Gerry Robinson reflects on how, in 2002, Mattock Rangers captured the Louth senior football championship for the first time ever, an achievement that was as meritorious as it was notable. The Collon men were the best in the Wee County all year . . . never before has the Joe Ward Cup found a more suitable home! Mighty Mattock Rangers carved their name indelibly into Wee County GAA history at Pairc Mhuire on the evening of Sunday September 15th when they defeated St Brides by 2-11 to 1-11 to clinch the Louth Senior Football Championship for the first time. A huge Collon contingent made the short trek north along the N3 to the Ardee venue and bore witness to a real Once In A Lifetime occasion as the Red and Blacks conquered their Knockbridge opponents in a decider that was high on quality from start to finish. It was a novel pairing, a final that sent a breath of fresh air blowing across the Wee County's hitherto stagnant GAA landscape. Mattock and the Brides produced most of the best football that was played over the course of the 2002 SFC and made it through to the decider on merit, demonstrating no respect for tradition of fear of reputation. Mattock were clear favourites for the final. In the league section of the competition, they had marched through decidedly-difficult Group A with maximum points from their jousts with Cooley Kickhams, Stabannon Parnells and neighbours St Mary's. Naomh Mairtin and Clan Na Gael were duly dispatched in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively as Brendan Reilly's rampant charges booked a second successive county final appearance. Collon had misfired in the 2001 showpiece against Newtown Blues and were intent on setting that particular record straight. Thus, they were a full year further along their learning curve than the Brides. Men on a Mission. They were simply not going to be denied. Mattock's greater experience of the big occasion certainly told in the first half as they somehow managed to steal an interval lead despite having played second fiddle for much of the opening half-hour. Shane Grimes' stoppage time goal was the crucial score of the half ... and probably of the match. Grimes' timely strike gave the Mattock men a two-point interval lead, 1-5 to 0-6. A second goal - from Mark Brennan 17 minutes into the second half - eased the Collon outfit five points clear and effectively ended the game as a contest. When the Knockbridge representatives responded with a goal from substitute Paul Devlin, David Reid reeled off three unanswered points for Mattock, who comprehensively banished the memory of the previous year's county final defeat with a perfect 2002 campaign (six wins from six potentially-treacherous outings). Rangers booked their place in a second consecutive final when accounting for traditional powerbrokers Clan Na Gael is a tricky semi-final at Dunleer on the Sunday evening of August 18th. It was a magnificent victory over a resurgent Clans side with the familiar smell of ultimate victory in their nostrils once more. But Mattock brought some chloroform to the party... Despite only scoring two second-half points, Brendan Reilly's team had provided the platform for success with a sound first-half display and held on for a narrow 1-10 to 1-7 victory. Now it was time to break the hoodoo. The 2002 county final was Mattock's FIFTH appearance on the big stage and they had faltered on all four previous occasions. They fell to Newtown Blues in both the 2001 and 1962 showpieces and also suffered two county final defeats at the hands of Cooley Kickhams (in 1973 and '76). That's all forgotten now though... The eventual champions made light work of being pitted in Group A - dubbed the Group of Death - alongside Cooley Kickhams, St Mary's and Stabannon Parnells, all regular Joe Ward winners. Stabannon Mattock's all-conquering 2002 campaign began with a convincing 2-11 to 0-9 defeat of Stabannon Parnells on Saturday June 1st. The game was part of a Group A double-header at Dunleer, which also saw St Mary's draw with Cooley. Mattock stormed to the top of the table with a tremendous first-half performance that yielded excellent goals from David Reid and Shane Grimes. Reid added three points to his tally and Mark Brennan finished the evening with four points to his credit. The degree to which Stabannon were outbattled was emphasised by Pat Butterly's second-half penalty which flew harmlessly wide. Mattock were off the mark and they wouldn't look back! Cooley A fortnight later, Cooley Kickhams were beaten by 1-8 to 1-4 at The Grove in Castlebellingham. In conjunction with St Marys' defeat of Stabannon the following evening, the