Junior 'B' consolation for 'Wood
April 30, 2010Crookedwood gained a measure of revenge for their shock intermediate hurling semi-final loss to Turin when they recorded an emphatic 3-14 to 1-5 victory over the same opposition in the junior 'B' championship decider at St. Loman's Lakepoint Park last September.
Still reeling from their intermediate championship exit, the 'Wood were determined not to lose another big game to their parish rivals, and inspired by their rising star Barry O'Meara, they ran out comfortable winners to secure some very welcome silverware.
"It's a pity we didn't play like that in the intermediate semi-final," laughs winning junior 'B' captain Damien Grifferty, who was one of 10 players to feature in both games for Crookedwood.
"We won the junior 'B' championship a few years ago and it was nice to get our hands on the cup again. I suppose it was some consolation for losing the intermediate semi-final, but if we had a choice between winning the junior 'B' and the intermediate championship, we'd obviously take the intermediate. But at least we had something to show for our efforts at the end of the year."
Following their relegation from the senior ranks at the end of 2008, many expected the 'Wood to bounce back by capturing the Adrian Murray Cup for a second time in four years. They looked to be well on their way when they finished top of the group section, but their form deserted them when they needed it most and a 0-12 to 1-13 semi-final defeat to Turin left them down and out.
"I'd say a little bit of complacency crept in after we topped the group. We were expected to beat Turin and to get into the final. But they upped their game and beat us fair and square. It was a shock to the system at the time, but I think we've gotten over it at this stage and hopefully we'll be able to come back stronger this year," the 25-year-old full back adds.
Under the management of Offaly man Sean White and his selectors Sean Collins, Mickey Daly and Frank Brennan, Crookedwood strung together some impressive results en route to the last four of the intermediate championship. In one of their earlier outings, they defeated Cullion by 1-10 to 1-7 with young corner forward Barry O'Meara accounting for all of their scores. O'Meara announced himself as a player of real potential in 2009, playing starring roles for both Crookedwood and the Westmeath minor team which went all the way to the Leinster semi-final where they were eventually beaten by Kilkenny.
The 'Wood made hard work of beating fellow semi-finals Fr. Dalton's by 1-10 to 0-9, having held a comfortable 1-5 to 0-2 lead at half-time thanks to a Shane Orme goal. Their biggest win of the championship came against St. Oliver Plunkett's who they blitzed by 3-17 to 0-6 with Noel Kiernan, Shane Orme and Johnny Orme all finding the net.
A 0-13 to 1-10 draw with champions-elect St. Brigid's ensured Crookedwood of their semi-final place. The sides were level on 0-7 to 1-4 at the midway stage with Philip Sheridan getting the St. Brigid's goal. Three pointed frees from Barry O'Meara in the third quarter looked to have put broken St. Brigid's resistance before the Dalystown outfit battled back to restore parity. Midfielder Antoin Savage edged Crookedwood back in front in the 57th minute, but there was still enough time for Darren Quinn to level the scoring for a final time.
The 'Wood secured top spot in the group stage when they defeated Clonkill's second string at Lakepoint Park. Corner forwards Barry O'Meara and John Yourell scored 2-4 and 2-1 respectively in a 4-8 to 2-5 win.
Crookedwood were expected to prove much too strong for Turin in their semi-final joust at Kinnegad on September 12 but, in a stunning upset, the McCabe Park outfit pulled off a famous four-point win. Turin set out their stall early when Frank Aughey split the posts after just 30 seconds. The 'Wood knew they were in a contest when they fell 0-1 to 0-3 in arrears and by the end of the first quarter, they trailed by 0-2 to 0-5.
But the favourites eventually settled to their task and points from Barry O'Meara, Shane Orme, Noel Yourell and Kevin Tormey had the teams level on 0-8 apiece at half-time.
Turin regained the initiative after the restart when they hit unanswered points in as many minutes. After Alan Aughey missed a glorious goal chance which would have stretched the underdogs' lead to seven points, Noel Yourell responded with a valuable point for Crookedwood. As Turin continued to squander some excellent chances, the 'Wood had the margin down to the minimum when, with only minutes remaining, Alan Aughey rose highest in a crowded goalmouth before finding room to score the only goal which sent Turin into the final and their supporters wild with delirium.
Crookedwood didn't have to wait long to gain a some revenge for that loss. Two weeks later at Lakepoint Park, they put their parish rivals to the sword in the junior 'B' decider.
The green, white and golds took just two minutes to get off the mark with the first of three points from Noel Kiernan. With their midfield partnership of Karl Foran and Seamus Savage to the fore, they went on to lead by 1-5 to 0-2 at the interval with the goal coming from Tom Casserly.
Further scores from Adam Mitchell, Seamus Savage and Barry O'Meara extended the 'Wood's lead to nine points before three Derek Hourihane frees reduced the leeway. A 46th minute Sean Scally goal brought Turin closer, but the 'Wood responded with two goals from Barry O'Meara in the space of four minutes to run out 15-point winners.
"We had a very successful junior 'B' campaign," Grifferty proudly reflects.
"We defeated all of the other intermediate teams - Turin, Cullion, St. Brigid's, Fr Dalton's, Southern Gaels and Delvin - in the group stage before beating Brigid's again by 5-11 to 1-4 in the semi-final. And we rounded it all off with another good win in the final."
With Castlepollard man Johnny McCormack back in the manager's seat, Crookedwood are focused on making amends for last year's disappointment in the intermediate championship. However, it looks as though they will be without Johnny Orme for a large part of the season. Orme, who has been the 'Wood's best forward over a long number of years, is facing a long layoff after recently undergoing knee surgery.
"We won't be settling for anything less than an intermediate championship this year," Damien explains.
"There was talk of us going into a new senior 'B' championship along with last year's other intermediate semi-finalists and Brownstown, but the county board decided against changing the championship structures in the end.
"The fact that no team was relegated from last year's senior championship and St. Brigid's are now gone up senior undoubtedly increases our chances of winning the intermediate championship. But you can't take anything for granted in this championship as we found out to our cost last year."
The Crookedwood team which defeated Turin in the junior 'B' championship final was: Shane McGovern; Alan O'Meara, Damien Grifferty (captain), Enda Murray; David Newman, Stephen Nulty, Damien Fulham; Karl Foran, Seamus Savage; Noel Kiernan, Ger Brennan, Adam Mitchell; Johnny Orme, Tom Casserly, Barry O'Meara. Subs used: Kevin Orme, David Kiernan, Shane Collins, Andrew Boyhan and Conor Hyland. Tweet
