Gerry Robinson charts how Mattock put their name on the map with a series of top class displays which brought them all the way to the 2001 SFC final. One of the biggest stories of the 2001 season in Louth was Mattock Rangers' remarkable odyssey to the senior championship final. The Collon men made little of the rank outsider tag bestowed upon them at the year's inception and displayed a frightening disregard for reputations as they marched purposefully to the annual showpiece. Eventually the greater experience of Newtown Blues proved too much for them but, while county final defeat was undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow, the red-and-blacks achieved a great deal in 2001 and established a sound platform for future seasons. Having got their campaign off to an inauspicious start by losing to Clan Na Gael in their first Section C outing, Mattock - inspired by county star Christy Grimes - pulled off a major shock when defeating neighbours St Mary's by 1-14 to 0-10 in the next round, rekindling their prospects of advancing to the knock-out stages while simultaneously all but ending the Ardee men's hopes in the competition. In the next series of games they were up to their winning tricks again. Previously unbeaten St Patrick's were rocked by the competition surprise packets at Knockbridge, with the Collon men winning out by 3-10 to 2-7. Meanwhile, Clan Na Gael fought back from a six-points deficit to frustrate championship flops St Mary's, a result which meant that Clans, Pats and Mattock would all be involved in a play-off. Haggardstown was the venue for the play-off meeting of St Patrick's and Mattock Rangers, with the Lordship men scoring the narrowest of victories, 1-11 to 1-10. But Mattock were still in contention. They had to face Clan Na Gael to determine who would get the remaining quarter-final berth. They continued to hurl the cat amongst the pigeons when sensationally defeating Clan Na Gael in their second play-off, at Stabannon. The Collon men had been extremely unfortunate to lose to the Pats but bounced back to record a shock 2-9 to 0-11 victory over the famous Dundalk outfit, thus avenging their opening round defeat. In the quarter-final, another side from the town - Dundalk Gaels - got their wings clipped. The result carried massive implications as Mattock were now through to an intriguing 2001 Louth SFC semi-final clash with (yet again) St Patricks. The 'semi' - between two teams from the opposite ends of the county - took place at Knockbridge. Extra incentive was added by the fact that neither team has ever managed to win the Joe Ward Cup, St Patrick's having only reached one final (they were comprehensively defeated by St Mary's in 1995) while Mattock have graced the big stage on several occasions without quite finishing the job. It had been a while since they reached the last two - their 1-7 to 0-6 defeat at the hands of Cooley at Dowdallshill was as far back as 1976. Mattock progressed to their first senior county final in 25 years following an excellent 0-13 to 0-6 victory, their dream of a first ever SFC very much alive. What made the win all the more remarkable was that it was achieved largely without the talismanic Christy Grimes. The midfielder and county star departed the fray with concussion in the first half but Mattock still managed to compile a 0-6 to 0-4 interval advantage. County minor David Reid was Man of the Match, kicking six points as Rangers booked their place on centrestage. County final Drogheda's County Grounds was the venue for the final against defending champions Newtown Blues on Sunday September 16th. After 25 minutes, having played with the benefit of the breeze, Mattock were still very much in touch, only trailing by a point, 0-5 to 0-4, but up stepped Colin Kelly with three points in a row to give the Blues a nice half-time cushion. Mattock were still within a single score - 0-10 to 0-7 - with seven minutes left but Blues finished strongest and Anthony Donaghy's goal on the stroke of full time confirmed that the Joe Ward was extending its stay in Newfoundwell. It was a bad day at the office for a Mattock side that failed to produce anything close to its best form. Unable to settle, they played second fiddle to their more experienced opponents for most of the hour and, to be honest, never really looked likely to grab the goal that might have sparked the game to life. Indeed, a final tally of eight points was not in keeping with the kind of accuracy the Collon men had been producing all year and the seven first half wides they racked up jolted the confidence of the entire team. David Reid opened the scoring in the first minute and further scores from Robbie Brennan and Reid had Mattock 0-3 to 0-2 to the good. But that was about as good as it got and some wayward shooting brought gasps of disbelief from the Mattock faithful as the wheels came off the wagon and the Blues strolled to their 17th title. Clans Pt. I Mattock would be well advised not to dwell upon the county final result - just as they didn't worry excessively following their opening Group C defeat to Clan Na Gael in Cluskey Park on Friday June 1st. On a blustery evening, Mattock struggled as much with the elements as