Aughnamullen aces
December 31, 2007
Aughnamullen didn't concede a single goal in their six-match JFC odyssey in '07. No wonder they achieved their goal of returning to intermediate ranks.
There are some fairly strong juvenile teams coming through right now at the club with a fair bit of success at division three and division four levels.
"If they can keep progressing we could be looking at success at division one level in the next few years.
"I feel there's a good enough future ahead for those players if they can be nurtured up through the ranks to senior level."
Football punditry is a fool's occupation but Aughnamullen's then club chairman Seamus Conlon spoke from the heart last November as he looked ahead to 2007 and beyond.
One year on and the Conlon prophesy has been embellished by a huge degree of realism and credibility. JFC success in 2007 turned Conlon's forecasting into an exact science.
Aughnamullen, Conlon and Co. insisted, had been operating in the nether regions of club football for far too long and it was time to cut the umbilical chord with Junior football.
And this they did by using the backdoor to access the higher echelons of intermediate football.
A string of near-misses in recent years in the championship had only served to harden the Sarsfields' desire and determination to make the step up to intermediate ranks.
The advent of the championship campaign last May was to herald a watershed, a new beginning for those who would-be kings of Monaghan junior football.
The John Joe Gorman-managed Sarsfields crew embarked on the first step of their glorious campaign last May when they crossed swords with Clones with a strong second half display key to their 1-11 to 0-7 win.
The match was played in Drumhowan and in what was a tough encounter, Chris Keenan stole the show by rowing in with a personal tally of 1-4 to help down the town team.
Aughnamullen led by just the odd point in nine at the interval but it wasn't until eight minutes from the end when Keenan found the net that the issue was wrapped up.
The Sarsfields next outing in the blue riband competition was in late August when they demonstrated too much in their armoury for an under-strength Blackhill to cope with.
Played in Clontibret, the winners used a powerful midfield platform established by Philip McCaul and David King to ease their way to a non-too flattering 2-10 to 0-7 triumph.
Aughnamullen did most of their best work in the first half at the end of which they had constructed a more than useful nine point cushion with goals by Aidan Flanagan and Mickey Keenan helping to propel the would-be victors into a commanding 2-6 to 0-3 interval lead.
Aughnamullen's clash thereafter with Currin in early September in Drumhowan was to prove to be a dress rehearsal for the teams' battle in the semi-final later that month.
The Sarsfields had a bad day at the office and went down by 1-5 to 0-11 with the team's failure to raise a white flag particularly worrying for the players and management team.
Aughnamullen lost out to the Scotshouse-based crew despite nabbing the only goal of the game which arrived after just five minutes when David King's shot sailed into the net.
King's major hoisted Aughnamullen into a 1-5 to 0-6 interval lead but that was as good as it got for the champions-elect as they conceded possession and territorial advantage.
On September 22nd, Aughnamullen copper-fastened their place in the last four with a thoroughly professional, clinical 3-8 to 0-6 win over Toome at Pearse Park, Ballybay.
The winners' success in bagging two goals shortly before the interval and shortly afterwards proved pivotal in steering them past the challenge (3-8 to 0-6) of the St. Victor's crew.
Aidan Flanagan's major four minutes into first half stoppage time and then Edmund McArdle's second goal four minutes into the second half left Toome trailing by eight points.
Of arguably equal assistance to Aughnamullen in their bid to win the match was the introduction of veteran Philip McCaul at the start of the second half.
The last day of September saw the Sarsfields invited to wreak revenge on Eire Og but more importantly to book a place in the JFC final.
As things panned out, a man-of-the-match display by Colm Flanagan and a five point haul by Chris Keenan were hugely influential in shaping Aughnamullen's 0-10 to 0-8 victory.
Aughnamullen thoroughly deserved their passage through to the county decider as they led from pillar to post and in a cracking game were 0-7 to 0-5 leaders at half-time.
Currin - now down to 14 players following the dismissal of one of their forwards - fought back to level matters at 0-8 apiece entering the final quarter.
However Aughnamullen went up the gears to finish in more clinical fashion than their rivals with points from Chris Keenan and Seamus Deery sealing the issue for the Sarsfields.
With Eire Og securing their place in the final with a clearcut 1-15 to 0-7 win over Oram in their semi-final duel, the decider promised to be all vim and vigour, fast and furious.
There was an added edge to the JFC final too as Aughnamullen had beaten Eire Og a few weeks previous in the reserve decider.
Football punditry is a fool's occupation but the ifs and buts crop of pundits had a field day in the run-up to the final with all sorts of permutations being mooted.
Fans wondered what if Eire Og's vaunted attack were suddenly ravaged on the day by the twin evils of self-doubt and procrastination?
What if Aughnamullen bluebloods David King and Colm Flanagan didn't quite produce the goods at midfield?
Safe to say the Aughnamullen/Eire Og tete-a-tete proved to be meat and drink to the crystal ball gazers, forming the core of the attendant hyperbole enveloping the October 14th final.
In fact there were so many imponderables smothering the 2007 junior decider that only the wealthy or foolish would have been tempted to visit the local turf accountant.
With the bitter taste of defeat in the 2005 JFC final (to Monaghan Harps) still in their mouths, the Aughnamullen players resolved not to return home empty-handed.
The final was, as expected, a claustrophobic, tense affair which always looked likely to go right to the wire as one team, and then the other, sought in vain to secure a vice-like grip.
In the end, it took a power-packed period approaching the commencement of the third quarter to see Aughnamullen over the finishing line in pole position, 1-9 to 0-8 winners.
In fairness, Aughnamullen had their work cut out to prevent their opponents from stealing a march on them early on in the tie at Clontibret.
Luckily for the Sarsfields, the Smithboro contingent hadn't their shooting boots on and yet Aughnamullen still had quite a bit of work to do at half-time as they trailed by 0-3 to 0-5.
Aughnamullen kept their best wine 'till last though to leave Eire Og punch drunk and in deep sorrow in the losers' enclosure.
The Sarsfields had slipped behind by three points approaching the third quarter when they slipped into overdrive to turn the game on its head.
Once again the introduction of seasoned campaigner Philip McCaul was both timely and hugely influential in swaying the pendulum Aughnamullen's way.
Midfield dominance became key to the Sarsfields' drive for the winning post and a healthy supply of decent ball to an eager-beaver, rejuvenated forward line.
With Aidan Flanagan leading the line in expert fashion, the Aughnamullen attack hit the top notes by recording a 1-4 tally without reply between the 46th and 52nd minutes.
It was Flanagan who bagged the only goal of the game in the 51st minute which served to send his side into the lead for the very first time in the match.
Despite a sterling effort by Eire Og to gain parity, Aughnamullen weren't for turning and despite having to play the final six minutes with 14 men, the Sarsfields held out for a brillantly exciting victory.
The following are the Aughnamullen Sarsfields players who propellled their club back to intermediate ranks by dint of their 1-9 to 0-8 win over Eire Og in the 2007 JFC final;
Gary Mulligan; Kevin Woods, Aidan Duffy, Ciaran McKeown; Damien Hamilton, Lee Conlon, Martin McGinn; David King, Colm Flanagan; Chris Keenan (0-4), Mark Meegan (0-1), Lauren Ward; Michael Keenan, AIdan Flanagan (1-1), Ciaran Ward.
Subs used; Allen Duffy (0-1), Sam Dooney, Philip McCaul.
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