Anybody who watched Walterstown concede four goals and go down heavily to reigning champions Dunboyne in their opening Senior Football Championship match couldn't possibly have predicted the manner in which they would recover to win their remaining six divisional games and finish on top of the pile. It was a run of consistency that augured very well for the knockout stages and suggested that a first Keegan Cup since they completed three successive triumphs in the GAA's centenary year of 1984 might just be around the corner. But football can be a funny old game and Simonstown Gaels, who just managed to scrape through to the last eight by finishing fourth in their group, edged them out in extra-time at the quarter-final hurdle. Eamonn Barry had managed Walterstown for the 2005 SFC when they just weren't consistent enough and failed to emerge from their section after winning three games, drawing one and also losing three. Another former blacks' player Ian Kearney took over for this year's campaign and had Martin O'Connell, one of the greatest Meath defenders of all time, alongside him. Nobody can deny that Walterstown possess the talent necessary to have a serious go at winning the Senior Championship, but when they made the short journey to Dunsany for their opening Group B assignment and came away with a hefty eight-point defeat their prospects of challenging for a place in the knockout stages, never mind achieving outright success, looked quite dismal. Manager Kearney placed himself in goal and couldn't be faulted for any of the three first half goals that destroyed Walterstown's chances of starting the championship with a victory. Those scores helped Dunboyne to lead by 11 points (3-4 to 0-2) after 18 minutes and there was no way back after that, even though the deficit was down to 0-7 to 3-6 at the interval. Charles McCarthy and Sean Callaghan scored second half goals, but Dunboyne's chief tormentor Stephen Moran split those two scores with his second goal of the contest and that kept the champions heading firmly in the direction of an opening win. The loss of Donal Kennedy in the very early stages and McCarthy with a leg injury in the second half didn't help Walterstown and they were a well beaten team at the end, going down by 2-10 to 4-12, as Ronan Barry top-scored with eight points. That wasn't the start Kearney would have hoped for but, to the credit of all concerned, Walterstown hit back in the second round at Pairc Tailteann when they deservedly beat neighbours Seneschalstown by 0-14 to 0-12 as Barry made it 18 points in two championship outings by kicking 10 points from frees. Joey Farrelly and John Davis went through plenty of inspirational work at midfield and Walterstown led by 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time, before Seneschalstown got back on level terms (0-11 each) with 10 minutes remaining. When it came down to winning or losing the game, the blacks found most as Barry (two) and Callaghan scored late points to see them through. It was back to Pairc Tailteann for a third round meeting with Trim and Walterstown ended the town side's impressive unbeaten record in the group stages dating back to a first round loss to St. Patrick's in 2003 when they won by 3-8 to 0-13 as goals made all the difference. It was all to play for at the end of a low-scoring opening period when the teams shared eight points, but goals from Christopher and Davy Reynolds helped Walterstown to a 2-4 to 0-5 advantage, before Trim clawed their way back to get within a point at 0-10 to 2-5. However, a brilliant third goal from influential substitute Davis secured the win on a day when McCarthy starred at midfield. After three rounds of divisional games Wolfe Tones led the pack on six points, with Dunboyne, Trim and Walterstown tied on four, but things were looking very promising for the blacks as they had what appeared to be 'easy' assignments against Cortown and Ballinlough in the fourth and fifth rounds. Cortown had lost all their matches ahead of the meeting with Walterstown at Simonstown and to make it an even more daunting task for the strugglers they were vastly under strength due to a combination of injuries and having players away on holiday. Only one outcome appeared possible and that's how it turned out as Walterstown coasted to a 12-point (2-12 to 0-6) win. Davis and Farrelly lorded the midfield exchanges and former goalkeeper turned full-forward, Alban Crosbie, helped himself to a goal in each half and 2-2 overall. Crosbie was also fouled for a penalty before the change of ends, but Paddy O'Brien's kick was brilliantly saved by Cortown goalkeeper Vino Keating. A fourth group victory on the bounce followed in the fifth round at Bohermeen when Ballinlough, who had shocked Skryne at the start of the championship, were easily overcome by 1-14 to 1-2 in a forgettable match that was over as a meaningful contest almost as soon as it had started. Walterstown were well on their way to the win by the end of the first quarter when they led by 0-8 to 0-1 and a Callaghan goal after 25 minutes helped them to be a dozen points clear (1-10 to 0-1) at the break. There was no chance of a Ballinlough recovery after that and Seamus Byrne's late goal was merely a consolation. There was also a missed penalty for the blacks in this match as Ballinlough 'keeper