St. Macartan's made outstanding strides towards ending the college's 50 year stretch without a MacRory Cup title win. Sadly they didn't get the luck they deserved when most needed. Nobody on the Sem's payroll could remember the last time a Monaghan football team headed reigning All-Ireland champions by 18 points. Hardly surprising. At the excellently appointed Corduff GAA venue last February, St. Macartan's finest led 2006 Hogan Cup champions Abbey CBS a merry dance (4-13 to 4-6) in an amazing MacRory Cup quarter-final clash. Despite the fact that Abbey boasted no less than ten Hogan Cup medal winning veterans in their line-up, it was all so easy for team-manager Pascal Smyth's charges. The match underdogs put the Down starlets - victors over St. Louis Kilkeel in the '06 Mc Rory Cup final - to the sword with all the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. When Gary White banged in a fourth goal for the 'Sem' three minutes after the start of the second half, a massive six goals separated the sides. Smyth, in tandem with team coach Gareth Coyle and 'Macartan's old boy Mickey Conlon (Rockcorry) served to turn the formbook upside down on the training field. The team's creativity and finishing at the business end of the field was worked upon and together with an 'early ball' policy, the Abbey defence was suitably carved open. It was a MacRory Cup quarter-final with a difference and Smyth admits that, in the aftermath of Abbey's abdication, he truly believed 'Macartans could win the competition. "Abbey had impressed the whole country with the way they beat St. Pat's Navan in last year's Hogan Cup final so to beat them so comprehensively was a real coup. "I'd have to say it was a scintillating display by the lads; especially with the breeze at our backs in the first half at the end of which we led by 3-6 to 0-2 at half-time. "The lads put in a really good performance and it was pleasing that the goal we got was straight from the training field. "After the Abbey win, I genuinely felt that it was in us to go on and win the MacRory Cup but even from the outset, I was optimistic that things would go well for us in 2007. "About nine of the lads had played in all of the games in the MacRory Cup the previous year but lost out to St. Michael's of Enniskillen in a playoff and that was a great experience. "I felt at that time that we could have been talking about a two-year campaign in effect, with the fifth years who played in '06 set to be at their best in '07." Smyth says, contrary to rumours, his players weren't wearing leaden shoes in the Sem's hallowed corridors to keep their feet on terra firma in the days that followed. Ironically before romping to their facile win over the Abbey, Monaghan's premier secondary school football team had trouble finding the net. Two rounds of the competition remained to be negotiated by the Monaghan college standard bearers before they could be acclaimed as mould-breakers. In booking their place in the last four of the competition, St. Macartan's equalled the achievement of their predecessors of 1996 by making the semi-finals. Interestingly, seasoned Sem football observers suggested that the Class of '07 were at least a par with the panel of '04 that reached the final only to lose out to St. Pat's Dungannon. The semi-final draw pitted 'Macartans against St. Pat's Maghera, victors over St. Coleman's of Newry in their last eight clash. The hunger and raw determination of the Monaghan lads was to hold them in good stead as they whipped the Derry lads by 2-15 to 0-9 in another great game. Was he surprised by the comfort of his side's victory over the Mattie McGleenan-trained 'Pat's crew? "No I wasn't but I figured a few of the other colleges may have been though," he explains. "This particular group of players hadn't set the world alight at D'alton Cup, Corn na nOg or Brock Cup level but we, at 'Macartans, always feel that if we can get them to improve each year and improve as we go up the grades that perhaps come MacRory time, they'll be ready to more than hold their own against the teams from the North." In truth, the Sem totally outclassed Maghera at Healy Park, Omagh, especially in a whirlwind second half which fairly complemented their 1-6 to 0-3 interval lead. Daniel McNally's 24th minute goal was added to later on by a 1-5 unanswered tally - the goal coming from Donal Hahesssy in the 49th minute. Significantly, Smyth scotched any notion that the 'Sem' lads had any reason to be complacent as they prepared to take their places in the final. "The margin of victory flattered