Hope for the future
December 30, 2009Much like every sporting club at any level in any code across the world, a new season brings with it hopes of success and silverware.
Despite not having enjoyed the best of fortunes in recent times, it was no different for John Mitchels as the 2009 season approached, with all associated with the Ballybailie side harbouring dreams of a return to winning ways in league and championship.
According to team captain, James Clarke, the hard work put in at pre-season training fuelled the natural optimism and while the club didn't earn their reward on the field of play, he believes that with a strong underage set-up, the long term future of the club looks bright.
The return of Clarke from a spell in Australia for the beginning of the season was a huge boost for the club and he recognised a hunger in the players to succeed this year when they began training as far back as November 2008.
"We decided to get back together in November and under the guidance of John Byrne we concentrated on 7-a-side games, so we had a lot of friendlies and felt we were building up momentum.
"It was a big commitment for the lads as the 2008 season had just ended so they had no real break from football. In hindsight perhaps the players needed a longer break but I'm not sure if this had a major impact on our performances.
"From my point of view it was great to get back playing football as I had just spent three years in Australia. Although I had played a bit over there, it was nothing really competitive, so I was glad to get back to the action.
"It was a great honour for me to be appointed captain for the year and I was very proud to lead the team, although some times it was difficult to be leading a team that wasn't winning games."
Unfortunately for James it didn't prove to be a winning return as the early season hopes soon evaporated as confidence drained after the team failed to get off to a good start that is so often vital.
"I suppose we were hampered by the loss of two of our players who transferred to St Mary's. They would have been vital members of the team and it is difficult when you are a small club as we just don't have the playing resources to replace them.
"Despite that, we were determined to get off to a good start when we played Lannleire in the opening game of the league. It was a difficult start for us especially as we had to travel to Dunleer and they were expected to be among the main contenders.
"On the day we competed quite well and were in with a chance of winning the game for 50 minutes. However, they finished stronger and came out on top.
"We were encouraged by the fact that we had played reasonably well, but unfortunately we didn't build on that performance and after losing our next couple of games we were soon out of contention."
With the league out of their range in the early stages, John Mitchels were hoping to raise their game for the Junior Championship and again were looking to get off to a good start in their group.
St Kevin's provided the opposition and when the Ballybailie side once again gave a good account of themselves, they didn't get the rub of the green and the Philipstown men went home with both points.
"As with the league opener, it was disappointing not to have taken something from that game it was always going to be difficult to get back into contention in a tough group. A good start is very important in this grade and perhaps with we had won the games against Lannleire and St Kevin's, things could have been very different for us.
"If you start well it always gives everyone a lift and perhaps we could have got one or two more players back to strengthen the team once we had built up a bit of momentum.
"Instead it went the other way and when things go against the team, the interest begins to wane and you end up losing players. Again, it is difficult in a small club as there isn't the strength in depth to replace those players."
As a result of the early defeats, John Mitchels found themselves out of contention in both league and championship by the middle of the summer which didn't help their efforts.
Despite this season's difficulties, James feels that the future is bright for the team in the long-term as the thriving underage section looks certain to produce a healthy selection of players in the coming years.
"While it has been a difficult season in many ways, on the positive side we can look to the fact that the juvenile section is absolutely flying at the minute and that gives us all great encouragement.
"A lot of hard work is being done in that area at the moment and a number of teams have won their leagues or are competing very well which is a good sign.
"One of the highlights was a very strong U-14 team coming out on top in their division and that really augurs well for the future", added James.
While Clarke knows that it is great for the club to have such talent at underage level, he is fully aware of the fact that it is important to bring those players through to adult level.
"From an adult football point of view, it is going to be four of five years before those players really start to come through. As every club knows, the hard part is making the transition from juvenile to adult teams and that is the real challenge facing the club at the moment.
"I am fairly optimistic that a lot of those players will come through the ranks because the mentors at that level are working very hard and the players are being looked after very well, and as a club we couldn't ask for more.
