Number eight in sight
April 30, 2010Since their last success, the Collinstown outfit have lost a further four county finals, which is a difficult statistic to overcome. However, former player Brendan Williams, who is beginning his second year as manager of the side, is confident that bad run can be brought to an end in the very near future.
The Gaels have gone through something of a transition period over the last few years, although the experience of Mark Briody, Martin Williams, Christo Murtagh and David Cunningham has been vital to the club during this time.
Fortunately for the Gaels, they have unearthed some exceptionally talent and young players like Jimmy Boyle, Padraig Fitzsimons, Niall Conaty and Stephen Bardon made their mark on the 2009 campaign.
At the outset of the championship, many would have tipped Lough Lene Gaels to reach a quarterfinal or semi final at most.
However, a supreme effort from the squad and the management team defied the odds and they went one step further by reaching the county final. Clonkill may have triumphed on this occasion, but the Gaels went a long way to eradicating the memory of the painful defeat to the same opposition in the 2007 decider.
First up for the Gaels was a meeting with old rivals Brownstown and the former were strong favourites to win this match, although that was certainly not the case.
"Brownstown really put it up to us, especially in the first half, but once we settled down, we found our form and edged through. I think we took them for granted and were a bit complacent. This was a lesson to some of the younger lads, which hopefully they have learned from," said Brendan.
The win saw Lough Lene move into the winners' group alongside Raharney, Castlepollard and St Oliver Plunketts. Three teams would advance to the knockout stages, but even still competition for a semi final spot was fierce.
Plunketts provided the opposition for the opening group match. The town outfit have been knocking on the door for a few years now and always pose a threat. Nonetheless, the Gaels laid down a considerable marker by inflicting a heavy defeat on the green and whites.
"We played very well against Plunketts. They never got a chance to settle and we got some great scores against them. It really gave us the confidence needed to go on."
The manner of the 2-14 to 1-7 victory over Plunketts proved that Williams' charges were genuine contenders for the title, but if the opposition sat up and took notice after that victory then their next win really put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Defending champions Raharney had defeated Clonkill in the opening round and were immediately installed as favourites for the title. Following a one-point win over Castlepollard in the last round, Raharney like the Gaels were just one win away from a semi final spot and the Deelsiders were expected to book their place in the last four, but the Collinstown outfit produced one of the performances of the year to win by five points on a scoreline of 2-15 to 1-13.
"We didn't fear Raharney and knew that we could beat them. They were the county champions, so the pressure was on them more than us. Some of the younger lads played very well that day.
"There has been a good few coming through in the last few years and that augurs well for the future. The main thing is to keep them interested and hopefully they stay around too."
The win over Raharney virtually guaranteed the Gaels a place in the semi final, even though they still had one group game to play and that was against their neighbours and fierce rivals Castlepollard.
As always this was a tough encounter and not one for the faint hearted, both sides went for the win and it was the blue and golds that emerged victorious to book their place in the quarterfinal.
A win for Castletown-Geoghegan over Pollard in the last eight clash meant that the black and ambers would face the Gaels in the semi final. In recent years, Castletown have dominated the underage scene and there is a belief in the county that they will be winning senior titles again in the not too distant future.
The scene was set for an intriguing affair and that's exactly what it turned out to be as both sides produced arguably the most exciting match of the campaign.
It was virtually impossible to predict the outcome of this match right up to the final whistle, but the Gaels held their nerve to book their place in the final where they would meet a Clonkill side that easily defeated Raharney in the other semi final.
Lough Lene Gaels found themselves with the underdogs tag once again, but this was a situation that they had become accustomed too and they certainly didn't fear their opponents.
"We have no reason to fear anybody in the county as on our day, we are a match for any of them. Clonkill are a very good team and they have proved that but like all sides they are there to be beaten."
The final was a tense affair as the teams cancelled each other out early on. Clonkill took the game by the scruff of the neck with some excellent scores, but the Gaels hung in there and split the posts with considerable ease.
As the game wore on, it was Clonkill's experience that was the main difference between the sides and they ran out 1-16 to 2-9 winners on the day.
"It was very disappointing to lose the final, it always is, but we have to look at the positives and work on them for this year. Hopefully we can go one step further. The same core of players are there this year, although Mark Briody is off travelling at the moment and we're hoping to have him back in the summer."
The scheduling of matches or the lack of it in this case is a problem that concerns Brendan as the championship usually takes a back seat to the county team during the summer, meaning that a club side can go six weeks without a competitive match.
"That is a major problem at the moment. It's very hard to keep the momentum going during that time. You can train and play all the challenges you want, but you need competitive games to keep the tempo going.
"The championship is on a decent format at the moment and clubs get plenty of games although the standard amongst the weaker teams is not great. There needs to be an overhaul within the county to bring the standard up."
The year did not pass without Lough Lene picking up some silverware as their junior team powered their way to the 'A' championship in emphatic style.
Seven wins out of seven saw them reach the semi final with considerable ease. Plunkett's stood in their way of a place in the decider and the Gaels clinically disposed of the town team to set up a meeting with Clonkill a week before the senior final.
A strong Gaels side notched up 16 points during the course of the hour as the Loughegar outfit only managed 2-6 in reply to see the cup head to the banks of Lough Lene. Tweet
