After a highly progressive year in 2006, Clonard must have been more than hopeful that '07 would bring silverware in the shape of the Larry Kearns Memorial Cup that goes to the winners of the Junior B Football Championship. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as they exited the title race at the quarter-final stage against Trim's second string. The fact that this was one of the most entertaining matches of the entire championship campaign hardly counted for much as far as the Clonard players, officials and supporters were concerned. The reality coming away from Longwood that evening was that their burning desire for a move up to the junior grade had been dashed for another year. And how it hurt. When considering how well St. Brigid's fared in this year's Junior Championship, it's probably something of a surprise that Clonard didn't make the breakthrough at Junior B level. The Ballinacree men ended their hopes on the biggest day of all last term when they beat them in the final on a miserably wet October day in Pairc Tailteann and they went all the way to the semi-finals in the higher grade in 2007 before bowing out narrowly to eventual winners Clann na nGael. That highly progressive run by St. Brigid's was surely a serious endorsement of how well Clonard should have fared in the lower grade this year. However, it doesn't always work out that way. Of course, Clonard also went close to gaining promotion from Division 5 of the All-County A League last year, so they must have justifiably gone into this year's Junior B Championship with very realistic ambitions of an overdue success. Their coach for the 2007 campaign was Nick Egan, who is formerly from Ferbane in Co. Offaly but is living in Clonard, and his fellow selectors were Declan Twomey and Damien McNevin. They were drawn in group C and that pitted them against the second string teams from four clubs - Syddan, Wolfe Tones, who had won the Junior C title last year, St. Patrick's and Dunderry. It certainly had the appearances of a section from which they should emerge to play knockout football later in the summer and that's exactly how it worked out. Dunderry provided the first round opposition when the championship got under way in late spring and the trip to Boardsmill proved fruitful for Clonard when they made the desired winning start to the group stages by earning a five points (0-12 to 0-7) victory. However, it was Dunderry who made the more progressive start to the game and opened up a 0-5 to 0-2 advantage after 20 minutes. Clonard gradually found their feet, settled into the contest and recovered well to be ahead by 0-6 to 0-5 at the interval, before they outscored the opposition by 0-6 to 0-2 in the second period to be comfortably clear at the final whistle. Kenneth Darby was their top scorer with a useful contribution of four points. A more comprehensive victory followed in the second round when Clonard had nine points to spare over Syddan at Bective, winning by 2-7 to 0-4, and when they followed that success up with a 3-9 to 0-13 win over St. Patrick's at Dunshaughlin they had three successive wins in the bag and were well on their way to the business end of the battle for honours. Wolfe Tones, who were later to make another step up with their second team by winning the title with a final victory over Trim, were Clonard's opponents in the last round of group matches at a very wet Dunderry and this had all the appearances of an encounter that would give them an accurate indication of just how well they were progressing. The outcome ended up suiting both teams as they finished level on 1-7 each and both could then start concentrating on the knockout stages of the championship. Wolfe Tones, who included Meath's 1996 All-Ireland SFC winning captain Tommy Dowd in their ranks, looked the more likely winners when they held a very useful 1-5 to 0-3 advantage at the change of ends, but to their credit Clonard came back in battling fashion in the second period to turn things around. The score that really ignited their recovery was a goal from David Rowley whose long ball into attack was collected by Tones' 'keeper David Rooney who was adjudged to have taken it over the line. That gave Clonard a very significant boost, but it still necessitated a late point to earn them a share of the spoils. Clonard had achieved mission number one by negotiating the divisional stages and it was now a matter of turning their attentions to the quarter-final and what had the appearances of a potentially tricky assignment against Trim who, of course, would later contest the decider. This turned out to be a tremendous contest that provided in excess of 80 minutes of highly entertaining action and great value for the admission charge. However, for Clonard it resulted in further frustration as they exited the championship race when going under by the minimum margin at the end of extra time. Clonard could hardly have dreamt of the wonderful start they would make to the game as they scored two goals in the early stages which must have given them a tremendous lift. But this was a very useful Trim side and they steadily found their feet and recovered from that dreadful opening to the match in commendable fashion. While they limited the Clonard men to only two further points in the opening period they began to hit the target with reasonable regularity themselves and fought their way back to be on level terms (1-5 to 2-2) at the break. The second half was exciting and close, but the town team edged ahead, before Clonard struck with a dramatic goal from a penalty to force the tie to an additional 20 minutes. The spectators were hardly complaining as they were getting extra value for their money after already enjoying a highly entertaining encounter. A replay was looking to be a distinct possibility, but having contributed so much to a thoroughly enjoyable contest, it was to end in bitter disappointment for Clonard when the highly impressive Paul Campbell shattered their title ambitions with a late, late winner for the Trim men. They had been part of a superb game of football - but they were also out of the championship. After the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle last year, this dramatic defeat must have really hurt, but the target now has to be to lift themselves for the 2008 championship. They have to entertain hope because this year they drew with Wolfe Tones, the team that went on to win the title, and lost by only a point after extra time to Trim, the side that completed the final pairing. Their performances in those matches, in particular, suggest that they are more than capable of making the breakthrough and compensating for recent disappointments. Niall Walsh has been a stalwart of the Clonard football team for many years and the vastly experienced defender, who is the holder of an All-Ireland MFC medal, two Leinster medals in the under-18 grade and three Leinster JFC medals, was as disappointed as anyone associated with the club after their championship exit. "We won our first three games in the group against Dunderry, Syddan and St. Patrick's and then drew our last group match against Wolfe Tones on a terrible night for football," he recalled. "They finished on top of the division on score difference. "Our quarter-final against Trim in Longwood was a very good game, but we lost it by a point after extra time. That was very disappointing. I know we have lost finals in the past, but I have to say I have never seen the lads so disappointed as they were after that quarter-final. "Hopes had been high. We really thought we could win it this year, especially if we had managed to get past Trim. Yes, it was a huge disappointment." However, hope springs eternal and while thoughts of what might have been will occupy many minds around Clonard over the winter months, once spring arrives and the 2008 championship draws have been made the dream will go on and enthusiasm will be regenerated among players and mentors alike. "There are a few of us getting on a bit in years," Walsh acknowledged. "But on the positive side we do have good young lads emerging, players like Eoin Treacy, Kenneth Darby and Kenneth Connolly to name a few who are very good prospects." The younger brigade represent the future for the Clonard club, but a team also needs a solid base of more seasoned players who have been around for a while and have experienced so much. Niall Walsh, who also acts as the Clonard secretary, fits into the latter bracket and is likely to have a few more years to offer to the cause yet. The club had two on the Meath U14 football panel, Ciaran O'Donoghue and Adrian Boland, while Adam Flanagan and Darren McNevin were involved with the county Under 13 hurling team. Gary Raleigh was on the Edenderry All-Ireland colleges winning team - which all goes to show the quality of players in the club. The search for that Junior B Championship title heads into 2008. Tweet

Most Read Stories