Junior 'B' success for Cullion
April 30, 2011Following a less than satisfactory year in the intermediate championship when Cullion lost all five of their group games in the campaign, it was left to the Junior 'B' side to pick up the pieces, but they were not the only side in the club to impress this year.
For the past few years there has been a greater emphasis on the club's underage structure and the hard work has begun to pay off as the maroon and whites are competing at the business end of many campaigns.
People like Gerry Gillen and Jim Bob Baker have been doing exceptional work with the club's kids, but they are not alone in this respect as the club have many mentors looking after the various teams.
Club secretary Brendan Earley spoke to 'Maroon & White' about the work that has been done at underage level, while he also points to the significance of winning the Junior B title.
There were high hopes for Cullion's intermediates this year and a genuine belief that they could reach the knockout stages of the championship, but they campaign got off to a bad start and they never recovered from this.
"It was a disappoint year with regards to the intermediate team. Not winning a game is just not good enough and fair play to the management team of Frank McGrath and John Shaw, they kept plugging away, but when you can never get your strongest side out, then you are always facing an uphill battle," said Brendan.
The disappointment of the intermediate campaign was eased considerably by the form of the junior B side as they looked impressive through the championship. The campaign started with a draw against Southern Gaels, but was soon followed by a defeat to Crookedwood.
However, they soon got back on track and wins over Turin, Fr Dalton's and Delvin earned the maroon and whites a place in the semi final. A seven point win over Turin at the penultimate stage booked Cullion's place in the final, where they would face Crookedwood, the only side to beat them in the campaign.
Played ahead of the senior hurling final between Clonkill and Raharney, the decider put the players of Cullion and Crookedwood centre stage and they didn't disappoint in what was an exhilarating contest.
Life has been tough for Cullion in recent years, since the highs of their terrific senior hurling campaign in 2001. But they will go into next year's intermediate hurling championship with some silverware as a helpful starting point.
Goals from Frank Shaw and James Whyte propelled Cullion into a commanding 2-3 to 1-0 lead at the break, with a major from Noel Kiernan the only score coming from the men in green, white and gold.
Despite losing player-manager John Shaw to a red card early in the second moiety, Cullion stood firm, but a late goal from Crookedwood sub Brian McLoughlin put the cat among the pigeons.
But McLoughlin was himself dismissed moments later, and the 'Wood never gained the momentum needed to snatch the title at the death.
Midway through the second half, Michael Savage shot over his first point of the game, but a decent score from Robbie Galvin meant that the Maroons continued to frustrate any Crookedwood comeback efforts.
Key for the 'Wood at this juncture was sub, Brian McLoughlin. He showed tremendous pace on 48, breaching the Cullion defence and almost slotting a rolling sliothar past Pio Kelleghan, but the Cullion net minder managed to knock it out for a 65', which was duly scored by Michael Savage.
Galvin notched up another free for Cullion, but McLoughlin responded in kind, underlining his presence with a spectacular score from distance.
With five minutes to go, another dead ball effort from Savage reduced the arrears to five points. Cullion held on and looked poised for the win, but on the stroke of sixty minutes, Noel Kiernan stunned the Maroons by crashing a low shot to the bottom right-hand corner of the Cullion net.
Deep into stoppage time, Cullion finally ended the 'Wood's ambitions, with yet another Robbie Galvin free following a yellow card for Crookedwood's Enda Murray, putting a three-point margin between the sides.
After the full time whistle, Willie Murphy, chairman of Westmeath Hurling Board, presented Cullion captain Stephen Bourke with the junior 'B' cup.
"It was a massive boost to win the junior B. In fairness, it could have gone either way, but the lads showed great character and we were delighted to win the championship. We last won that competition in 2004 and hopefully we can use it as a stepping stone for next year."
Brendan admitted that there are high hopes that the intermediate side can progress in 2011 under the guidance of a new management and the assurance from some player to give the right commitment.
"We have Dan Bourke as manager and Denis Corroon and Robbie Galvin as selectors, so we're confident that with all their experience they can get the best out of the lads. We also hope to have a number of lads back that haven't played in the last few years.
"The intermediate is a tough championship to win, but we feel that we can at least make the knockout stages that will be our target anyway."
Unfortunately, the club lost one of its greatest characters and former players last year when Thomas 'Tosser' Houlihan passed away. Tosser won a senior championship medal with Pearses before going on to line out for Cullion.
Brendan revealed that the club is continuing their hard work at underage level and following an appearance in last year's under-14 final, they are confident of progressing further this year.
"We hadn't an under-16 or minor team for a couple of years now, but we hope to have one this year, while we hope to compete for honours at most levels in 2011."
For the record the Cullion side that captured the Junior B title was: Pio Kelleghan; John Shaw, James McGrath, Kevin Reynolds; Stephen Bourke (captain), Jamie Shaw, Hugh McConnell; Mark Keane, David Reynolds; Derek Kerrigan, Frank Shaw, Vincent Conneely; Ger Behan, James Whyte, Robbie Galvin. Subs used: Jimmy Kelly, Denis Reynolds, Stephen Earley.
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