KILBRIDE…0-21
NA FIANNA…1-15 (AET)
VEGAS’S MEN WERE OUTSIDERS FOR SURVIVAL
Sometimes, personally speaking, when confidence is a bit shot, it takes a bit of a boost from a perhaps unexpected source to keep the wheels turning. In this case, confirmation that reading and judgment of the local GAA scene is still fairly well on the button.
A smug tack could be taken and the point made that the turf accountants were insane to have chalked Kilbride as 3/1 outsiders ahead of Thursday night’s SFC relegation semi final against Na Fianna in Batterstown.
And it would not have been to denegrate the Baconstown-Enfield combination in the slightest. Rather, borne out of a gut feeling that their opponents had not been afforded the respect that they were due. Especially when taken in context of the gargantuan steps the green and red have achieved in recent years.
Graduating, as they have, from Junior B all the way to the top table of Meath football in the space of a handful of years.
In fact, any fair appraisal would actually have to conclude that they were actually a shade unlucky to find themselves dicing with the trap door. Not only because they had actually got off to a flying start being back at Meath football’s top table. Actually leading Keegan Cup holders Summerhill by five points at half time on the opening night’s action in the Meath football championships.
Maybe even more so however out of knowledge that what is already one of the smallest playing pools in the county was further decimated by the loss of a few of their most influential players for part of all of the season.
Most notably the prodigiously talented Conor McWeeney but also Ronan O’Leary and Mark Dempsey and Cathal McKeon for some or in the case of All Ireland Minor winner McWeeney all of the season.
Now, of those listed above, with no disrespect intended to any of the others, the loss of McWeeney for the entire campaign had the potential to be fatal to last year’s IFC winners’ ambitions of staying top rank. Against that, though, in my view, they had shown enough against both Summerhill and Dunboyne to suggest they had the wherewithal to stay up.
Thus, the additions of O’Leary and Mark Dempsey left them better placed than even the shrewdest of judges gave them credit for. Though the doubters were probably congratulating themselves when Johnny Baldwin’s team led by 0-07 to 0-04 at the break. With Conor Downey and Luke Kelly and Dan Queeney and the returning Shane Walsh getting the scores for the Kildare border club.
Whatever the man affectionately known as ‘Vegas’ said to his troops at the break most certainly did the trick because they dominated the second half for large parts as James Gavin and Caolan Howard took over around the middle.
Which in turn gave Andy McWeeney, the two midfielders, Davy O’Leary and, in particular, the outstanding Josh Harford the ammunition to enable the underdogs reel off eight points on the spin.
Which saw them go from four points down to three up at 0-14 to 0-11. At that point this corner was quite delighted the layers had been so dismissive of the St Brigid’s half of our parish.
Conversely in fairness, Na Fianna did then demonstrate why they were put in at such short odds as Sean Rafferty, Ethan Devine, Queeney and Walsh hauled them back into contention before an exquisite two-pointer from Conor Downey earned them the extra 20 minutes their obduracy probably deserved.
Mind you, as with the most recent restart, it was Kilbride who wrestled back the momentum as Harford and O’Leary manufactured another three point chasm between the sides.
But no. Firstly the hitherto subdued Rafferty began to go on gallop after gallop up the wing which resulted in himself and hís brother Cormac pointing before the county star drilled low past his U-20 counterpart Faherty to deadlock matters once again at 0-18 to 1-15.
That, however, turned out to be the amalgamation’s last score. As firstly Queeney had what looked at perfectly good point chalked off by referee Cormac Reilly and, in the same incident Baldwin’s brigade were pinged for a breach allowing the handy Hartford clip over the gift.
Indeed, the citog full forward had the chance to bolster the buffer still further but only managed to do what seemed harder and miss.
However, it truly was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man as the former county Minor and U-20 – and surely senior in waiting – dissuaded custodian Fahy and their other dead ball specialist – corner forward O’Leary – from venturing forth, backed himself and nailed the long range skid to give the five time Keegan Cup holders a first win in the competition for 49 years. Thereby giving themselves at least one more season to try to chalk up another.
Even so, there will be an awful lot of what if to be pondered in the one parish over the coming weeks and months. Closest to home, for Dunboyne it will be ‘What if we closed out the deal properly against Rathkenny?’ Or, ‘ What if some of our injured parties – most notably the inter county trio of Ronan Jones and Jack Kinlough and Sean Delaney – had made it back in time?
For the neighbours, the chewing of the cud is much more straight forward – What if Conor McWeeney had made it back and those that did could’ve done it just a tad quicker.
I know which camp I would rather be ruminating in over the coming weeks and months.
Scorers – Kilbride: J. Harford (0-8, 3x2PT), D. O’Leary (0-5, 1x2PT), L Faherty, A McWeeney and J. Gavin (0-2 each), C. Howard and A. Malone (0-1 each).
Na Fianna: D. Queeney (0-5), S. Rafferty (1-2), C. Downey (0-3), O. Smullen, E. Devine, C. Rafferty, L. Kelly, S. Walsh (0-1 each).
Referee – Cormac Reilly (St Mary’s)