demoted and were safe from the threat of the dreaded drop. St. Vincent's first outing was against Moynalvey at Ratoath where a late point from a free by former Meath and Kildare senior panelist Cathal Sheridan gave the south Meath side a fortunate 0-7 to 1-3 victory in a low scoring encounter played in atrocious weather conditions. Moynalvey opened up a 0-3 to 0-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Vincent's battled back to take the lead. They created plenty of chances, but wasted far too many of them, and that proved disastrous in the long run as the ever-accurate Sheridan, who had transferred back to Moynalvey from senior neighbours Summerhill, struck late with that winning point. Another very narrow defeat followed in the second round at Seneschalstown as the Athboy/An Gaeltacht combination Clann na nGael inflicted a 1-7 to 0-9 defeat to remain unbeaten in league and championship at that stage of the campaign. Tom Hanley, the man who had the great honour of captaining Meath to their one and only All-Ireland Under-21 FC triumph 13 years earlier when they beat Kerry in the final at Portlaoise, goaled from a penalty before half-time to give Clann na nGael a 1-5 to 0-4 interval advantage, but Vincent's dominated for a spell after the change of ends and restored parity at 0-8 to 1-5. Clann na nGael edged to the front again and poor finishing proved a major problem for Vincent's once more as they fluffed clearcut chances in the closing stages that might well have earned them victory. After those two defeats by the minimum margin, Vincent's got off the mark in the championship when they defeated St. Mary's by 0-10 to 0-8 in the third round at Duleek. The Ardcath men led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time, but the Donore side recovered to edge to the front by a point. However, Maurice Carberry, Richie Dunne and Aodhan Smith notched the last three points of the game to give Vincent's the win they so badly needed. St. Ultan's, the fancy of many people to win their second Junior Championship title of the decade following their success in 2000, inflicted a third defeat of the competition on St. Vincent's in the fourth round and another loss followed next time out as Boardsmill gained a little bit of revenge for the 2003 Junior B final reversal with a comfortable seven-point (3-11 to 1-10) victory at Bective. Boardsmill had the points safely in the bag at the interval when they led by eight points (2-6 to 0-4), but a very understrength Vincent's side rallied gamely in the second half and a goal from Aodhan Byrne aided their cause considerably. But the 'Mill weren't going to be denied this time and a third goal killed off the challenge of the Ardcath side. Another defeat by the minimum margin followed for Vincent's in the sixth round at Dunshaughlin when Dunsany gained their second JFC win in the space of just five days and booked a place in the knock-out stages of the competition for the ninth successive year with a 0-14 to 1-10 victory. Vincent's gave as good as they got for the majority of the first half, but a scoring blitz heading towards the interval helped Dunsany to a double scores (0-10 to 0-5) lead at the break. Vincent's responded with a goal from top-scoring full-forward Richie Dunne after the change of ends, but he was forced to retire injured later and that proved to be a significant blow to their hopes of maintaining the revival. Conor Brennan scored two late points for Dunsany to give them victory. "Dermot Rooney from Ratoath managed us this year and it was certainly no fault of Dermot's that we didn't go places," said St. Vincent's PRO Nicky Byrne, who was a young corner-forward when the Ardcath men lost the 1974 Intermediate Championship final to St. John's on the same day that Summerhill claimed the first of four successive SFC titles. "We lost a number of very tight games in the Junior Championship, all against some of the strongest teams in the group - Moynalvey, Clann na nGael and Dunsany. In the first game against Moynalvey we really should have won, but we missed goal chances and that made a big difference. "If we had won that one it would have been a great start to the championship and who knows after that. We then lost by a point again, this time to Clann na nGael, before we beat St. Mary's, but lost to St. Ultan's. "But the defeat that really did damage was against Boardsmill. That game was played on the Thursday evening before a Bank Holiday weekend and we were short five of our best players who went away for the weekend. That really weakened us. If we had beaten Boardsmill we were still in it, but we lost and that was it. "We drew five of our games in the A League Div. 4 and struggled as a result, ending up fighting against relegation. We don't seem to be able to get across the finish line in tight matches. We are struggling with a panel of 18 or 19 players and had to withdraw from the B League and Junior D Championship. "We will have much the same panel for next year, but the likes of Richie Dunne (who was injured at the time of writing), Aodhan Smith and Maxie Connor, who are some of our best players, just aren't getting any younger." And how does Nicky Byrne view the future for the St. Vincent's club? "There is no house building in the area at all and some lads have left the parish because you can't get planning permission," he added. "That situation doesn't help. But the under-age structures in the club are very good, the committee is very good and we get good support. "We have some good young players coming through which gives us hope for the years ahead. We will keep the flag flying - you have to do that." Geography is playing a big part in the fortunes and the development of GAA clubs in many parts of the county and some have benefited enormously from the influx of so many new families due to the incredible growth in house building in their area. Some haven't experienced such growth and such benefits and St. Vincent's is one of them. But they are a committed club and will certainly keep that flag flying with enthusiasm and determination. Tweet

Most Read Stories