After a promising first campaign back in the premier grade last year, Duleek endured a difficult Senior Football Championship in 2007 which included a couple of very heavy defeats in the group stages. Duleek brought years of frustration to an end when they won the Intermediate Championship in 2005 and with former Dublin great Barney Rock remaining in the role of manager in '06 they fared quite well in the race for the Keegan Cup, winning twice, drawing twice and losing three times in their section. However, a tally of six points wasn't sufficient to earn them a place in the knockout stages. Rock departed after that campaign and was replaced by Eamonn Barry who had managed the Meath senior team last year. Of course, he had managed Duleek before and his greatest achievement on the club front was guiding Dunshaughlin to three successive senior titles and a magnificent Leinster Club Championship triumph. Duleek and Dunshaughlin were both drawn in Group A of the '07 championship and met in the opening round, while the section also included an ever-improving Summerhill team, Ballinlough, Blackhall Gaels and Simonstown Gaels. First up for Barry was that meeting with Dunshaughlin, who still included many of the players he helped guide to so much silverware, and in the absence of Paudge Howard and Peter Curran Duleek performed poorly against a very wasteful Dunshaughlin side and lost by three points (0-8 to 0-11) at Pairc Tailteann. The sides were level (0-5 each) at the interval and Dunshaughlin, who kicked 15 wides over the hour, edged ahead by 0-7 to 0-5 at the three-quarter stage and marginally outscored Duleek for the remainder to make the desired winning start to the group stages of the championship. Only two players scored for Duleek, with Conal McGinley notching seven points and substitute Barry Finn also splitting the posts near the end. A second round meeting with Ballinlough appeared to offer the ideal opportunity for Duleek to bounce back with a victory and that's how it worked out as they won with ease on a 2-12 to 1-7 score line, again at Pairc Tailteann. Duleek raced into a 0-8 to 0-1 lead after 12 minutes as they played against the wind and when Peter Curran added a goal on 20 minutes they looked to be coasting. McGinley was wide with a goal chance and Ballinlough finished the first half best to cut the deficit to 1-3 to 1-8 at the change of ends. A second goal from Colin Duignan 10 minutes into the second period helped Duleek to push the lead out to 2-10 to 1-4 and it was simply a matter of going through the motions after that. They had got the victory that revived their qualification hopes, but the reality was that they wouldn't meet such weak opposition again. That was certainly the case next time out at Ratoath when Blackhall Gaels inflicted a 4-13 to 0-7 defeat in a battle of two under-strength teams. Tadhg Brosnan contributed a highly impressive tally of 2-7 for the winners who were out of sight at half-time when they held a commanding 4-6 to 0-2 advantage. Duleek improved somewhat after that, but far too much damage had already been inflicted by the rampant Gaels and Duleek's hopes of reaching the knockout stages had been dealt a fatal blow. Dunsany was the venue for a fourth round assignment against a Summerhill team that was on the verge of qualification and they booked their place in the quarter-finals when coasting to a 2-15 to 0-6 victory. Duleek started well and scored the opening two points through McGinley and Curran, but that was as good as it got and Summerhill soon took complete control. They were ahead by 1-9 to 0-3 at the break and were 15 points clear at the end. It meant that Duleek had conceded 6-28 in two championship outings. However, the fact that they had beaten Ballinlough earlier in the group stages meant they were practically safe because the north Meath side were pointless at the bottom of the section and with an inferior points difference to Duleek. Duleek's last group match was against quarter-final-chasing Simonstown at Skryne on the same day that Ballinlough were down to meet Blackhall Gaels in their concluding game. Both relegation-threatened sides were beaten, so Ballinlough were doomed to a battle for survival and Duleek were safe. The match against Simonstown was close for a long way, but the Navan side eventually took command to push clear and win by 1-16 to 1-9, a victory that secured a quarter-final meeting with Skryne. Duleek received the boost of an unusual goal after only two minutes when Daire Ferguson 's effort was diverted into his own net by Simonstown's Hank Traynor, but the Gaels reeled off a succession of points to push ahead by 0-6 to 1-0 after 11 minutes. Scores were few and far between for the remainder of the opening period, with Simonstown retiring with a 0-7 to 1-2 interval advantage. Duleek, who lined out with Peter Curran at wing-back and Ricky Nolan at midfield, battled well early in the second half and aided by points from Conal McGinley (two frees) and Bryan Cudden they were only a point adrift six minutes after the restart. However, Simonstown, who were without the injured Shane O'Rourke, gradually assumed