they did the opposition and, after starting brilliantly with a goal (Fergus Flynn) and three points (Christy Grimes, Mark Brennan, David Reid) inside the opening five minutes, they managed to add only a paltry three point in the remaining 55, falling to a 2-10 to 1-6 defeat. The scoreline, however, did not accurately reflect how close the Collon men had come to registering an upset. They led by 1-6 to 0-7 with only seven minutes left before Clans took the lead for the first time through a goal so flukey it brought tears to the eyes. Clans didn't open their account until the 13th minute and trailed 1-5 to 0-3 at the interval but, with the wind at their backs, dominated the second half and got the vital break when it mattered most. It had been a decent enough performance from Mattock, particularly in the opening 15 minutes, but there was nothing here to suggest what was to come... St Marys Thus, the shock defeat of neighbours St Mary's in the next stage was not signposted. The game was played in Dunleer on Sunday June 17th and the Marys - managed by Paddy Carr - were hot favourites. Both sides had lost their opening game so this was effectively an eliminator and it was Mattock who displayed the greater hunger, commitment and sense of urgency to emerge with a deserved 1-14 to 0-10 win. Mattock rose to the challenge magnificently and were particularly well served by countymen Christy Grimes, Mark Brennan and David Reid (the latter pair fielded against Dublin in the Leinster minor championship). Grimes, the captain and most experienced player, led by example throughout, giving an exhibition of point-taking as well as winning vital possession and distributing wisely and effectively. At the back, the Mattock defence succeeded in snuffing out the threat of St Marys' potentially deadly attacking pair Alan Doherty and Niall Sharkey. With five minutes remaining in the first half the sides were locked on 0-5 apiece. But Mattock finished the half strongly with four converted frees from Christy Grimes and a point from play by Shane Grimes to go in at the break leading by double scores, 0-10 to 0-5. The lead was extended when the captain fired over a brace of points on the resumption but the Marys rallied somewhat and were only four points adrift with five minutes remaining on the referee's stopwatch. Rangers were not in a charitable mood, however, and any hopes the Deesiders may have been harbouring of getting out of jail were nailed on the head two minutes from time when Mark Brennan burst through the defence to blast to the net. The young centre forward had time to add on an insurance point and Sharkey's response in the form of a consolation point was far too little, way too late. St Patricks Pt. I The first of three meetings with St Patricks was at Knockbridge on Sunday July 1st. Once again, the Collon men showed a blatant disregard for perceived status as they ended the Lordship side's 100% record with a sparkling display which yielded a 3-10 to 2-7 victory. The result threw Group C wide open and meant a three-way play-off involving both these sides and Clan Na Gael. The story of the game followed a by-now-familiar pattern. Christy Grimes, David Reid and Mark Brennan were outstanding yet again and between them contributed all Mattock's scores. Brennan's seventh-minute point - when he outfought two defenders before firing over a mammoth score from distance - was especially memorable. The teams were level on three points apiece at the end of the first quarter but points from Reid (2) and Grimes augmenting an 18th-minute Brennan goal turned the tide very much in the red-and-blacks' favour and they took a 1-6 to 0-4 lead into the interval. Pats started the second half brighter with two quickfire points but they were knocked for six when Brennan calmly bagged his second goal. The Pats mustered up a point but Mattock hit three on the trot to move 2-9 to 0-7 clear. But goals in the 48th and 51st minutes brought St Patricks right back into it. As the excitement level reached fever pitch, Brennan struck a post but Reid was on hand to put the rebounder in the back of the net and give his team some much-needed breathing space. Mark Brennan put the icing on the cake with an injury-time point and onwards Mattock marched. St Patricks Pt. II The men from Lordship turned the tables on Mattock when they met again in the first play-off on July 13th. It was Unlucky Thirteen for the Collon side as the game went right down to the last kick, with Christy Grimes agonisingly missing a last-ditch opportunity to force extra time from a 45-metre free. In the end, a 1-11 to 1-10 defeat was their lot. Having played second fiddle for much of the game, they trailed 1-11 to 0-9 with six minutes remaining. However, they then mounted a brave comeback that fell only marginally short. Wing back Ivor Sherlock got a goal to bring them within two points and a Shane Grimes score drew them closer. But time ran out. Two fine points from the in-form David Reid kept Mattock in the game at the quarter-way stage (0-4 to 0-2) and the only further scores of the first half were two Pats points. Mattock began the second half with points from Christy Grimes and Robbie Brennan but they drifted out