For the first time since winning the title in 2003, Blackhall Gaels failed to make it through to the closing stages of the Meath SFC this year with injuries to key players considerably weakening them. Three wins from five outings in Group A were not enough with losses to Summerhill and Dunshaughlin meaning that the Batterstown-Kilcloon side had to settle for a role of also rans, having been tipped to at least get to the semi-final before the championship started. The injury to county captain Anthony Moyles before the game against Cork was also a bitter blow to Blackhall and Nigel Nestor, John Joyce, Mark Ferris, Mark Crampton, Sean Whelan and Paddy Brady were also missing when they lost by the minimum margin to Dunshaughlin at Ratoath. That list of absentees shows that they were forced to make do minus more than a third of their best 15. All-Ireland winner Nigel Nestor left for Australia during the campaign and younger brother Alan, the star county minor of 2006 along with Brady, missed some of the action because of an ankle problem. Although lowly Ballinlough were predictably defeated in the last round of the group stages at Walterstown, Dunshaughlin's narrow win over Summerhill at Dunderry around the same time was bad news for Blackhall. Before the first round Blackhall selector Niall Brosnan said that with a little luck and less injuries, they would have a good crack at winning the title with the two points defeat to Navan O'Mahonys in the 2006 semi-final clash showing that they might not have to find too much. They could hardly visualised all the bad luck which would hit the squad and Brosnan remarked, "it certainly was one of those years and it could be said that we were hamstrung by injuries." Tadhg Brosnan missed that penultimate round tie last year but was back to play a big part in the 1-14 to 1-9 defeating of Simonstown Gaels at Kilberry as Blackhall began their 2007 bid on the right note. In a repeat pairing of the 2003 Keegan Cup decider when Blackhall won the battle of the Gaels the full forward scored 1-7 game with the goal being netted from a penalty and six of the points being put over from frees. That was a bright beginning for first term manager Ray O'Sullivan who saw his charges pull away with six successive points in a ten-minute spell in the last quarter after leading by 1-6 to 1-4 at the interval. The sides had been level on three occasions before that decisive burst and in the early stages Alan Nestor was forced to retire. However, the south county outfit recovered from that blow and again when their opponents edged into the lead in the early stages of the second period. Anthony Moyles kicked three points of the winning total and with such a start, the 2005 beaten finalists were odds on to make it through to the knockout stages again. However, the first brace of points were dropped on the first Sunday of May when the emerging Summerhill defeated them by 2-9 to 0-9 at Pairc Tailteann. After the sides were on level terms on four occasions, goals after 42 and 55 minutes were the difference between the sides at the end of an entertaining encounter. Again Blackhall depended a lot on Tadhg Brosnan for scores. He put over a couple of frees in the early stages to give his side a two points lead and struck their first score from play after 21 minutes to leave the scores 0-3 each. Mark Crampton kicked the Gaels' fourth point and they trailed by 0-4 to 0-5 at the break. After hitting more wides than scores in the first period, Blackhall resumed in promising manner with Brosnan and Mark Ferris both stylishly shooting between the uprights. But although Brosnan (two) and Moyles added points from frees, the concession of goals and frees in the scoring area proved costly as Brian Ennis put over six frees for the winners. The losers picked up nearly as many cards as scores, getting seven yellow with John Callanan being shown two before referee Joey Curley followed up with a red on 59 minutes. Blackhall Gaels got back on the winning track as Duleek provided little worthwhile opposition in the 4-13 to 0-7 one-sided third round tussle at Ratoath. Brosnan again took the individual scoring honours with 2-7, 2-1 from play, and the points were safely in the bag when the board read 4-6 to 0-2 at the break. Brosnan's first goal left his side 1-1 to the good and although John O'Brien, who partnered Anthony Moyles at midfield instead of Nigel Nestor, had to retire with an ankle ailment in the early stages, the favourites continued to dominate. A second Brosnan goal arrived midway through the first period when a pass from Mark Crampton was fisted to the net. It was the reverse after 25 minutes when the team's top scorer set up Crampton to finish to apply the finishing touch with the hand and then the latter grabbed his second major score, completing a move started by full back George Beirne. With wing back Colm McElligott putting over two points, the lead was extended to 21 points and the margin was 18 at the final whistle. It was much closer when Blackhall renewed their rivalry with neighbours Dunshaughlin at Ratoath and the losers had a much depleted side when going under by 0-12 to 1-10. Ray O'Sullivan's side trailed for most of the first period and were 0-4 to 1-6 adrift at the break. Although John Callanan shot two points during the early exchanges, the men in black and amber were generally in control during opening half hour although Tadhg Brosnan put over a point from play followed by a converted 45. Blackhall conceded the goal scored by David Crimmins late in the first half and that left them with a daunting uphill task after the switching of ends. But, considering all the players that were missing, they did well to reduce the arrears to the minimum. The switching of Paddy O'Brien from wing forward to centrefield improved matters as