For the third time in as many years, Turin made their exit from the intermediate hurling championship at the penultimate stage in 2006. The club's recent record has left long-serving attacker David 'Dickie' Geoghegan in no doubt that something extra needs to be found if senior status is to be attained in the next few years. Ten years ago Turin were defeated by Ringtown after a replay in the intermediate hurling championship final. At the time, it was widely felt that the McCabe Park outfit would bounce back to win a championship within a year or two, but sadly this never materialized and defeat at the semi-final stage has become an all too frequent experience for them. Last year, Turin lost their third semi-final in as many years and their fourth in five years. As in 2005, they were beaten by the eventual champions who in this instance were Brownstown. The signs looked very encouraging for the red and whites when they led by seven points early on, but they then went 45 minutes without registering a score and eventually succumbed to a 2-5 to 0-14 defeat. "It was very disappointing to lose in the manner we did after making such a great start. We were still a point up at half-time, but the momentum was with Brownstown by then and we couldn't get ourselves back into the game. We were guilty of taking our eye off the ball and we paid a high price for that," veteran full forward David 'Dickie' Geoghegan ruefully reflects. Sandwiched between rival clubs Clonkill, Crookedwood, Cullion, Lough Lene Gaels and Delvin, Turin have possibly the smallest pick of any of the hurling clubs in Westmeath. But despite their lack of numbers, Geoghegan remains convinced that they can win an intermediate championship and realise their dream of playing in the top flight. "In Turin, it's a battle to put teams out on the pitch all the time. We have a very small panel and if we lose anyone, we're in trouble. But having said that, we do have some good hurlers and we're capable of beating anyone at intermediate level on our day. "We have reached the last three semi-finals and the aim for this year has to be to reach the final. We need to up it when it comes to the knock-out stages in particular. There seems to be a lack of belief when we get to that stage and we need to put that right, especially as there may not be many more chances for this team," he says. Last season saw a change in management with Castlepollard man Michael Lynch succeeding former county star Mick Murtagh in the Turin hot-seat. Lynch's backroom team comprised Richie Heffernan, Paul Reville and Bernie Aughey. The red and whites had the distinction of being the only team to beat high-flying St. Brigid's in the league stages of the championship. They opened their campaign with a dramatic 3-9 to 3-8 victory over the Dalystown outfit, who also went to the semi-final where they suffered a surprise loss to Delvin. Michael Lynch's charges were brought back down to earth when losing heavily to Brownstown in their second outing at Collinstown. A point was all that separated the teams at half-time, but Brownstown outscored the McCabe Park outfit by 2-8 to 0-1 after the break to run out 2-15 to 0-8 winners. Brownstown had much of the play in the first half, but found the Turin defence hard to break down and only led by 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time. But Brownstown moved up the gears in the second half and goals from Daniel Smith and Ollie Henry broke Turin's resistance. A feature of the game was Brownstown midfielder Johnny McGuinness' accuracy from both play and from dead ball situations - he hit 0-9 in all. Rocked by that setback, Turin needed a last-gasp point from rising star Derek Hourihane to force a draw with lowly Southern Gaels in their third round clash at Cusack Park. The red and whites appeared to be staring defeat in the face after Pascal Farrell's injury-time goal, followed by an Alan Kennedy point, had given the Athlone side a shock lead. But showing the poise of a veteran, Hourihane converted a late pressure free to give Turin a 3-7 to 2-10 draw. An entertaining first half saw both sides trade scores before a magnificent Alan Aughey goal gave Turin a 1-4 to 0-5 lead at half-time. A Declan Hickey goal, allied to points from Paddy Divilly, helped Southern Gaels into a handsome four-point lead after the restart, but goals from Hourihane and Aughey restored Turin's advantage. But after conceding a late 1-1 to the Shannonsiders, Turin were relieved to earn a share of the spoils. Michael Lynch's side got back to winning ways when they edged out Cullion by 1-11 to 1-9 at St. Loman's. In what turned out to be a battle between free-takers Ray Aughey and Robbie Galvin, Turin made victory safe with a late goal from Alan Aughey. Up until then, there was never more than two points between the sides, with the lead changing hands on no fewer than four occasions. The margin was again reduced to two points at the end thanks to a Galvin goal deep in stoppage time. The Aughey brothers bagged 2-10 between them as Turin overcame Delvin by 2-13 to 1-11 to secure their place in the last four. In a game which saw father-and-son JP Scally and Sean Scally line out together in defence, Turin were full value for their win against a Delvin team that was already assured of a semi-final spot. Turin entered their semi-final against Brownstown as outsiders, but started in lightning fashion with goals from Ray Aughey and Derek Hourihane giving them the perfect platform. But they were hit with a strong resurgence from the favourites and failed to score from the 15th minute until the 50th minute, during which time Brownstown hit an unanswered 0-10. Turin's early goals saw them establish a 2-2 to 0-1 lead, but Brownstown then launched their comeback with a point from Ollie Henry. Turin replied with a Ray Aughey free, but it was all Brownstown from there until half-time with four points from the stick of Johnny McGuinness helping to reduce the deficit to the minimum, 2-3 to 0-8, at half-time. Brownstown player/manager Pat Clancy, who had entered the fray in the 26th minute, brought the Archerstown side level shortly after the restart and McGuinness gave them the lead for the first time when he converted another free in the 39th minute. McGuinness twice found the range to give Brownstown a three-point cushion, only for Turin to end their long barren spell with a point from Hourihane. Ray Aughey made it a one-point game in injury-time, but Brownstown responded with a brace of scores from Clancy and McGuinness to end Turin's dreams for another year. Success also eluded Turin at underage level, but the signs were encouraging nonetheless with the new amalgamation with Cullion (Clann Lir) looking to have a bright future. The involvement of 2005 senior champions Castlepollard in this year's intermediate championship is certain to add extra spice to what has traditionally been one of the most keenly contested championships in Westmeath GAA. While acknowledging that 'Pollard are red hot favourites to make an immediate return to the senior ranks, 37-year-old Geoghegan is refusing to rule out Turin's chances. "If 'Pollard are in the final, we've got to make sure that we're the ones facing them. The big challenge for us this year is to get over the semi-final hurdle. Losing another semi-final doesn't bear thinking about. "But there is no doubt that 'Pollard will be the team to beat. Darren McCormack and Barry Kennedy were huge losses to them last year and they will be fierce determined to bounce back," he concludes. The Turin team which faced Brownstown in the IHC semi-final was: John Gorman; Christy Doyle, JP Scally, Frank Aughey; Ronan Leavy, Barry Nea, Kevin Gilroy; Andy Corcoran, Nigel Cully; Ray Aughey, Chris Glynn, Alan Aughey; Derek Hourihane, David Geoghegan, Barry Aughey. Subs used: Sean Scally, Aidan O'Neill, Barry Foley and James McGrath. Tweet

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