Basil Balfe saved well from Davis. A place in the quarter-finals was looking very likely for Walterstown with eight points in the bag, though they faced significantly tougher assignments against Wolfe Tones and Skryne in the last two rounds of the marathon qualification process. Tones went into the Pairc Tailteann game unbeaten, but that all changed as Walterstown maintained their great run by winning on a 1-11 to 0-13 score line to secure their place in the business end of the championship. Christopher Reynolds scored a superb goal after seven minutes and Walterstown were looking good with a 1-7 to 0-5 interval lead. The advantage stood at 1-11 to 0-8 17 minutes into the second period, but they failed to add to their tally as Tones battled back and it took a tremendous late block by John Geoghegan on Niall McLoughlin and the intervention of the woodwork to deny Stephen Corrigan to keep the blacks in front. That win left Walterstown on top of the group with 10 points from six outings, with Tones and Trim close behind on nine. They were all through to the knockout stages, but the last round would determine where they finished and who they would meet in the quarter-finals. There have been many great battles between Walterstown and Skryne down the years, but when they concluded their group campaign with a meeting at Pairc Tailteann it certainly wasn't one of them. Paddy Reynolds surged forward to score a goal in the first half, but the Tara men held a 0-7 to 1-3 lead at the break. Walterstown had edged to the front by 1-7 to 0-8 at the three-quarter stage and were three points (1-10 to 0-10) ahead at the finish. The win left them on top of the section on 12 points, one clear of Wolfe Tones, with Trim third on nine and Dunboyne just managing to keep some sort of grip on the Keegan Cup by taking the fourth qualification spot on eight. The reward for topping the group was a meeting with Simonstown at Pairc Tailteann. Colm O'Rourke's Gaels had struggled up to that stage, but stuttered rather that surged into the last eight. However, you just never know with Simonstown and Walterstown discovered that to their cost in a quarter-final that went to extra-time and finished in near darkness. Simonstown looked very poor in the first half and, aided by five points from the deadly accurate Ronan Barry, Walterstown led by 0-6 to 0-2 approaching the break. However, four minutes into injury time Shane O'Rourke goaled and Simonstown's hopes and spirits were lifted significantly as they headed for their dressing room trailing by only a point. Walterstown were still a point ahead (0-8 to 1-4) when they had Davis sent off after receiving a second yellow card 20 minutes into the second half and Simonstown pushed two points clear. However, Barry converted a free to bring the deficit back to the minimum and when Paddy Reynolds was fouled Barry proved accurate from a pressure kick two minutes into injury time and the sides finished level (0-10 to 1-7) at the end of normal time. Alban Crosbie, who had been withdrawn during the second half of normal time, was reintroduced for extra-time to bring Walterstown back to 15 players and they notched the only point during the first 10-minute period when Barry slotted over his eighth point. But that also proved to be his and Walterstown's last score and Simonstown found their range in the last 10 minutes as O'Rourke showed the way with two superb points and Cian McGrath added two more to leave them ahead by 1-11 to 0-11 at the end and earn them a semi-final meeting with Wolfe Tones. Walterstown certainly weren't the first team to take the group stages of the championship by storm and then get mugged in the quarter-finals, but that was hardly any consolation as they departed a dark Pairc Tailteann on that Saturday evening in September. However, what the 2006 campaign should have taught them is that they have the talent to make a very serious challenge for the Keegan Cup. After that initial heavy loss to Dunboyne they discovered a winning habit and the sort of consistency that brings you a long way. When the disappointment of that defeat against Simonstown eases, they can look forward to 2007 with renewed hope. The future looks black Not to be outdone by their senior counterparts, the Walterstown underage section made huge steps forward in 2006 as the minor side captured the Div.2 League trophy in emphatic fashion with a nine point victory over local rivals Skryne. The foundations are made and a bright future is in store for the side in black. After a number of promising performances throughout the year many in the parish will be hopeful that these teenagers will transform their underage success to senior triumphs in the coming years. Walterstown is a club on a high at the moment. A promising debut year for senior manager Ian Kearney and the underage structure followed up last year's U12 win with a superb achievement by the minors in the early part of 2006. This is all happening in the shadows of the superb facilities at the club grounds. The Walterstown minor Div 2 win came during an exciting few weeks for the club. The official opening of the new clubhouse was preceded by an inter-county challenge between Armagh and Meath. A number of days later the club received €150,000 of national lottery funding towards further developments on the facilities. With