he won a fair amount of ball around the halfway line. Again Brosnan was sharp with his finishing with three of his seven points coming from play. Four white flags from Brosnan and a Jonathon Meyler point had the teams level going into the last quarter. But after that Blackhall were outpointed by three points to two and they slipped from second to fourth in the group. Qualification was no longer in their own hands and there was no cause for celebrations after the 3-10 to 3-4 win over Ballinlough with results coming through from other venues meaning that Blackhall Gaels had missed out. Bottom of the table Ballinlough made matters difficult for their more fancied opponents and the Batterstown-Kilcloon side trailed with 0-0 to 2-0 after eight minutes with Meath forward Peadar Byrne punching in the first goal. However, Blackhall worked their way into the game and were on level terms (1-5 to 2-2) at the break after a point attempt by Andy Dalton ended up in the net. Tadhg Brosnan was again the main marksman, scoring 1-4 with the goal being blasted to the net following a pass from Alan Nestor three minutes after the restart. Jonathon Meyler netted the winner's third goal to leave them comfortably clear by 3-8 to 2-4 with seven minutes to go and when Andy Brady sent over their tenth point in added time it turned out to be their last score of the 2007 SFC. Niall Brosnan said that new manager Ray O'Sullivan from Newbridge was very committed but did not have much luck in his first year with the club. "Ray put in a lot of good work and the players responded very well to him, they gave great commitment but the loss of so many players left the team considerably weaker. "However, lads like Conor Burke and Paddy O'Brien came on and did very well. If we had got into the closing stages of the championship Sean Whelan and Mark Crampton could have been sufficiently recovered to return to action. "But that is all water under the bridge now; I suppose we did quite well to get so close to qualifying despite being without so many players. Being a rural club we don't have such a big pool of players and when you lose a few members of the panel it can be a bit of a struggle to get the right results. "While the 2007 senior championship was obviously a big disappointment to the club, we can look ahead to next year and hope that that there will not be near as many players sidelined with injuries. With something near a full squad, Blackhall Gaels have the potential to be up there with the best of them again," remarked selector Brosnan. With experienced players like Moyles, Crampton and Ferris back and younger lads like Alan Nestor and Paddy Brady having plenty to offer, they will be very keen to add a second SFC title. U21 GLORY STANDS OUT IN TOUGH YEAR Blackhall Gaels lost their Senior Hurling Championship status in the autumn of 2007, but the year had started on a brilliantly successful note when the club demonstrated that it has every right to be optimistic for the future on the hurling front by winning the 2006 Under-21 Championship. The demotion came at the end of a second successive very difficult campaign in the top flight for Blackhall who only just managed to survive via the relegation play-off route in 2006, but slipped through the trap door on this occasion when Na Fianna got the better of them in a do or die battle between the intermediate champions of the previous two years. Of course, Blackhall made a highly significant breakthrough in the small ball code in 2005 when they won the Intermediate Championship, but they endured a testing first campaign in the senior ranks and lost all of their group matches, before eventually surviving. This year represented another very difficult group campaign and there was no escape from the drop as they returned to the intermediate ranks after just two campaigns in the premier competition. Tom Meyler was the manager, but he later departed and a selection team took over. Blackhall were drawn in group B of the championship, which was a demanding looking section that also included Killyon, Kildalkey, Drumree, Boardsmill and a Kilmessan team that was to take the divisional campaign by storm, winning all of their five games to finish on top and establish themselves as the favourites of many observers to claim the Jubilee Cup for the first time since 2004. And it was against Kilmessan that Blackhall opened their campaign. This was always going to be a very tough assignment and they weren't helped by the absence of some players who were exam-tied. However, they couldn't have imagined just how tough it would be as the most successful hurling club in the history of the game in the county gave them a savage introduction to the 2007 championship by recording a 41-point (7-25 to 0-5) victory at Ratoath. Kilmessan were in devastating form and led by all of 19 points (3-13 to 0-3) at the interval, before adding a further 4-12 in the second period as they continued to assert their authority. That was always going to be the heaviest defeat Blackhall would suffer in the competition and, while they lost their second round outing to Boardsmill decisively at Dunsany, the margin of defeat was significantly reduced on this occasion. Boardsmill were well on their way to victory when they opened up a 1-10 to 0-4 lead at the break, but Blackhall reduced the deficit to six points early in the second period, before the 'Mill pulled away again to score by 12 points on a 1-19 to 0-10 score line and make it back to back victories in the group. Unfortunately, Blackhall were forced to concede a walk-over to Killyon in their scheduled third round meeting and by that stage had dropped six points which made the possibility of a struggle against the drop very real indeed. But they were back in championship action for a fourth round match against Kildalkey