"In the meantime we have to try to bridge the gap between the players we have now and those young lads. At times it can be difficult to keep going when we don't have success on the field, but we really have to stick at it until the good times return to the the Mitchels."
Juvenile report
The clubs Juvenile wing went from strength to strength in 2009 and built further on the good work of the previous years. All of the teams progressed and achieved at their own level
and teams were fielded at Under 7,9,10,12,13 and 14. Training began in March and the children developed remarkably over the course of the season. The clubs coaching credentials were also strengthened with Des Halpenny & Gerry Matthews receiving their Level 1 Certs and James Bradley, Tomas Durnin, Ciaran Courtney, Rory Durnin, Phil Smyth and Mark Rooney all receiving their Foundation Levels. Many thanks also to all those who took part in the GAA's Lá na gClub on Sunday May 10th. The club held a Sports Day for the Juveniles and a 7 a side competition for the Adults. A BBQ was also on site and an enjoyable day was had by all. Great praise must go to all those who organised the event and to Peter Callaghan for his generous sponsorship of the food.
Under 7's
The Under 7's made their debuts for the club in '09 and took part in the four all county blitzes held in Darver. Over the course of the season, the children made remarkable strides and there was a notable difference in their performances in the final blitz as opposed to the first.
A selection of reports from the blitzes:
John Mitchels 9 St. Kevins 3
St. Kevins and John Mitchels were well matched in this game and there was very little between the sides. All of the scoring came in the second half and Mitchels had a little more up front with Kerri Halpenny using her left foot to good effect to give them a 0-2 to 0-0 advantage at the midway stage in the half. St. Kevins replied with a point but the Ballybailie side had enough in the tank to carve out the win. Mitchels were best served by the midfield pairing of Evan Courtney and Christopher Woods.
John Mitchels 16 Naomh Mairtin 20
Another evenly matched contest full of good point scoring. An observation from this the third of the Under 7 blitzes was the noticeable progress and skill developments of the children from all the teams since Blitz 1 in May. Hannah Woods, Christopher Woods and Kerri Halpenny contributed to Mitchels tally with Ciara Skelly and Niamh Whyte always on hand to lend support and make themselves available. The versatile Jamie Durnin was also at his dependable best.
John Mitchels 13 Naomh Fionnbarra 9
A good contest between two evenly matched sides. Kerri Halpenny opened the scoring on the night and by half time Mitchels were up by two points to one. Finbars scored early in the second period but further scores from Christopher Woods and Kerri Halpenny gave the Mitchels the edge by the final whistle. Hannah Woods was strong in midfield for Mitchels with Jamie Durnin and Ciara Skelly doing well at the back. Up front Niamh Whyte made her presence known.
John Mitchels 18 St. Kevins(2) 4
The first half of this game saw both defences on top with Mitchels Kerri Halpenny grabbing the only point of the half and Ciara Skelly and Christina Roe holding firm at the back. The Ballybailie youngsters pushed on from this in the second half and further scores from Niamh Whyte, Hannah Woods and Kerri Halpenny gave them the result. Others to do well included Christopher Woods and the Courtney Brothers, Evan and Shane.
Mentors: Des Halpenny, Tomas Durnin, Ciaran Courtney
Panel: Evan Courtney, Kerri Halpenny, Hannah Woods, Christopher Woods, Ciara Skelly, Niamh Whyte, Christina Roe, Jamie Durnin, Shane Courtney
UNDER 9 2009
The Under 9's competed in three of the All County Blitzes held in Darver and gave a good account of themselves on all three occasions.
John Mitchels 23 Westerns 9
Mitchels exploded out of the blocks in this match with Trevor Matthews opening the scoring for Mitchels followed by a string of points from Sean Sweeney and Conor Horan. Westerns settled into the game and replied with two points to reduce the deficit at the break. Westerns reduced it further on the restart with a well taken point but two Sean Sweeney goals and one from Andrew Bingham cancelled it out. Mitchels relied on some good old fashioned defence work from James Reilly and Andrew Bingham at the back while up front, Conor Horan and Kerri Halpenny always looked lively.