of it for the next 15 minutes or so as their opponents built a seven-point lead. Three points from Reid and two from Christy Grimes brought them right back into it but in spite of their storming finish they were pipped at the post. Clans Pt. II Mattock bounced back brilliantly six days later when they travelled to Stabannon to record a superb victory over Clan Na Gael to avail of their second Group C play-off chance. This 2-9 to 0-11 win avenged the defeat suffered at the hands of the Dundalk club in the opening match and booked what had seemed an unlikely spot in the knock-out stages of the premier competition. From start to finish, Mattock looked sharper in all sectors of the pitch and the four-point winning margin was not in the least bit flattering. David Brennan was excellent at full back and used all his experience to ward off Clans' much-vaunted forward division. Robbie Brennan opened the scoring in the fourth minute and when the Clans equalised Christy Grimes edged them back in front. Again the Dundalk side levelled but this time Mattock - who never trailed - managed to pull three points clear thanks to points from Grimes (2) and Mark Brennan. Clans pulled a couple back before Shane Grimes spurned a goalscoring opportunity and Mattock went in at the break leading by a point, 0-5 to 0-4. The winners received a real boost when Niall Callan scored a goal in the first attack of the second half and they never looked back. Reid kicked a free and Robbie Brennan pointed to make it 1-7 to 0-4 after 38th minutes. Clans nibbled into the leeway with two points but the game disappeared beyond their reach when Mark Brennan demonstrated remarkable persistence to bulge the net in the 42nd minute. 2-7 to 0-6. Clans knew they were goosed. Mattock could have begun celebrating a famous win... ...except they had a quarter-final to look forward to! Gaels Another fine high-scoring display was produced for the quarter-final victory over Dundalk Gaels at The Grove on Sunday July 29th. Despite not managing a single score in the opening 21 minutes, the Collon team still went in leading by a point at the break and overwhelmed the town side in the second half. Gaels got off to the better start and quickly registered 1-2 to no score. Goalkeeper Michael Englishby produced a fine stop to prevent a second Gaels goal before Christy Grimes finally got Mattock off the mark with a 22nd-minute free. Grimes added two more points and Gerry Hanratty also found the target to make it 1-3 to 0-4. The half had seeped into injury time when Robbie Brennan's beautiful delivery found Mark Brennan in a dangerous position and the goal-scoring specialist duly obliged to give the south county men a narrow half-time lead. Gaels started the second period sprightly and registered two tidy points but Grimes settled Mattock with an equaliser and Robbie Brennan and David Reid eased them two points ahead again. The game's defining moment arrived in the 40th minute when Mattock struck their second goal, Mark Brennan on hand again to smash a shot in via the underside of the crossbar. While they only scored a solitary David Reid point during the ensuing ten minutes, Mattock still led 2-8 to 1-8 after 50 minutes. But three points in as many minutes and a late Grimes free ensured that the Mattock bandwagon rolled merrily forward. St Patricks Pt. III Mattock and St Patricks must have already been sick of the sight of each other when they took to the Knockbridge field for their third meeting of the 2001 Louth senior football championship on August 19th. It was the Mattock men who had learned most from the previous two games and they showed no mercy in racing to a facile victory, 0-13 to 0-6 . . . this in spite of losing Christy Grimes to concussion midway through the first half. In the captain's absence, young David Reid was one of many Collon players to shoulder the extra burden of responsibility and put in inspirational performances. At the time of Grimes' enforced departure, his team led by three points to two, the midfielder having helped himself to a couple of those scores while David Reid supplied the other. Reid pointed two more frees and Alan Finnegan also got in on the act as the red-and-blacks compiled a two-point interval cushion, 0-6 to 0-4. Only three points were recorded in the third quarter, and Mattock got all three. Reid fired his first point from play in the 32nd minute and this was added to by a John Hanratty brace which put clear daylight between the teams, 0-9 to 0-4. It was plain sailing from here on in as Mattock continued to outscore their opponents and the Pats must have been glad to hear the final whistle having witnessed the zone directly above their crossbar and between the two uprights take a further pounding from Reid (53, 57), Mark Brennan (56) and Robbie Brennan (60). League In the league, Mattock flirted with relegation for much of the season but turned their campaign around in superb fashion once the distraction of championship football had disappeared. A rousing finish saw the Collon men actually gain promotion to Division 1A, courtesy of a comfortable play-off victory over Glyde Rangers in mid-October. Tweet

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