Though their bid for a famous double faltered against Dundalk Gaels in the 2003 Louth IFC final, Oliver Plunketts did capture major silverware in the shape of the county minor football championship - a significant success for the famous Drogheda club. Oliver Plunketts were the best minor team in Louth in 2003. The Plunketts U18s confirmed their superiority when defeating Baile Talun by 2-6 to 0-10 in a gripping county MFC final at St Brigid's Park, Dowdallshill on Sunday September 21st, bringing the Larry Murray Cup home to Drogheda's Slane Road for the second time. The Tallanstown combination were themselves gunning for their second county crown in three years and looked to be firmly on course when leading by 0-5 to no score as the decider ebbed into first-half injury time. Plunketts were then awarded a penalty which David Boylan confidently converted to open their scoring and initiate a rousing comeback which would culminate in a deserved two-point success. As the senior final between the Marys and the Pats finished in a draw, it was the minor stars of Oliver Plunketts who commanded the headlines in the aftermath of county final day. And all the praise was fully merited! The GM Systems Furniture Wee County minor football decider took its traditional place as the SFC final curtain-raiser, with a 1.45 throw-in on the third Sunday of September. The minor game lived up to its billing, contributing handsomely to one of the most memorable days in Louth's GAA year. Plunketts and Baile Talun were equally determined to succeed Valley Rangers as county minor champions and the final was every bit as close, exciting and tense as widely predicted. Ultimately, it could have gone either way, but the Plunketts lads demonstrated greater resolve and dug deepest when it mattered most. Both teams went into the decider with glowing credentials. Plunketts accounted for St Nicholas and Na Piarsaigh to set up an all-Drogheda semi-final against Newtown Blues, who were ousted by a single point, 1-10 to 2-6, in a thrilling encounter. Tallanstown, meanwhile, backboned by county minor heroes Trevor O'Brien and Conor Sheridan, had seen off the might of Clan Na Gael, Valley Rangers and St Marys (after a replay) en route to the final and the 2001 champions were slight favourites to regain the MFC. But the Plunketts lads weren't about to roll over for anyone... While the win was greeted with pure euphoria, the celebrations after the final whistle were slightly restrained, as many of the Plunketts stars would also feature in the county intermediate final a fortnight later. They would dominate much of that match territorially but a lack of ruthlessness in front of the posts would consign the Slane Road men to a disappointing 1-6 to 1-4 defeat, depriving the club of a magnificent double and a place in senior football (though that avenue remained open as they were still in an excellent position in Division 2A at the time of writing...). But the minor campaign was a success story all the way! After an inauspicious start, Plunketts only really got going in the second half, sparked to life by Boylan's penalty goal just before the short whistle. The would-be winners failed to settle early on and trailed by three points after only six minutes. This was a frustrating period for Plunketts - Boylan thought he had opened their account from a free but the ball was adjudged to have gone outside the post much to the obvious dismay of the powerful centre forward. The deficit was four when Plunketts goalkeeper Keith Martin made an excellent save from Kevin Moran to deny Baile Talun what looked a certain goal but the Drogheda side slipped further adrift when Conor Sheridan's long-range effort rather fortuitously bounced over the bar. Plunketts had no such luck at the other end: Fergal Reilly collected possession from Colm Hanlon, only for his rasping drive to come back off the crossbar. Four minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half, Tom Boylan's team finally made an impact on the scoreboard ... and this time fortune was very much on their side. When Bryan O'Neill's shot was blocked, Baile Talun looked set to clear their lines but the referee noticed an infringement that most other people in the ground failed to spot and signalled for a penalty. The Plunketts had come too far in the competition to look a gift horse in the mouth and Boylan calmly fired the ball to the net from the resultant spot-kick. Having looked in trouble, Oliver Plunketts were only two points behind at the short whistle, 0-5 to 1-0. The goal was a real fillip and they came out for the second half brimming with newfound confidence and belief. Within five minutes of the resumption, they were level. Two more points from Boylan and one from industrious midfielder Bryan O'Neill brought the Maroons right back into it with 25 minutes remaining, 1-3 to 0-6. The No.9 started at full forward but really came into his own after reverting to his more customary position in the second half, winning an abundance of possession and kicking three superb points from play. Plunketts took the lead for the first time with a stunning goal twelve minutes into the second half: fifteen-year-old Sean Brassil's long delivery was gathered by Cian Matthews who wasted no time in sending an unstoppable shot to the back of the Baile Talun net. What a transformation! Plunketts had outscored their opponents by 2-3 to 0-1 