Twenty years ago Paraic Lyons was basking in that sunny feeling that comes with leading your club to the ultimate prize in Meath football. Summerhill had beaten Seneschalstown in the final at Kells and were crowned Senior Football Championship winners for the first time in nine years and the fifth time in all. By Paul Clarke. Brother Mick was named 'man of the match', an accolade he was to pick up again four years later when Summerhill lost to four-in-a-row achieving Navan O'Mahonys in a replayed decider at Pairc Tailteann. Few could have predicted back in 1986 that the 'Hill would still be waiting for their sixth Keegan Cup more than half way through the first decade of the new millennium and that survival would be the name of the game on a regular basis. Paraic Lyons, captain on that memorable afternoon for Summerhill at Pairc Colmcille in 1986, was manager two decades later as the club diced with death in the championship when a string of narrow defeats ruined their prospects of figuring in the battle for a place in the last eight and, instead, left them contemplating the unimaginable - demotion from the top flight for the first time since they emerged from the intermediate grade in 1972. Summerhill have known what it's like to reach the autumn and realise with horror that they are just one game away from losing their senior status. It can happen to anybody - ask the most successful club in the county Navan O'Mahonys - but Summerhill have managed to hang in there. They have beaten O'Mahonys, Oldcastle and Gaeil Colmcille in 'do or die' relegation play-offs already this decade and you get the impression that if they continued to fall into that potential deadly trap they would eventually run out of lives. There was an improvement last year when they won three of their seven group matches and stayed in the hunt for a qualification place right through their campaign. Having weathered so many storms, they must have entered the 2006 championship entertaining realistic hopes of a progressive campaign, with a quarter-final ticket the least of their ambitions. That's not how it worked out and, instead, Summerhill returned to that survival game. However, a look at their results demonstrates what a thin line it can be between advancing to the knockout stages and finding yourself involved in a basement battle which has the horrifying potential to drag you into that dreaded relegation play-off. Summerhill drew three of their matches in Group A and of the three they lost, one was by a single point and the other couple were by two. They finished with a points difference of minus one which tells its own story. With Cathal Sheridan gone back to his home club Moynalvey, Summerhill lost the services of one of the most prolific marksmen of modern times and when they commenced their championship campaign against one of the favourites for outright success, Simonstown Gaels, at Pairc Tailteann on Easter Saturday they knew it was a tough opener, but one they could win against a side they beat in the A League final at the same venue a couple of years back. A bit of luck can bring you a long way in football, but Summerhill didn't have any of it that evening when they were beaten in the most heartbreaking circumstances. The 'Hill led by 0-3 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter, trailed by 0-4 to 0-5 at the break and by 0-5 to 0-7 at the three-quarter stage. They got back to level terms at 0-7 each, fell behind again by a point, but responded superbly to edge ahead by 0-10 to 0-8. Adrian Kenny had notched their 10th point with a brilliant score and they looked all set for a victory that would undoubtedly have provided a tremendous early confidence-booster and put two points in the bag as well. But luck is something Summerhill haven't had a lot of in senior championship football of late and that trend continued when Evan Kelly scored a late, late goal to snatch victory for Simonstown on a 1-8 to 0-10 score line. That was a crushing defeat and when Summerhill made the short trip to Dunsany for a game against 2005 runners-up Blackhall Gaels eight days later it was vital that they bounced back with a result of some sort against one of the most capable teams in the grade. The signs weren't good when Blackhall led by 0-8 to 0-2 at the break after Stephen Kennedy had scored the 'Hill points and by 0-10 to 0-4 at the three-quarter stage. But Summerhill, to their credit, never gave up the fight and a string of points helped them reduce the deficit to only two (0-9 to 0-11) with four minutes remaining. Gary Rispin brought them within a point, but Blackhall know how to win tight matches and they finished best to triumph by 0-13 to 0-11. After two rounds, and with the championship about to head into a lengthy break, the alarm bells were already ringing for Summerhill who were alone at the bottom of the section without a point, just behind Dunshaughlin, Duleek and Kilmainhamwood who had each managed a draw. When the championship action resumed Summerhill picked up their first point in a low-scoring encounter against St. Patrick's at Dunshaughlin where it finished 0-6 each. The sides were also locked together on 0-3 apiece at the interval, by which stage Brian Ennis had been wide with a Summerhill penalty. The 'Hill looked capable of winning when a point up with seven minutes to go, but in the end they had to rely on a pointed free from veteran substitute Billy Shaw (soon to become first choice goalkeeper) to earn a share of the spoils. At that stage Summerhill were tied at the bottom of the group on a point with Dunshaughlin and Kilmainhamwood and what might have been described as a 'relegation four pointer' followed at Bohermeen when the 'Wood provided the opposition. Ray Cunningham's team won by 0-11 to 0-9 and that outcome suggested that the 'Hill were destined to end up in the relegation play-off position, with the 'Wood doing enough to survive that fate. Eleven first half wides when playing against