result meant that Mattock were the first team through to the knock-out stages of the SFC - after only two games! The Cooley game will long be remembered for the sensational goal scored by Mark Brennan in the early stages of the first half. Rangers worked the ball brilliantly from their own end line to set up Brennan for a goal worth double the admission price! A Cooley point drew them level at three points apiece in the 14th minute but Mattock's overall superiority is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that they held their fancied opponents scoreless for the next 28 minutes! The first half was a low-scoring affair and points from Mark Brennan, Paul Duff, Gerard Hanratty and David Reid edged the winners into a 0-4 to 0-3 interval advantage. Cooley pressed in the opening stages of the second half but were effectively beaten by Brennan's sublime 35th-minute arrow to the bottom corner. St Marys Mattock clashed with neighbouring St Marys at Drogheda on July 4th, American Independence Day, and recorded a fine two-point victory, 0-16 to 2-8. Indeed, the scoreboard did not reflect the winners' dominance: Mattock moved nine points clear during a third quarter in which they played dream football and a late Marys fightback served only to place respectability on the scoreboard. The Marys needed a point to guarantee themselves a place in the Last Eight but were thwarted by a side keen to finish their programme with a 100% record. It was a great win for Collon, who would maintain their fine winning streak right through to the competition's climax. Scorers-in-chief David Reid and Mark Brennan bagged six points and three points respectively for the Red and Blacks who powered through to the quarter-finals. Naomh Mairtin Neighbours Naomh Mairtin were comprehensively beaten (2-13 to 0-10) in a one-sided quarter-final watched by a huge crowd at the County Grounds on July 21st. County star Christy Grimes was Man of the Match, giving a towering exhibition from midfield. Grimes tucked away an early penalty (after ten minutes) and finished the evening with 1-4 to his credit. Mattock dominated the last ten minutes of the first half and a run of five unanswered points from Alan Finnegan, Grimes, Gerard Hanratty and David Reid (2) gave them a three-point interval cushion, 1-6 to 0-6. On the resumption, Reid, Grimes and Mark Brennan quickly stretched the advantage. In fairness to the Monasterboice side, they were still in contention at the three-quarters stage. But Finnegan's 46th-minute goal knocked the stuffing out of the Mairtins and the would-be county champions ruthlessly fired a 1-4 return in the last quarter. Mairtins' growing sense of frustration was summed up when county star JP Rooney received his marching orders for a second yellow card two mintes from time. Clan Na Gael Mighty Mattock booked their place in the final with victory over Clan Na Gael at Dunleer on Sunday August 18th. It was a difficult match and the Collon men had to dig deep for a narrow three-point victory, 1-10 to 0-7. They were forced to weather a fierce Clans storm in the second half but held out to deservedly progress. Their first half display was awesome: Mattock led by eight points (1-6 to 0-1) after 16 minutes and by the same margin (1-8 to 0-3) at the break. And they proved in the second half - when Clans (particularly Cathal O'Hanlon) threw everything at them including the kitchen sink - that they can defend as well as attack. Thus, Mattock truly are the complete article, an all-round team. Christy Grimes scored five massive points in the semi-final. Robbie Brennan netted. ..and so to the county final and a famous, never-to-be-forgotten day in nearby Ardee. Nobody could argue with the merit of Mattock's historic achievement. They had beaten Stabannon, Cooley, St Mary's, the Mairtins, Clan Na Gael and St Brides. It could scarcely have been more difficult. But this time they did it. During his three-year tenure at the helm, Brendan Reilly has miraculously transformed Mattock Rangers from also-rans into undisputed kings of all they survey on the Wee County GAA map. Gerry Robinson caught up with the man who masterminded Collon's 2002 county SFC heist . . . a landmark accomplishment if ever there was one. What a difference a year makes! Mattock Rangers' world looked bleak in the aftermath of the 2001 county final. The Collon men had been comprehensively outplayed by Newtown Blues and their dreams were in tatters. It was a shattering end to a campaign that promised better and the dejected Mattock men looked as far removed from the finished article as they had ever done. Somehow, manager Brendan Reilly