John Mitchels 24 St. Kevins 9
In this match, it was clear that both sides recognised the value of point scoring as the goal count was zero. The first half of this game was a tight affair and ended all square at three points apiece, Andrew Bingham and Trevor Matthews(2) for the Ballybailie youngsters. Mitchels kicked into top gear in the second half with Matthews in sparkling form scoring 3 points. Sean Sweeney followed up a Kerri Halpenny shot which hit the crossbar to drive over and Andrew Bingham completed the scoring for Mitchels with a fine long range effort. Again Aine Reilly did well in goals for Mitchels with James Reilly providing the support for Andrew Bingham at the back and Conor Horan contributed bravely up front.
John Mitchels 18 Dowdallshill 10
A game of two halves as Mitchels took the first half while their opponents took the second. Trevor Matthews, Sean Sweeney and Andrew Bingham got on the scoresheet for Mitchels.
In the second half, Kerri Halpenny goaled for Mitchels with Trevor Matthews adding a point. A feature of the match was the amount of fisted scores and it is evident that these skills are being well coached in the clubs. Liam Devitt did well in goals for Mitchels, James Reilly was solid at the back with debutant Christina Roe doing well up front.
Team Mentors:Ray Sweeney, Gerry Matthews, Des Halpenny
Panel: Sean Sweeney, Andrew Bingham, Trevor Matthews, James Reilly, Conor Horan, Aine Reilly, Kerri Halpenny, Christina Roe
UNDER 10
The Under 10's competed in the OgSport Lu blitzes and the Cumann Lú Lár Theas competitions. In the U10 Cumann Lú Lár Theas Final, they defeated Sean Mc Dermotts on a scoreline of 3-6 to 2-4. They also featured in the Exhibition games at half time during the Louth V Roscommon NFL match in Drogheda on Sunday 15th March. The squad also performed well in the Ógsport blitzes.
John Mitchels 1-4 Naomh Mairtin 1-3
This was a low scoring game with little separating the sides. The Mitchels got off to a good start with two points from John Gallagher. As the Martins came more into the game, Sean Roddy struck a fine goal. This was followed by a point from Sean Sweeney. The sides were level with 1-3 apiece at half time. The second half was a close affair with the only score being a point from John Gallagher. There were fine performances in defence from Trevor Matthews and Aine Reilly, while in attack Caoimhe McCormack, Conor Horan and James Reilly worked hard throughout.
John Mitchels 3-4 Glen Emmets 3-3
This was a close encounter between two very evenly matched teams. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions throughout the game, with the John Mitchels being the eventual winners by the narrowest of margins on a scoreline. Scorers for the Mitchels on the day were John Gallagher(2-1), Eimear McCoy(1-1), Sean Sweeney(0-1) and Sean Roddy(0-1), while in defence, Andrew Bingham and Liam Devitt were strong throughout.
Mentors: Gerry Gallagher, Angela Sweeney
Panel: Andrew Bingham, Liam Devitt, John Gallagher, Conor Horan, Caoimhe Mc Cormack, Eimear Mc Coy, Trevor Matthews, Aine Reilly, James Reilly, Sean Roddy, Sean Sweeney, Sarah Woods and Niamh Tenanty
Eimear Mc Coy also represented the club in the "Parade of Clubs" at Louth GAA's 125 Celebrations at the Senior Championship Final..