in a match-winning twelve-minute spell and now led by three clear points. Anthony Durnin registered an excellent Baile Talun point before Boylan (free) swapped points with Garrett Moran. When O'Neill scored his second point, Plunketts led by 2-5 to 0-8, but two Talun points in a minute again reduced the differential to the minimum. As the game galloped to a rousing climax, the winners missed a few decent scoring opportunities before Man of the Match O'Neill delivered the last score of the 2003 Louth minor football championship. The midfielder's point came three minutes from the end. Even though wing back Robbie Bennett was sent off a minute from time for a second yellow card, nothing was going to take the gloss off this magnificent victory. While much of the celebrating had to be put on hold until after the intermediate final, this was an extraordinary win for Oliver Plunketts, for whom full back Francis Daly was also outstanding. It had been seven years since the club's previous minor championship. That 1996 triumph was the only MFC to be won by a Drogheda club in 28 years Oliver Plunketts, 2003 Louth minor football champions: Keith Martin; Donal O'Dowd, Francis Daly, Jason Finnegan; Robbie Bennett, Brian McKenna, Niall Clinton; Colm Hanlon, Bryan O'Neill (0-3); Sean Brassil, David Boylan (1-3), Neil Mallon; Cian Matthews (1-0), Fergal Reilly, Damian Tuite. Subs: Graham Reynolds, Ciaran Floody Double dream dashed in decider Oliver Plunketts' dream of an epic 2003 championship double came unstuck at The Grove on Saturday October 5th when Dundalk Gaels defeated the Slane Road side in a low-scoring IFC final. From the start of the season, the Plunketts were determined to increase Drogheda's senior representation and, accordingly, they made a brave bid for intermediate honours, blazing through to the final in impressive fashion. However, at Castlebellingham on the first Sunday of October, they failed to do themselves justice, serving up a below-par display that never really looked like plundering the silverware. Unfortunately, it was a classic case of saving the worst til last. Plunketts left their shooting boots at home on the big day. They failed to settle into anything remotely approaching their rhythm and hit an unbelievable 15 wides, not all of which could be attributed to the wintery conditions. It was agonising - despite their poor display, the Maroons still only lost by two points, 1-6 to 1-4. However, all in all, the Plunketts' performances in the intermediate championship over the course of the year had been extremely impressive and, at the time of writing, they still had an excellent change of salvaging promotion to the top grade via the league. Either way, there's every reason to look forward to 2004 with confidence aplenty. Oliver Plunketts were in Group B of the 2003 Louth IFC, alongside O'Raghallaighs, Naomh Fionnbarra, Geraldines and Sean McDermotts. Even though it was an exceptionally difficult section, they progressed to the business end of the competition with a magnificent 100% record. Plunketts kicked off their campaign with a superb 0-20 to 0-5 defeat of Sean McDermotts at Castlebellingham on Saturday May 31st. Emmet Kelleher set the winners on their way with a point after only 20 seconds and they went on to establish a 0-7 to 0-4 interval advantage. Ravaged by injury, the Seans were completely overpowered in the second half as the winners simply cut loose. Plunketts had a 'bye' for Round II but resumed their demanding programme against Naomh Fionnbarra in Drogheda on July 3rd. It took the men in maroon a long time to settle into their stride but they eventually produced some jaw-dropping football to carve out a wonderful 1-14 to 2-6 win. A full 25 minutes had elapsed by the time the Plunketts registered their second score and they trailed by six points seven minutes after the re-start. A Gerry Maher goal started the revival and the remarkable recovery was completed thanks to excellent performances from Emmet Kelleher, Martin Connor, David Boylan and John Kermath. In Ardee on July 27th, Geraldines were edged out, 1-7 to 1-3. Victory meant the Drogheda club was guaranteed a place in the knock-out stage of the competition, but their final preliminary game against neighbours O'Raghallaighs was a significant one as the winners would finish as group winners, thereby booking a semi-final rather than a quarter-final spot. The 'group decider' took place on Thursday August 7th at Newtown Blues' pitch and the Slane Road men were made to fight all the way for the narrowest of victories, 1-12 to 2-8. It was an epic encounter between two great Drogheda sides but the Plunketts prevailed thanks in no small measure to five points from Martin Connor and three from Justin Byrne. Conor Walsh netted the all-important goal. Boasting a perfect 100% record, Plunketts went into their semi-final meeting with O'Connells brimming with confidence. The Kilsaran/Castlebellingham combination were well beaten at Dunleer on Saturday September 6th, 1-9 to 0-7, and Plunketts were now 60 minutes away from IFC honours. When the club's minors brilliantly accounted for Baile Talun to capture the county MFC, all the talk in the clubhouse - and indeed all over the Wee County - was centred around the distinct possibility of an unforgettable Oliver Plunketts double. But it wasn't to be... Tweet

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