salvaged some positives from the smouldering ashes of that crushing defeat. Man by man, he picked his forlorn, crestfallen troops off the ground and rallied them for one more trojan effort. The result - as evidenced in 2002 - was phenomenal. In '02, Mattock won the Louth senior football championship for the first time ever, going through their campaign with a perfect 100% record, beating Stabannon Parnells, Cooley Kickhams, St Marys, Naomh Mairtin, Clan Na Gael and St Brides. At the time of going to press, Mattock were still in contention in the Cardinol O'Donnell Cup (with only one game remaining) and had shown remarkable qualities to overcome Wexford champions starlights (after a replay in Enniscorthy) in the first round of the Leinster club championship. Reilly shrewdly used the disappointments of twelve months earlier as a motivational tool and, boy did his man management skills work to stunning effect. Modestly, the manager describes the events of '02 as "unbelievable" - but we all know who scripted the dream... If Irish governments could carry off Three-Year Plans with such stunning effect as Brendan Reilly, then we'd have no need for elections. Slane-born Brendan took over his adoptive club's first team in 2000. He was given a three-year term. At the time Mattock were far from world beaters and the men in white coats would've ruthlessly ambushed anyone who dared suggest they could win the Joe Ward Cup. When he took the job, was Brendan 'mad' enough to believe he could mould Mattock into a SFC-winning power? As it happens, his ambitions were much more humble: "The objective for the first year was just to establish ourselves in senior football. Once we achieved that, things just took a huge leap forward. "New blood started to come through and it all began to take on a completely different perspective. The three minors came through at the same time and we also had a good core of more experienced campaigners, as well as the two county men, Christy and David. All of a sudden, we had a very good blend and we were able to re-set our goals." The manner in which Brendan's basic aim of improving football in Collon and establishing a firmer foothold in senior ranks outgrew itself and spawned something infinitely more pleasing is a classic GAA fairytale: "To be perfectly honest, when I took over, I hadn't even contemplated the possibility of Mattock winning a senior championship! I didn't expect anything like that, but when the team settled after the first year, I began to see more and more possibilities for them." And thus a first ever senior county crown was garnered on September 15th 2002. Mattock have produced good teams in the past but could never transform their potential into success. Brendan feels that lack of belief was a critical problem that dogged the club's teams in the past and believes that convincing the players they could compete on a level playing field with any of the county's more traditional powers was perhaps the biggest challenge facing him as manager: "I knew the talent was there. But the belief wasn't, and that was the big task facing Mattock Rangers. There were so many important games in the past that Mattock could have won but the belief wasn't there. They were giving opposition teams too much respect. But once they knew they could do it, it was a different story." Suddenly, Mattock were a force to be reckoned with. In 2002, they were totally unrecognisable from the side that panicked in the '01 county final. Ironically, they seemed to have more confidence, more conviction and more self belief than ever before. Brendan muses: "Getting beaten in the 2001 final was a real low for this team. Bouncing back from that kind of defeat can be very difficult but we were determined to not just fade away without a whimper. We said we'd come back and that's what we've done. "The lads kept their heads up and showed unbelievable desire to make amends. We came back even stronger than last year. We were in the hardest group for the championship - against Stabannon, Cooley and the Marys - but won all three games. The lads were brilliant. Their will to win was incredible. "The quarter-final against Naomh Mairtin was a potential banana skin because it was a local derby and games like that can go either way. I was very worried about that one. Fortunately, we got on top and won comfortably in the end. Against the Clans and the Brides, we just kept going. "We hit a rich vein of form and were going really well in the league as well. The team was playing some exceptional football and it was so satisfying to see them go out and play like that. The week after the county