Following 72 years in the senior ranks, Rosemount were relegated to the lower tier of intermediate football for the 2001 championship. Despite being hot favourites to make a swift return to their long standing position as one of the top sides in the county, the South Westmeath club are still struggling to regain their status. Defeat in the semi final of the intermediate championship has been sandwiched between failures at the final hurdle with the latest being a loss to Ballymore in the 2003 decider. Three years ago, when the club were competing in their first intermediate championship for nearly three quarters of a century, surprise packets St Malachy's ground out a deserved 1-11 to 0-10 win. In 2002, Tubberclair rather easily disposed of Rosemount in the semi final on a score line of 2-16 to 0-13. Tubberclair went on to win the intermediate title that year and both themselves and St Malachy's have retained their status in the senior grade with Tubberclair making to the quarter-finals last year. For Rosemount it is back to the drawing board for another year, defeat to Ballymore in last year's was as unexpected as the defeat in 2001, but the year was not a total disaster for the club as their under-14 side who were amalgamated with St Joseph's and Kilbeggan Shamrock's won the Premier championship. The combination side played Tubberclair in the decider towards the end of November but the time of the year did not detract from the standard of football played. Rosemount/St Joseph's/Kilbeggan Shamrocks did not get off to the best of starts as they fell seven points behind after only twenty minutes. But the combination side fought back and trailed by just three points at half time. A goal by Fiachra Fox straight after the interval brought the sides level for the first time in the match. They then took the lead when David Tone scored their second goal. RSK then had a glorious opportunity to put the game beyond any doubt when they were awarded a penalty but the spot kick was tamely hit and the goalkeeper saved rather easily. Tubberclair hit back with a goal in the 43rd minute and soon followed up to put them back in the lead, but Tone fired over a point to restore parity in the match. Fox scored his second goal of the afternoon when he gathered a long delivery from Declan Mullen and blasted the ball to the back of the net to leave the score 4-3 to 2-6 with five minutes remaining. Tubberclair threw everything they had at the amalgamation side and although they managed to score two points in the closing few minutes, it was enough as their opponents held on for an historic one point win. Success at underage has been scarce for the club in recent years and to win the Under-14 Premier championship albeit as part of an amalgamation side is a major boost for the club as they work on their underage structure. In the intermediate championship, Rosemount were hot favourites to come out of a group that consisted of Maryland, Ballinagore, Ballynacargy, Ballymore, Caulry and Mullingar Shamrocks. The first match saw them play Maryland towards the end of April and the Drumraney side were seen as their main threat for first place in the group. Rosemount had the better of the first half exchanges with Cathal Keane and Donal Boland helping their side to a 0-8 to 0-3 lead at half time. Maryland closed the gap to three points within minutes of the second half and seemed to be getting the upper hand in the match but a couple of fine saves by Pat Fox in the Rosemount goal kept his side in the match and the match finished 0-13 to 0-8 in Rosemount's favour. Ballinagore were the opponents for round two of the championship and Rosemount really hit top form in this encounter as they ran out easy winners, 4-10 to 0-5. The winners played with a strong breeze behind their back and they made that count as they led by 0-3 to 0-1 after ten minutes. Rosemount went from strength to strength as they finished the half with 2-7 to their credit while Ballinagore could only muster up 0-3 for the entire half. Playing into the strong wind in the second did not affect Rosemount in the slightest as they held Ballinagore to just two points in the final 30 minutes, while the championship favourites added a two further goals and three points to their half time tally. Having won their opening two matches, Rosemount as expected topped the group and now Ballynacargy would be the opposition and one again they put in a solid performance when defeating the Bal. Ballynacargy did open the scoring after only three minutes with a point, but that was cancelled out when Des Collins found the back of the net following good work by Cathal Keane. The goal was all that separated the sides at half time as they exchanged points for the remainder of the first half. Scores were scarce in the early stages of the second half but Ronald Mullen found a way through the Ballynacargy to score an excellent goal with an unstoppable shot. Further points for Rosemount put some daylight between the sides and they picked up their third win of the year after finishing the match 2-11 to 0-9 winners. Rosemount met Ballymore for the first time in the championship in July and a six-point win over Ballymore suggested that the eventual winners might not even make the knockout stages of the championship. The black and ambers fired over two points at the start of the match but their lead was cancelled out when Ballymore scored their first goal of the match. The next score was crucial in the match as Rosemount regained the lead with a goal of their own and they held a two-point advantage right up until half time. Rosemount stretched their lead to seven points midway through the second half before Ballymore responded with their second goal and they closed the gap to three points before Rosemount pulled away to win by 1-14 to 2-5. In their remaining three matches in the group stages Rosemount defeated Caulry and Mullingar Shamrocks with ease, while their only loss came as a surprise when Kilbeggan Shamrocks beat them by 1-9 to 0-9. Having topped the group, the club now faced Maryland in the semi-final and although they had already defeated the Drumraney side in their opening match of the championship they could take nothing for granted. The semi-final did not reach the expectations that many believed that it would as it turned out to be free ridden encounter, although the Roses quality shone through in the end. Maryland held the advantage for the majority of the match and they led by 0-5 to 0-4 at half time. Cathal Keane fired over for to level matters before Ronald Mullen extended their when he fisted the ball to the net, Maryland responded with a goal of their own to tie the game once again before former county star David Keane edged Rosemount in front once again with a point. The sides exchanged points for the next few minutes but with 13 minutes remaining Maryland could not find another score and during that time Rosemount kicked four to send them through to the final. Their opponents in the decider were surprise packets Ballymore who had failed to sparkle in the group stages, however they were an experienced side that know what it takes to reach the senior ranks. The Roses went in to the game as favourites and maybe the previous year's experience was playing on their minds to an extend as they never got into their stride throughout the match. The adverse weather conditions did not help either side but Ballymore made the most of situation to earn a merited win in a low scoring encounter. The fact that Rosemount only managed to kick three points from play over the entire hour tells its own story. Although the result was a bitter pill to sallow for the club, they must try and regroup for this year's championship, they will once again be one of the favourites for the Peter Geraghty Memorial Cup. Tweet

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