Killanny's underage football pedigree has been fairly embellished over recent seasons and in 2007, the best of the club's young talent again made its mark. Trust the young Geraldines to get among the glittering prizes once more! At this juncture, it's a safe bet to put money on the Farneymen to bag another cup, or two, in 2008! During the past year, the best of coaching talent and the finest footballers in the club combined to lift the Under 12 Division Three crown and the Under 16 Division Three title. 2007 proved to be a boon year for underage football in Killanny and with a raft of titles being bagged in recent years, there's a groundswell of maturing talent around these days. Killanny won the '07 Under 12 Division Three title when climaxing their campaign with a decisive 2-12 to 1-6 victory over a game Cremartin side at Donaghmoyne Fontenoys' ground. The Farney county side won all their games in the run-up to the play-off stages and duly topped the league table which set them up automatically as favourites to lift the title. Cremartin proved to be doubty finalists though and they gave their vaunted opponents one hell of a match, especially in a hugely well contested first half. In fact Cremartin notched the opening three points of the game inside the first 12 minutes with captain Mark McGee, Eanna Malone and Ryan McVicar (free) all hitting the target. That was really as good as it got though for Cremartin as Killanny hit back with interest, scoring 1-6 in a magical 14 minute period. Killanny's goal was scored by Conor Vernon which really put them on the frontfoot and, in truth, the Shamrocks never looked like getting on level terms thereafter. Subsequent points from goalscorer Vernon, Andrew Boylan, Andrew Kieran, Cian Murray, Cian Murray, Conor Russell and Mark Grimes cemented Killanny's pole position. But Killanny - winners also of the under 12 title in 2006 - didn't score again in the first half as the Cremartin's backs held firm and the midfield exchanges largely breaking even. And the degree of excitement and tension in the match increased as a point from a free by the chasing team served to cut Killanny's lead to five points, 1-6 to 0-4 at the interval. Cremartin got a great start to the second half with their spirited and forceful play giving Killanny some discomfort but, more importantly, reaping a goal into the bargain. Killanny refused to hand over the intiative though and after circling the wagons for a period came roaring back to match their game opponents, punch for punch, point for point. The Geraldines - conquerors of Eire Og in the semi-final - were to go on and match their first half tally by recording 1-6 in the second half with Dermot Leegan netting in the 18th minute which turned the game very much in his side's favour. The points followed with Shane Grimes, Cian Murray, Andrew Boylan, Andrew Kieran (two) and Robert Berg all finding the target to propel Killanny to a well deserved victory. The Killanny line-up in the 2007 Under 12 Division Three final was as follows: Aidan Mc Mahon, Seamus Mc Connon, Shane Grimes (0-1), Dermot Leegan (1-0),Adam Kieran (0-3), Matthew Murphy, Conor Vernon (1-1), Andrew Boylan (0-2), Cian Murray (0-2), Conor Russell (0-1), Andrew Kierans, Mark Grimes (0-1), Robert Berg (0-1). Sub; Peter Mc Mahon. Reacting to the club's latest underage success, Killanny's U12 joint-manager Paul Grimes conceded that while he had high hopes for the team he was surprised the hit the jackpot. "I didn't honestly think that they would go the whole way this time around because we had lost nine players from the 2006 squad and had moved up a grade as well," Paul explained. "The thing I hadn't bargained for though was the way the younger members of the panel who had been subs in '06 really stepped up to the plate during the year. "Those fellas, who had been mostly kicking their heels last year 'cause we had a big panel, got their chance in 2007 and really came up with the goods in a terrific way." Paul recalls how comfortable most of the matches were en route to the county decider although he points out that his charges got a real test against Eire Og in the penultimate round. Together with joint-manager Bernard Vernon, Paul worked the oracle in the final also with the players' pace and skill coming to the fore in devastating and fruitful fashion. "The lads have a lot of football in them and we hadn't a lot of coaching to do because they had the skill and there was a hunger there too right from the start of the season," says Paul. "We got them together in March and did a lot of ball work and only a wee bit of fitness work because they are a fit bunch of youngsters. "The idea in training was to have them moving the ball at speed and to get the ball from back to front as quickly as possible. "Our players are mostly on the small side, we haven't much of a physical presence, so the game plan was to keep the ball low and get it in fast to the forwards. "Everything went to plan really in the final against Cremartin and for three-quarters of the match we were in control and not really put under a lot of pressure. "Going up a division next year will be different but there's a lot of potential in this panel and playing in the higher divisions and in 15-aside competitions is where we want to be." Playing intelligent football is the policy pursued by the south county outfit, whether that is when the team is in possession or not and at whatever grade of football. As always, it's the enjoyment of Gaelic football that club coaches like Paul and Benard aim to promote, just like 2007 Cup-winning under 16 manager Lornie Duffy but winning helps! Working alongside John McMahon during the year, mentor Duffy saw the Killanny under sixteens rebound from a 2-14 to 2-16 league final defeat, after extra-time, to Cremartin at the end of August to exact sweet revenge against the same opposition just one week later in the championship. With a few positional changes in the interim, Killanny represented a much more cohesive, potent force when the sides clashed in the championship decider. Gavin Traynor was relocated into the defence from the attack to mark Cremartin's James Leonard. Thomas Tiernan was sited at centre-half and Piaras O'Callaghan on the 'forty. "There wasn't a lot wrong in the camp that we needed to put right for the championship final," Lornie informs us. "We were maybe a bit better prepared second time around because we were able to identify their dangermen and how they operated and move our fellas around accordingly." Certainly those along the sideline and the team itself fairly worked the oracle as they made short work of defeating the Shamrocks by 2-6 to 1-1. Unlike the League final the previous week, scores were at a premium over the hour with the respective sets of defenders in fine form against their direct opponents. Cremartin were first to register a point from a free but cracks soon began to appear in their defence and a well-taken point from Piaras O'Callaghan got Killanny up and running. Stephen McMahon then added another point before Andrew Campbell chipped in with a similar effort after good approach work from Edmund Markey. A few minutes later Stephen McMahon again found the target (free). Killanny kept up the pressure and duly went in at the break, 0-4 to 0-1 ahead at the interval. Killanny were in for a real shock after the restart though when Cremartin notched a real freak goal to level the scores for the first time in the match. Cremartin had their tails up but time and time again Killanny 'keeper Kevin Quinn plaus backs Peter Markey, Michael Vernon, Gavin Traynor and the Duffy twins repelled attacks. Not an inch was given by the stout Killanny defence which performed magnificently to keep their opponents scoreless from open play. With ten minutes of the second half gone, the Geraldines were awarded a free and soon roars of delight were heard from Killanny's fans when Gavin Traynor's 45 metre free sailed all the way to the Cremartin net. Killanny now went for the jugular and when Edmund Markey won possession at midfield and passed to Stephen McMahon who then gave it to Tommy Kiernan, suddenly the Cremartin net was bulging for the second time. The leaders just kept piling on the pressure to the very end with Piaras O'Callaghan cooly slotting over the bar after a good delivery from Cian Lambe. Moments later young O'Callaghan got a fine pass from super sub. Andrew Merrin who skilfully finished the scoring with a clinically-taken point. "They deserved their win," Lornie insists. "They showed a lot of character and determination to come back from the league final defeat to win the championship. "I thought we were a bit unlucky in the league final and we had chances at the end to turn things around but winning the championship certainly made up for that disappointment. "We were never headed in the championship final and even though their goal came like a bolt out of the blue, the lads kept their heads and put in easily our best display of the year. "We're looking forward to next year, fielding on our own at under 16 and minor level and hopefully keep up the winning streak." Monaghan you have been warned! Tweet

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