final, we played Stabannon in a league game and there was a joke going around that the lads had to be collected in the pub for that game . . . but they went out and won by ten points! That's a fair indication of the kind of football they're able to play. "I knew they were capable of winning the league as well and we set that target for ourselves after the championship. There was no problem with confidence or belief anymore and they were expressing themselves in every game. We decided we'd keep going and push for the double." Brendan says the commitment he got from the team was tremendous and pays tribute to the efforts of everyone involved in Mattock's historic success, from the last player on the panel down to his comrades on the backroom team. Club stalwart Willie Englishby was there again in 2002 (as he always seems to be!) and Brendan also enlisted the expertise of former Slane and Meath player Des Lane as selector/trainer. "The overall effort was something else," the manager enthuses. "The two county men were training with Louth but were showing up for training with the club as well - that's the kind of commitment we got all year. "We started in January. When the fields were too wet, we ran on the roads. We did gym work, we left no stone unturned. We trained under floodlights on the Simonstown pitch for three weeks and played a lot of challenge matches and tournament games against Meath teams, which was a useful exercise." As county final day loomed closer, Brendan was determined that the errors of 2001 (which were a direct result of inexperience) would not be repeated: "We kept a low profile - in 2001 the hype really got to the players and it definitely affected their performances in the final. This year, we avoided the papers and the media in general. "I let them [the media] talk to Gerry Hanratty, who is experienced and was a good spokesman for the team, and the captain, Donal Geraghty. Apart from that, I didn't want any hype around the young lads again. In 2001, the minors on the team did interviews and got caught up in the hype. We couldn't afford to make that mistake again." The Brides were duly beaten. In true sporting fashion, Brendan admits that he felt more than a small degree of sympathy for the Knockbridge men: "I know how they felt losing the final. I hope they can do the same as we did, that they can bounce back even stronger and win a senior championship. They had an excellent year and they have a great crop of young talent on their hands. They're now in the same position we were in a year ago. "We got our scores at the right times. We got the goals against the run of play and they gave us a real boost. The lads gave 100% and deserve everything they get. "I reckon there's still another championship in this Mattock team. The team is there now and they're well fit to do it again. They still didn't play to their full potential in the county final, but the monkey is off their backs now and that was an awful burden." The big question is whether or not Brendan Reilly will again be in charge when Rangers defend their county title? At the time of writing (October 2002), a decision had yet to be reached: "My three years are up now but the players have been at me since the county final and I'm thinking about it" A former Louth minor and junior player, Brendan won an U12 Meath championship with Slane but played all his subsequent football with Mattock. I bet everyone in Collon's glad he moved across the county border into the Wee County! Collon hurling and camogie Collon hurling and camogie has now completed its third year in existence and is still going strong. After the successes of last year, winning O'Broin Shield "B" Final, U11 South Louth League and Cumann na mBunscol Camogie Title, we felt that it would be hard to do as well, this year. Twelve months on, we find that the players are still dedicated and still winning trophies. It has been a long season on the field of play, with both hurling and camogie being played by around eighty juveniles, in the Collon area. Indoor Hurling Finals There were two groups in this Competition. 3rd/4th Class and 5th/6th Class. 3rd/4th Class reached the Group Finals by beating St. Paul's and Termonfeckin. 