UNDER 12
The Under 12's also took part in the OgSport Lu Blitzes and the Cumann Lu lar Theas competitions and were unfortunate to be defeated in the Cumann Final in June. Naomh Fionnbarra were the opponents on June 16th in Stabannon. From the start it was clear that the Mitchels were the underdogs in terms of physical strength, yet these brave bunch of lads and girls took to the pitch with a strong wind behind them in the first half and showed that they meant business. From the whistle, they looked like a team that had a point to prove, and were first to every ball in the opening fifteen minutes. The midfield duo of Gareth Kane and Shane Crosson produced some fine examples of high catching and good support play and along with the half forward line of Shannon Durnin, Fergal Horan and Calvin Gonnelly who marked their Togher counterparts out of the game, ensured that traffic was in one direction only. Sean Roddy took the first point, Gareth Kane added another, before Sean tacked on his second. John Gallagher then scored a point from a free before adding a further goal and a point from play. Gareth Kane added two more points from frees to leave the score 1-7 to no score. However, Togher showed why they made it to the final, and attacked strongly in the dying minutes of the first half. In spite of the best efforts of a very hard working set of backs, David Whyte, Andrew Bingham, Caitlín Rogan and Cathal Mc Coy, Togher earned two goals for their efforts, leaving the half time score 1-7 to 2-0.
The second half saw Togher come out very strongly and shortly afterward found the net to bring the sides even closer. Togher dominated much of the play for the first ten minutes of this half. The Mitchel's defence was further strengthened by moving Fergal Horan from forwards to full back, and from that point, aided by the other hard working backs, no more goals went past our fine keeper, David Anderson who made some great saves. With the help of the strong breeze Togher tacked on a further 0-5 to their tally, while the Mitchels were only able to manage one point from Gareth Kane which left them trailing by three points, the score, with a few minutes remaining was 1-8 to 3-5. In the dying minutes of the game, with options quickly running out, the ball was sent up the left wing, and John Gallagher managed to get to it first, rounded his player and sent a great ball into the hands of Sean Roddy who blasted it into the net, a very well worked goal by two of the youngest members on the pitch, leaving the full time score a draw, 2-8 for the Mitchels, 3-5 to Togher. Additional time of 5 minutes per half began shortly afterwards, and the Mitchels won the toss and opted to play with the breeze. They managed two points while Togher got one, leaving the Mitchel's one point up. In the final period of extra time Togher tacked on a further two points while despite valiant efforts by everyone in a red and white jersey, including a wonderful diving block from our youngest U9 player Andrew Bingham, which earned him great cheers from the enthralled spectators, the Mitchel's just couldn't manage to get the equaliser, in a game which neither side deserved to lose. Final score John Mitchel's 2-10 Togher 3-8. However, the Mitchel's can hold their heads high, and be proud of their very spirited and talented performance which was undoubtedly, their best one yet. Their mentors Mairead McCoy and Margaret Comey are very proud to be associated with such a fine talented bunch of players.
Final Score:John Mitchels 2-10 Naomh Fionnbarra 3-8
Mentors: Mairead Mc Coy, Margaret Comey
Panel: David Anderson, David Whyte, Andrew Bingham, Caitlín Rogan, Cathal McCoy, Gareth Kane, Shane Crosson, Shannon Durnin, Fergal Horan, Calvin Gonnelly, Sean Roddy, John Gallagher and Ciaran Roddy.
UNDER 13 2009
The Under 13's enjoyed a great run to the final of the U13 League and played some good football along the way. Following wins over the Seans/Westerns combination, Dundalk Gaels and Hunterstown, they qualified to meet Roche Emmets in the semi final. This was a tight encounter between two good sides with the Ballybailie lads just shading it in the end. Both teams swopped score for score over the course of the game in a very entertaining match. David Anderson, Eoin O'Malley, Gareth Kane, Neil Reilly, Kevin Gallagher and Shane Crossan were excellent on the night. Onto the final against St. Josephs in Darver on 26th August and despite a gallant effort, the Mitchels lads found it difficult to get into the game at the start and went in 2-4 to 1-2 in arrears at half time. Full credit to the team they reduced the deficit to the minimum halfway through the second half through a Kevin Gallagher goal but a powerful finish from St. Josephs ensured the Dromiskin outfit took the spoils.
Final Score: John Mitchels 2-6 St. Josephs 3-13
Scorers: Mikey Nulty 1-3, Kevin Gallagher 1-2, Aaron Keely 0-1
As a result of their performances in the U13 competition, Kevin Gallagher, Neil Reilly and Mitchell Keenan were chosen to represent their region in the U13 Regional Competition.