the wind proved very damaging for Summerhill and with Ray Magee scoring eight points for Kilmainhamwood, seven of them from play, the north Meath side deserved their win. They led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break as Clare inter-county player Rory Donnelly shaped well for the 'Hill with a brace of points and Lyons' side got back to level terms (0-9 each) with nine minutes to play. However, Magee closed out the game with the final two points to give Kilmainhamwood a victory that appeared likely to protect them from falling into the relegation trap. How wrong we were. After that defeat Summerhill were tailed off at the bottom on a solitary point, with Dunshaughlin on two and St. Patrick's and Kilmainhamwood on three. It was vital that Summerhill got something from their fifth round outing against Dunshaughlin at Dunsany and they did as they achieved a hard-earned draw thanks to an injury time equaliser from Mark O'Reilly. Dunshaughlin looked to be heading for a badly needed victory when ahead by 1-8 to 0-8, but they didn't score in the final 16 minutes. Their goalkeeper Ronan Gogan produced a fantastic double save from O'Reilly and Donnelly with 10 minutes remaining, but Summerhill reduced the gap to the minimum, before Shaw was summoned from his goalkeeping duties to attempt a very tricky free from out near the left side line. He was narrowly wide and it looked like they would regret nine second half wides, but O'Reilly wasn't soon after as he split the posts and doubled Summerhill's points total in Group A. A third draw followed in the sixth round of group games five days later as the race to get the divisional stages of the championship out of the way gained the pace of a Derby-winning greyhound. O'Mahonys were already through and fielded a severely weakened team against Summerhill at Trim. It was a match the 'Hill should definitely have won as they blitzed the Brews Hill side for most of the opening half and led by 10 points after 25 minutes, thanks largely to goals from O'Reilly, Stephen Kennedy and O'Reilly again with a brilliant score. Damien and Cathal Byrne were impressing at midfield and a first win of the championship looked a formality, but they lapsed at the back and leaked two goals which helped O'Mahonys reduce the deficit to 2-4 to 3-5 at the interval. A third O'Mahonys' goal brought them back to level terms and they then edged ahead for the first time. Having led by 10 points, Summerhill eventually had to rely on a late point from Damien Byrne to earn a draw. A win in that game would have been a great help, while the draw left them tied at the base of the section with Kilmainhamwood on three points. It made for a tense and fascinating final day of group action, with the outcomes of the matches between Summerhill and Duleek at Pairc Tailteann and Kilmainhamwood and Simonstown at Kells highly significant for all four clubs - two of them in terms of qualification for the last eight and two who were threatened with a spot in the relegation play-off. Summerhill had one mission - to beat Duleek - and that's what they did to leave themselves safe. The sides were level three times in the first half and at the break (0-4 each) and, boosted by a Cathal Byrne goal, they pushed clear by 1-9 to 0-5. There was no way back for Duleek and a goal from a Peter Curran penalty deep into injury time came too late to matter. It finished 1-13 to 1-9 and with Simonstown scoring a comfortable victory over Kilmainhamwood it all meant that the Navan side had qualified and deprived Duleek of a place in the last eight in the process. Summerhill, who finished their campaign on five points, had survived and the 'Wood went into yet another relegation showdown, this time against Cortown. Feis Cup glory for Summerhill Summerhill lifted the Feis Cup for the first time in ten years and for the sixth time in all when scoring a minimum margin success over Blackhall Gaels in the decider at Dunsany on the second Sunday in November. Clare-native Rory Donnelly led the way for the 'Hill with seven points (five frees) in their 0-14 to 1-10 win while goalkeeper Billy Shaw pulled off a hat-trick of second-half saves for Padraig Lyons's charges. Apart from a brief spell in the early stages Summerhill led all the way and but for a little bit of indiscipline, which resulted in some frees that were conceded being brought forward into more favourable positions, might have won with a few more points to spare. With the breeze behind them, Summerhill led by 0-5 to 0-2 at the end of the opening quarter and were denied a goal when Blackhall Gaels captain Martin Whelan saved Maurice Kennedy's close range effort with his feet. Summerhill still held a three points advantage heading into first-half stoppage time when Maurice Kennedy dropped a Tadhg Brosnan free and Mark Crampton fisted the leather to the net to tie the scores for the third time. However another member of the Kennedy clan, Stephen, popped up to send over his second score of the half to leave Summerhill leading by the narrowest margin, 0-8 to 1-4, at the break. By the end of the third quarter Summerhill were four points clear, 0-12 to 1-5, after Mark O'Reilly became their seventh player to get on the scoresheet. Shaw came to Summerhill's rescue on three occasions to prevent John Callanan, Crampton and substitute Robert Cox from raising green flags. Brosnan also went close to finding the net when sending a close range free low and narrowly wide early in the final quarter. Blackhall kept plugging away and on two occasions cut the margin to the minimum before time ran out on them. Summerhill - B. Shaw; M. Gannon, R. Hatton, R. Clavin; M. Gorman, W. Milner, G. Rispin; D. Byrne (0-1), M. Kennedy; P. Rispin (0-1), B. Ennis (0-1), C. Byrne (0-1); S. Kennedy (0-2), M. O'Reilly (0-1), R. Donnelly (0-7, 5 frees). Subs - D. Dalton for M. Kennedy, C. McGrath for Clavin, A. Kennedy for P. Rispin. Tweet

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