5th/6th Class did the same. In the Group Final, 3rd/4th Class, unfortunately, did not make the Final. But in the 5th/6th Class Group Final, Collon finished top of their Group. They were up against Knockbridge in the Final. In what was a very close game, captained by Tom Reilly, Collon emerged winners 2-0 to 1-0. Scorers: Pauric Bannon and Tom Reilly 1-0 each. Cumann na mBunscol Hurling/Camogie Collon School retained the Camogie title, which they won, for the first time ever, last year. They put in very spirited performances in every match and won against St. Paul's, Dillonstown and St. Kevin's. They played especially well in the Final, captained by Niamh Reid, where they faced the same team as last year, Kilkerley/Shelagh, winning on a scoreline of 2-0 to 0-2. Scorers : Niamh Reid and Lisa Monaghan 1-0 each. Collon School also took part in the Hurling League, with good wins over St. Paul's and Termonfeckin, they earned themselves a place in the "A" Final against Knockbridge. This was Collon's first appearance in a School Hurling Final, a great achievement then to reach the "A" Final at first time of asking. This was a great game, with solid performances all round, not least from the girls on the team and by joint team Captains, Martin Sherlock and Keith Hamill, with Collon running out winners, for the first time ever, 6-1 to 2-4. Scorers: Tom Reilly, Martin Sherlock 2-0 each, Pauric Bannon, Keith Hamill 1-0 each and Brian Corcoran 0-1. U11 Championship A few weeks after winning the School Final, Collon also reached the Final of the U11 Championship. Again, we had to face Knockbridge. This was a much lower scoring game, captained by Declan Mulvihill, Collon won, 2-0 to 1-0. Scorer: Brian Corcoran 2-0. U15 Leinster Blitz Louth took part in an U15 Leinster Blitz held in Longford. Collon had four players on the team. They were Jason Condon, Kevin Conway, Darren Reid and John Roddy. Well done to those lads, they did well on the day. U10 Leinster Blitz We had two players picked to play with a Louth team playing in a Leinster Blitz. They were Ciaran Maguire and Brian Corcoran. The Blitz was held in Kildare in absolutely atrocious weather conditions, but the boys did Collon proud. O'Broin Shield Captain, Carl Kierans, lifted the O'Broin Shield as Collon won the U12 "B" Championship, for the third year running, on a very wet night in Termonfeckin. McCreesh Shield Having got to the Final of the "A" Section of this Championship last year and being beaten by a last second goal, we were hoping to do well again this year. Collon started off by winning Knockbridge, Termonfeckin and Naomh Moninne. In our Final match of the group, we were held to a draw by Pearse Og. We finished top of the group and through to the Final, which was against Knockbridge. Collon started off brightly but fell behind by a goal at half-time. Shortly after the restart, Collon drew level with a goal of their own, scored by Ciaran Maguire, but at this stage in the day, legs were getting tired and Knockbridge managed to tag on another 2 points, for a win. The team hurled superbly throughout the day and can be very proud of their performance. U12 Camogie The U12s had substantial wins over all their opponents, St. Anne's, Kilkerley, St. Kevin's, Cooley and Knockbridge. But with a long delay over the Summer and a number of players unavailable for the Final, we could not produce the goods on the night and lost 2-0 to 1-1. Scorers: Michelle Monaghan 1-0 and Niamh Reid 0-1. U14 Camogie U14s recorded wins over St. Anne's, St. Kevin's, Cooley and Knockbridge. In the Final they faced Kilkerley, who had beaten us in the League 5-0 to 0-0 in the first game of the year. The Final was played in between thunder and lightning and ended up in a draw. 0-1 to 0-1. Scorer: Niamh Reid 0-1. The replay was held in better weather conditions of about 30oC !! and also resulted in a draw - Collon 1-3 to 2-0. Scorers: Aine Bannon 1-0, Niamh Reid 0-3. The replay of the replay was played a week later but, unfortunately for Collon, we lost on a scoreline of 0-3 to 0-1. Scorer: Niamh Reid 0-1. This was a tremendous achievement by this team, who were very committed and trained very hard all year. We have great hopes for this team in the future !! Other highlights of the year for the players were the week long Summer Camp in Termonfeckin, the annual trip to Lisburn and the visit to Croke Park for the Hurling/Football Compromise Rules. We would like to thank Mattock Rangers for their help over the past year and for the use of the pitch and facilities and congratulate them on their winning of the Senior Football Championship for the first time ever and hope that they will do well in the Leinster Club Championship. Thanks to the players for their great loyalty and support throughout the year and to the parents who helped out in transporting players to matches. The Club is looking forward to the continued support of everyone involved, for the coming year, in an effort to build on the success of the last three years. Tweet

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