control and pushed clear. Their goal came at the start of the last quarter when a mistake by Duleek's Gordon Hynes allowed Evan Kelly to set up Shane O'Neill who found the net to copper-fasten their position of supremacy. It had been a difficult group campaign for Duleek, with that win over Ballinlough the only bright light, but at least they didn't end up in a relegation dogfight in only their second year back in the top flight. The hope now is that 2008 will be much better. LADIES TAKE TITLE Duleek's ladies' team enjoyed a success in 2007 when they won the Junior B Championship title with a runaway 2-20 to 1-3 final victory over Clann na nGael at Dunsany. County player Vikki McGinn opened the scoring with an early point for Duleek, but such a clearcut win didn't look to be on the cards when Clann na nGael hit back with a great goal from Laura Gilsenan to take the lead. However, Duleek upped their performance considerably as the match progressed and opened up a decisive 0-12 to 1-2 advantage at the interval. Orla Byrne had been a key player in the first half and she scored a goal early in the second period to propel Duleek firmly in the direction of the title. Alex Goodman added a second goal to put the icing on the cake and there was still time for Duleek to add a number of points to be 20 clear at the end. The Duleek panel in the final was - M. McGuirk; V. Reilly, C. Murray, K. Blake; M. Dunne, N. Barnett, C. Collins; M. Dunne, R. Lenehan; D. Rogers, L. Burke, A. Goodman; O. Byrne, V. McGinn, R. Andrews. Subs - S. Keogh, J. McDonnell, C. Power, C. Byrne, S. Rooney, N. Keogh, S. Gorman, L. Mohan, S. Clarke, K. Byrne, L. Woods, K. Saurin, A. McDonnell, C. Naughton, JA Davis. ST. CIANAN'S TRIUMPH An indication of the outstanding work being done in the St. Cianan's club can be gauged from the fact that they won the Under-16 FL Div. 2 title this year and were beaten in the MFC final, to follow on from their great consistency in both grades the previous year. The under-16 success was achieved with a 1-17 to 1-6 final victory over Seneschalstown at Pairc Tailteann and it was a proud moment for captain Cathal Tallon as he received the O'Brien Cup on behalf of the Duleek/Bellewstown combination. A tally of 1-17 was a magnificent return at this level and the fact that 1-16 of it came from play adds to its significance, but this final was close until beyond half way when St. Cianan's got the goal that pointed them firmly in the direction of the title. It arrived six minutes after the change of ends when Jason Finnegan finished off a fine move with a well-taken long range score that left them ahead by 1-10 to 1-4. After that, St. Cianan's added a further seven points to be 11 clear at the end. It could have been an even wider margin because Seneschalstown goalkeeper Ciaran Flynn produced superb saves from Finnegan, Warren Cudden and Raymond Hamilton. That said, the losers also contributed to the entertainment and were denied a goal themselves near the end when St. Cianan's 'keeper and captain Tallon produced a great save from James Conlon's shot. The midfield showing of Brian Moore and Jamie Bissett, who scored 0-6 between them, was highly significant in the success, but overall it was a magnificent team performance. The St. Cianan's team in the final was - C. Tallon; G. McHugh, J. Brannigan, S. Kennedy; A. Bissett, J. Murphy, A. Reilly (0-1); B. Moore (0-4), J. Bissett (0-2); S. O'Neill, J. Finnegan (1-6), J. McDonnell; R. Hamilton (0-2), W. Cudden (0-1), R. Byrne. Subs - S. Cullen (0-1) for Byrne, A. White for McDonnell, K. Fitzgerald for McHugh, A. Burke for O'Neill, C. Flynn, R. Maguire, S. Palkas, G. Goal. St. Cianan's went in search of a big double a couple of weeks later, but they met with disappointment when Donaghmore/Ashbourne defeated them in the MFC final at Pairc Tailteann to retain their title. This was a deserved victory on a 1-13 to 1-7 score line for the reigning champions, but the effort of the St. Cianan's players certainly couldn't be faulted. They weren't helped when Joey Martin was forced to leave the action after only 20 minutes. It took them 14 minutes to get off the mark when Jason Finnegan converted a free and the concession of a goal close to the interval proved a setback and meant they trailed by 0-3 to 1-4 at half-time. Mark Collins from Bellewstown was their top scorer with 1-3 over the hour and his goal in the third quarter gave them some hope of a revival, but an indication of how much on top Donaghmore/Ashbourne were for the majority of the contest can be gauged from the fact that they tallied 12 wides to only five for St. Cianan's. They were six clear and the final whistle and were deserving winners. Nonetheless, getting to the final represented a big achievement for St. Cianan's. The St. Cianan's team in the final was - K. Shields; J. Flaherty, A. Everard, C. Brodigan; B. Moore, J. Martin, P. Callaghan; D. Moore, D. Martin; D. Mills (0-1), M. Collins (1-3), C. Byrne; J. Finnegan (0-2), P. Clarke (0-1), I. O'Brien. Subs - J. Bissett for J. Martin, J. Murphy for Clarke, P. Johnson for O'Brien. Tweet

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