Mentors: Jimmy Reilly, Alan Mc Cormack
UNDER 14
The clubs Under 14 squad won their first ever Louth Under 14 League when they proved too strong for Eire Óg in the final on 13th August in Darver. The first 10 minutes of the game was nip and tuck with both sides notching up early scores. As the half progressed, Mitchels increased the pressure and goals from Brendan Mc Donnell and Mitchell Keenan gave them a commanding lead at the break.
Eire Óg to their credit showed great heart in the second half and battled on and were rewarded with an early goal. Mitchels however took control of the game and notched on further goals from Conor Reilly, Brendan Mc Donnell and Ryan Cahill to secure the cup for the Ballybailie youngsters. Dylan Crawley, Johnny Durnin, Eoin O'Malley, Jamie Curtis, Gareth Kane and Cathal Bradley did well at the back repelling many Eire Og attacks. Conor Reilly and Cillian Crossan were safe at midfield while all of the forwards got on the scoresheet.
Final Score: John Mitchels 6-20 Eire Óg 2-5
Scorers: Conor Reilly 2-3, Kevin Gallagher 0-7, Brendan McDonnell 2-1, Jake Stewart 0-4, Mitchell Keenan 1-1, Ryan Cahill 1-0, Aaron Kiely 0-3, Neil Reilly 0- 1
Six weeks later the club captured their first underage championship and in doing so completed the second half of the double. Following wins over St. Nicholas and Dundalk Gaels, the team again qualified to meet Eire Óg in the final on September 28th in Darver. There were some nailbiting moments at the end but a crucial save from Dylan Crawley in the Mitchels goal in injury time coupled with a Jake Stewart goal a minute later secured the win. Mitchels started with the wind on their backs and opened up a three point lead after three minutes courtesy of Conor Reilly, Mikey Nulty and Kevin Gallagher. Eire Óg responded well and struck for a goal and a point in the fifth and sixth minute to take the lead.Two frees and a '45 from Kevin Gallagher added to two fine points from Jake Stewart gave the Ballybailie lads a four point advantage at the break.
Eire Óg came right back into after the interval and hit four unanswered points to square it up, but Mitchels got the boost they needed through a Mikey Nulty goal in the 10th minute. The game remained scoreless until injury time due to some staunch defending from both sides. As Eire Óg pushed hard for the goal that would take the game to extra time, Dylan Crawley made the vital save and Jake Stewart capped the night off with a three pointer. The final whistle was greeted with great celebrations in the Mitchels camp and Captain Conor Reilly proudly accepted the clubs first Championship trophy at this grade.
Final score: John Mitchels 2-8 Eire Óg 1-5
Scorers: Jake Stewart 1-2, Mikey Nulty 1-1, Kevin Gallagher 0 - 4, Conor Reilly 0-1
On an individual note, Dylan Crawley, Jake Stewart, John Devitt, Conor Reilly and Cathal Bradley are currently with the Louth U14 Development Squad. Conor Reilly and Jake Stewart(both Ardee CS) and John Devitt(DLS Dundalk) also won Louth Colleges U14 & 16 honours respectively with their schools and Cillian Crossan was highly commended at the Louth GAA Gaeltacht Scholarships. Conor Reilly also reached the Finals of the Louth GAA U14 Sharkeys Sports Skills Challenge in October and performed admirably.
Mentors: Jimmy Reilly, John Durnin
Panel: Dylan Crawley, Johnny Durnin, John Devitt, Jamie Curtis, Ryan Cahill, Cathal Bradley, Barry Kirk, Conor Reilly, Neil Reilly, Jake Stewart, Mitchel Keenan, Kevin Gallagher, Cillian Crossan, Brendan McDonnell, Ciaran McCormack, Aaron Kiely, Cathal McCoy, Conall Keenan, Gary Awylward, Gareth Kane, Eoin O Malley Tweet