the development being made both on and off the field their future is in safe hands. The underage officials will be proud of the work they put in throughout the year as many of the minor panel were later involved in junior and senior action for the club. The most notable being David Maguire who enhanced his growing reputation by putting in some fine performances for Kearney's senior side. The 2006 minor squad have been together for nearly ten years now. John Kennedy is manager with Mick O'Keefe and John Barry his assistants. O'Keefe described the effort invested throughout the year. "It's great to have something to show for all the effort put in throughout the year. John Kennedy puts in enormous work and the lads responded to that by putting in the same effort. They're a great bunch and we're delighted to be bringing silverware back to the club," says O'Keefe. "We lost out the previous year to St. Martins in the U17 competition and the players learnt an awful lot from that. There are some top players in that side and it would have been great to add the Keegan Cup to the trophy cabinet but we are hopeful that many of these players will graduate to the senior ranks. "I remember they couldn't find a pitch that wasn't waterlogged around the time for the minor final. The game was played in Bellewstown and fair play to the supporters, there was a good crowd at the match. We settled well into the game and built up a good lead, Skryne came back at us but we held out well in the end," he explained. Walterstown reached the final after defeating some top teams on the way. The showpiece was played at Bellewstown in difficult conditions, as most of the country was hit by atrocious rainfall during the run up to the final. Nevertheless there was a large turnout to see an entertaining final in which Walterstown showed all the attributes of a top side. The Blacks won the toss and elected to play with the advantage of a strong wind in the first half. Disaster struck for Kennedy and his management team five minutes in when star midfielder Conor O'Sullivan, who was having an excellent campaign in the lead-up to the final, was forced to retire with a recurring hamstring injury. They reshuffled the pack as Darryl Kennedy replaced the unfortunate O'Sullivan and went to wing back, Stephen O'Keefe moved to midfield along with David Maguire he went on to dominate the middle sector of the pitch. Initially both teams struggled to adapt to the adverse conditions as Walterstown only led by 0-3 to 0-1 after 15 minutes of play. The Blacks quickly upped the tempo from then on to as Skryne had no answers for the excellent football played by their counterparts. John Barry's influence on the team was clearly evident as they moved the ball quickly and with a purpose. Exceptionally worked moves where calmly finished by the dangerous forward line led by team captain Cathal Hennelly. Two goals before half-time left Walterstown in cruise control. Mark McCormack finished off a fine team move for their first goal. David Maguire netted the second after a mix-up in the Skryne goal. The defence led by Barry O'Dowd and Brian McGrane was watertight in the first half, as they only conceded two points to a talented Skryne attacking unit. The tie looked over at the break as Walterstown led by 2-6 to 0-2. Within ten minutes of the restart the game turned on it's head as Skryne were within three points of their opponents. They came thundering out of the blocks and two goals courtesy of star player Kevin O'Reilly hauled them back into it. With only three points between the two sides and Skryne in the ascendancy the signs didn't look good for the Blacks. However the Walterstown players showed maturity way beyond their years, they kept a calm head through the oppositions remarkable comeback and with the management making some key changes they quickly found their stride again. Full forward Cathal Hennelly was brought out to support the midfield. Colm McMahon came off the bench and Eanna Kelly was switched to mark the busy Ronan McCabe. These changes seemed to make all the difference as Walterstown replied in fine fashion. The ball quickly moved from one end to the other and substitute McMahon had the last touch on a wonderfully worked goal to settle the nerves of their following. The team in Black found their feet and never relinquished their lead. They comfortably held on to win by 3-11 to 2-5. Walterstown had many heroes on the day with the likes of Richie Barry, Anwar Kahn and Joey Coogan putting in solid performances. But the most pleasing aspect of the game was the teamwork showed by everyone that was involved in Bellewstown in late May. Many in Walterstown will be hopeful 2007 will be a successful year for the Blacks and hopefully the underage section will continue with its success. There's no doubting hard work is being done at all levels at the club and the glory days of the past are not to far away if the conveyer belt of underage talent continues with its good work. Walterstown minor panel: Conor Daly, Brian McGrane, Barry O'Dowd, Anwar Kahn, Stephen O'Keefe, Eanna Kelly, Conor O'Sullivan, David Maguire, Colm O'Reilly, Richie Barry, Joey Coogan, Cathal Hennelly, Mark McCormack, Darryl Kennedy, Colm McMahon, Jamie Dowdall, Devon Cummins. Tweet

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