at Dunderry where the outcome was another defeat as Kildalkey won with ease by 2-15 to 0-4. Their final group assignment was against Drumree at Kiltale and this brought a fifth successive defeat as Drumree won by 0-12 to 1-6 to secure their survival at senior level and condemn Blackhall to a relegation play-off against Na Fianna. However, things looked quite promising for Blackhall when they led by 1-3 to 0-4 at the interval after Mark Mullally had scored the only goal of the game. They failed to maintain their first half form in the second period, but were still well in contention until Drumree closed the match with a brace of points to secure victory and their standing in the senior grade. That left Blackhall with one last chance to preserve their place in the Senior Championship for 2008, but they were unsuccessful in their survival bid as Na Fianna, who had won the intermediate title the previous year, scored by 1-15 to 0-13 at Boardsmill. The Baconstown/Enfield combination held a useful 1-9 to 0-6 half-time advantage, but Blackhall managed to win the second period by 0-7 to 0-6. That wasn't good enough, however, and a very difficult second year in the top flight had ended on a disappointing note for Blackhall. It's now a case of regrouping for the 2008 Intermediate Championship and the fact that they are producing good under-age players should give them considerable hope for the future. The Blackhall Gaels team which lost to Na Fianna in the SHC relegation final was - K. O'Connor; D. McGowan, T. Delany, Daniel Carty; N. Nora, C. Burke, P. Burke; T. Murphy (0-4), David Carty (0-1); P. O'Brien (0-2), M. O'Neill, A. Nestor (0-1); E. Dalton, M. Mullally (0-3), Dermot Carty (0-2). Sub - U. Colgan for O'Neill. The evidence of the progress in the under-age ranks and the great work being done with the young hurlers in the Blackhall Gaels club was there to be seen at Pairc Tailteann back in January when they won the 2006 Under-21 Championship with a 2-9 to 2-6 final victory over Kilmessan and it was a very proud moment for their captain David Carty when he was presented with the cup by Hurling Development and Promotions Committee chairman TJ Reilly. The weather was cold and wet, but Blackhall hardly cared as they claimed their first title in the grade, to go with the Minor Championship crown they annexed in 2004 - also with a victory over Kilmessan in the final. It may have been darkest and bleakest winter, with difficult weather conditions thrown in, but this was a highly enjoyable contest which Blackhall didn't look likely to win when they managed only a point from Mark Mullally in the first 22 minutes and Kilmessan pushed ahead. However, they steadily found their feet and a goal from a long range free by Jonathan Meyler helped them to be on level terms (1-4 each) at the change of ends. Thomas Murphy, Peter Burke and Alan Nestor had also split the uprights for Blackhall in that period, but they were also guilty of hitting wides with consistency and that wastefulness threatened to derail their title ambitions. Blackhall also weren't helped by the loss of three of their defenders - Conor Burke, John Kelly and Aidan Ferris - due to injuries and it says a great deal for their character and the strength of their panel that they still managed to win in such difficult circumstances. They also had to play against the wind and rain in the second half which made their task even more challenging. It was still all to play for when the teams were level at the three-quarter stage, but Blackhall edged to the front, before a second Kilmessan goal helped them to go ahead by 2-4 to 1-6. They stretched their advantage to two points with eight minutes to play and the Batterstown/Kilcloon combination clearly had a massive task on their hands. But they were in no mood to surrender and when Meyler fired over a superb point and Nestor notched their second goal following a Mullally pass they were in front and within sight of the historic breakthrough at this level. It got even better when Murphy stretched the lead with a point and then Thomas Meyler notched a fabulous score to secure the title. They had to endure five minutes of injury time as Kilmessan attempted to pull the game out of the fire, but when the final whistle eventually came Blackhall had achieved another very significant success. There may have been disappointment later in the year when the senior team suffered the drop from the top flight, but days like the one they experienced at Pairc Tailteann back in January have to give the club's supporters big hope for the years ahead. It proved that the sort of talented players are being produced who will secure a bright future in the small ball code. The Blackhall Gaels team in the final was - K. Connor; J. Kelly, C. Burke, T. Delany; David Carty, E. Broad, A. Ferris; J. Meyler (1-0), T. Murphy (0-2); A. Nestor (1-1), M. O'Neill, P. O'Brien; T. Meyler (0-1), M. Mullally (0-4), P. Burke (0-1). Subs - U. Colgan for C. Burke, Dermot Carty for Kelly, D. Farrell for Ferris.| "Being relegated in the Senior Championship was very disappointing," said Alan Nestor as he recalled a mixed year. "Things didn't go well for us during the year and we ended up in the relegation final against Na Fianna. We missed too many chances in that game and were beaten. "We were in high spirits at the start of the year when we won the Under-21 Championship. We knew the senior would be tough, but staying up would have been a bonus. There probably wasn't enough hard work put into it. "But I would be very hopeful for the future. We had four under-17 players on the senior team this year. That's too many, but we have youth on our side and hopefully we will win the Intermediate Championship in two of three years time. Next year would probably be a bit soon." Tweet

Most Read Stories