us. With eleven minutes to go there were only four points between us and only for Colum Greenan blocking a shot they'd have scored a goal." St. Macartans' opponents in the MacRory Cup final on March 19th at Casement Park, Belfast were Omagh CBS, winners by 0-15 to 0-10, after extra-time, over St. Patrick's Armagh. "I was impressed by both teams in what was a nip and tuck affair," explained the 'Macartans' chief who attended the semi-final. "Armagh gave Omagh a real test but Omagh showed a lot of ambition and determination to score five points without reply in the second half of extra-time to win the game. "I wasn't surprised by Omagh because they beat us by eight points in the league." There would be no eight points margin between the sides in Belfast. Just a point would in fact separate the combatants. Sadly the 0-10 to 1-6 scoreline was in Omagh's favour. A long-range free over five minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game served to break Macartans' hearts. One minute earlier, they had nabbed an equaliser and two minutes before that the Tyrone lads had narrowed their deficit to the minimum. It was akin to death by a thousand cuts for the out-of-luck Monaghan lads. The amount of added-on time generated frustration among the Sem contingent and neutrals alike but referee Aidan McAlynn (Derry) called it as he saw it. St. Macartans had looked like winners-elect in the first half as they exerted almost continuous pressure on the Omagh defence. Three good scoring chances went abegging though before Gary White gave the Saints the perfect start with a goal to open the scoring in the 7th minute. Five minutes later Omagh pointed to get themselves up and running but later three unanswered points by the Sem between the 21st and 29th minutes, including a gem from Gary White, helped Smyth's charges lead at the interval by 1-5 to 0-2. "We had things very much our own way early on but maybe we could have gotten more scores in the first half with the wind at our backs," Smyth reflected. "We knew that our six points lead at half-time wasn't likely to be good enough but with time up, we were holding them out and we thought we had done enough." Unfortunately, it wasn't to be for the brave Saints as their lead was ate into slowly but surely by the Omagh crew. By the 48th minute five unanswered points by Omagh left just a single point separating the sides. Four minutes later, Mark Devitt provided some relief for Macartans by converting a free, after a foul on Donal Hahessy, which restored his side's two points lead. However that was as good as it got as Omagh chiselled into St. Macartan's lead with the help of generous dollops of added-on time. A free from some 50 metres from goal was flashed over by Omagh's Simon O'Neill for the winner and in an instant 'Macartans' dream had turned into a nightmare. "It's with no disrespect to Omagh that I say that a draw would have been a fair result and even Omagh's people said that on the day too. "I don't think anyone would have complained had we gone at it again in better weather and on a better pitch but that's life." One hell of an experience though, Pascal? "Absolutely. I was very pleased by the enthusiasm and commitment the squad showed during the year and all credit to them. "We got great support all year from everyone at the college, our Principal Raymond McHugh and Vice-Principal Vincent Lee and lots of other people. "It was just too bad that the final didn't go the players' way because they had a great year and I don't think they could have given any more than they did. "At the start of the year, we emphasised the sacrifices they'd have to make but they came up trumps, thanks, to a large degree, to the support given them by their parents. "Most of the fellas were Leaving Cert students and, in meeting with the parents, we were concerned at the impact that the campaign would have on their studies but thankfully a good balance was struck and they all ended up doing very well in their exams." 2007 - a reputation for academic and sporting excellence duly underpinned by the Sem! The following are the players who came so close on March 19th last to ending St. Macartan's 50 year MacRory Cup woe: Emmet McArdle; William Carroll, Colum Greenan, Marc McBride; David Hughes, Conor Galligan, Kieran Hughes; Brian McArdle, Neil McAdam (0-1); Shane Treanor (0-1), Mark McDevitt (0-3), Nicholas Scott; Daniel McNally, Gary White (1-1), Donal Hahessy. Subs used; Robert Moyna, Patrick Kieran, Shane Maguire, Gary Feely, Gareth Treanor. Tweet

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