Emmets made their mark
December 31, 2010year for the Tullyallen club.
It was a really good year for Glen Emmets. The Red & Greens came very close to winning the JFC and also battled bravely for Division Three honours, going head-to-head with St Fechins at the top of the table all year. The Tullyallen men finished second in the table, unbeaten from their twelve outings. They beat Hunterstown Rovers in their play-off semi-final but were beaten by an injury-time point by Naomh Fionnbarra in the play-off decider as the season dragged on and on, images of pumpkins bountiful and fog in the air, leaves falling like ancient, forgotten kingdoms.
Having put together such a superb JFC campaign, the team had kept going strong as winter closed in and they deserve great credit for this. Trainer Brian Carroll headed up a management team that also included Seamus Mullen and Robert Murray. Working in conjunction with Leo Ryan, the latter also trained and coached the club's U16s (winners of the Division 2B championship) and minors. Considering that Glen Emmets also reached the semi-final stage of the junior 2B championship and got to the Division 4B final, and had representatives in most county squads, it was certainly a busy and accomplished year on all fronts.
The target for 2010 was promotion through either the league or championship, either to Division Two or into the intermediate championship for 2011. The players set about their task accordingly and made a valiant effort. In the championship, they were in Group A along with Westerns and Naomh Fionnbarra. After showing well in the Kevin Mullen Shield, losing to Sean McDermotts at the semi-final stage (3-11 to 2-4), Glen Emmets opening their JFC account with a facile 2-20 to 1-6 victory over the Reaghstown men at Ardee before inflicting a 2-12 to 0-12 defeat on would-be champions Naomh Fionnbarra to finish top of the group.
At the quarter-final stage, Dowdallshill were beaten by 1-11 to 0-4 at Ballybailie with the following men on duty: Fergus Barnett; Danny Whyte, Danny Grimes (0-2), Colin Carolan; Stephen Murphy, Stephen Healy, David Bracken; Gordon Healy, Ronan Grufferty (0-1); Tom Grimes, Paul McGroarty (1-0), Martin Morgan; Keith Rooney (0-3), Eamon Mullen (0-3), Eamonn Taaffe. Subs: Andrew Mooney, Mark Noone (0-2), Keith Farnan, Derek Johnston.
Sean McDermotts struck late to snatch a 0-9 to 1-6 draw in the original JFC semi-final at Ardee and then recorded a 3-9 to 1-10 semi-final replay win at Ballybailie to end Glen Emmets' championship dreams. They had given it a good shot and were very unlucky not to get through to the county final. To their credit, the players kept plugging away and finished their league campaign unbeaten and, as runners-up in Division Three (just two points behind the winners, St Fechins) defeated Hunterstown by 1-17 to 1-8 in their play-off semi-final, having trailed by five points with as many minutes remaining. Promotion remained within their grasp…
Reflecting on the campaign, Robert Murray says: "When I sit here now and look back at the year, if I look at the facts, we were only beaten once in league and championship all year - in the junior championship semi-final replay to Sean McDermotts - that is encouraging. But four draws in Division Three cost us dearly [for automatic promotion], two of which were late scores to secure a draw.
"We came close in the play-offs to finishing the year on a massive high. Our only goal, as with every other junior club, is to get out of the grade and consolidate intermediate status for as long as possible. With our current underage structure going well, it's vital for the young players we produce today that they play in as high a grade as they can as soon as is possible after they leave Emmets' juvenile set-up.
"Despite our junior tag and status, I am very confident that we can move forward, and a special emphasis will be placed on our underage structure in the coming years. We have some great young players at the moment with great potential and a few more on the way in the coming years, but it's up to all at the club to make sure we put in place the structures and coaching needed for these players to fulfil that potential."
How good was the response from the players in 2010? "I believe the response from players was very good and attendance levels at training were maintained well. From certain players, it was nothing short of professional, their dedication to their own conditioning and fitness levels. But I would ask all players on our squad for 2011 to know that the only way our goals will be achieved is by 100% dedication, commitment and sacrifice and a hardcore approach to fitness levels. Numbers are - and have been for some time - excellent at our club with on average 25 training for the adult team."
How difficult was it to go so close in the JFC and then miss out? "For me it was very difficult to come to terms with a second failed attempt at reaching the junior final in 2010. This year, we came closer than ever. With time up in Ardee, we had one foot in the junior decider, but as we all know it's the final whistle that counts and the rest is history. I believe promotion to Division Two is the most important thing now as only five games will be played in the championship but your bread and butter is your eleven or twelve league games during the year."
Why does Robert think Glen Emmets came up a little short in the championship? "Team selection and continuity were contributing factors along with fitness levels throughout the year." Has he nonetheless been encouraged by the league form? "Yes, very much so. But the Division Three league is nearly two-tier at this stage with the top six losing very few games. At times, the standard of football in the league is very poor, but when all is said and done, we were unbeaten in league football in 2010 so you have to be happy with that.
"I believe that every year our young players play they get wiser and stronger, and with the basis of the team being under 25 we can look forward with optimism. But to move forward, I think we need to place great emphasis now on the coaching of our underage teams, as every year our juvenile set-up must produce a number of high quality adult players if success is to be achieved and maintained. Failure, as they say, is never fatal and success is never permanent, so the hard work must and will continue with all teams at all grades at Glen Emmets GFC."
The club had a number of players involved with various Louth squads in 2010. David Bracken was with the seniors and juniors, while Daniel Grimes was on the Wee County minor team. Conor Grimes and Keith Boylan were with the Louth U16s and the Louth U14 squad included Conor Kelly and Ben Hilliard. The Glen Emmets second team also did well, which is a further sign of progress:
"This year we got to the Division 2B semi-final, which is a mark of how our club is growing. A few years ago, we had to take lads off the street to field in this competition. This year, our minor team and a good few lads off our Division 4B squad made up the team. I don't believe it's vital or anyone's goal at the start of the year to win this competition … it's more a bonus to get as far as you can.
"Glen Emmets' ladies also got to the semi-final of both the junior league and junior championship under the guidance of Davy Cusack and Mark Noone. I'd like to thank both of them for their hard work and dedication to ladies football at our club." Tweet
