Delvin intermediate hurlers earned themselves the reputation of nearly men during the nineties - reaching four county finals only to lose them all. The trend continued this year as the were second best in three finals, but club secretary Andy Gaffney is confident that success is not far away. Despite winning minor and U21 championships in their respective grades in 2001, Delvin intermediates failed to produce the goods and their year was considered a disaster. The Introduction of Seamus Ennis as team manager for 2002 was to prove effected from a very early stage indeed. "A number of lads did not played with us in 2001 due to one thing and another and Seamus thought it was important that they get as much hurling as possible done before the start of the championship. It was decided that we would have a few run-outs before Christmas and the attendance amazed everyone for that time of the year," said Andy. Former Athboy and Meath hurler Ennis had Gaffney and Willie McGrath as his two selectors and as all three of them have worked closely with the underage sides in the club over the past few years, they knew how to communicate with the youthful squad. The early start to training was to prove decisive for their first outing in the championship as they totally out played and deservedly beat pre-championship favourites Ringtown by eight points, 5-8 to 3-6. Although many of the forwards were praised on the day for their scoring ability, Delvin's performance as a team was excellent with every player from 1 to 15 playing their part in a result that shocked most followers of hurling in Westmeath apart from the maroon and whites. "Things went great from the start. After Christmas we went full steam ahead at training. Most nights we had around 30 to 32 in the park. It all seemed to pay off as we were unbeaten in any league or challenge matches we played. Our first defeat came when we played Kilmessan (Meath) in a challenge. They put out their senior side against us and were only missing two or three regulars. We played very well that evening and were unlucky to lose by two points "Confidence was very high in the squad after that and we knew could beat Ringtown. We always have a good game against them because they play good hurling. I suppose we surprised them a bit, but we were definitely the better team." Indeed the confidence was to continue for their second match in the championship as Seamus Ennis's side faced a tricky tie against Lough Lene Gaels second team. The Gaels have dominated the senior ranks for the past seven or eight years with the club producing many a talented hurler who have served their time in the intermediate ranks and they cannot be taken for granted. As it turned out, this was a hard game for Delvin, but players like Niall and Kevin Williams along with likes of Daniel Clune and Cathal Nugent showed great experience in the closing stages to hold off a determined challenge from the Gaels and hang on to win by three points, 3-9 to 2-9. Delvin's next match was to see them suffer their first defeat in the championship. Despite registering an impressive tally of fourteen points, it was not enough as opponents Crookedwood clocked up 2-10 in an exciting and tense match. The result against Crookedwood could not have been protrude as a disaster as they were also contenders for the championship (as proved when they reached the final), but Delvin's next match was to see their year take a turn for the worst. A defeat to Southern Gaels was seen as a major disaster not because of the opposition but for the less than satisfactory performance they gave. Five points was all that Delvin could register for the hour as the men from Athlone beat them by six points, 0-11 to 0-5. Worse things were to come for this young side as St Brigid's recorded their only win of the year against Delvin in their next match to leave them with only four points from five matches and their hopes of making the semi-finals was no longer in their own hands. "We were unlucky against Crookedwood. Some of the decisions went against us. Although we were disappointed to lose, we gave a great performance and our forwards were brilliant that day. We still felt we had a great chance of making the semi-finals at least, but the game against Southern Gaels saw everything just fall apart. We were terrible. I think it's fair to say that Southern Gaels were bad but we were absolutely atrocious on the day. "Going into the Brigid's game you could see that the lad's heads had dropped and this was where we lacked a bit of experience and guile and although we had plenty of opportunities to win, we could not get those crucial scores to bring us back in to it." A game with local rivals and neighbours Turin gave Delvin the chance to make amends for their previous three losses and keep their championship hopes alive. This they duly did as they comfortably overcame Turin and although they score line of 2-13 to 2-09 suggests that it was a close contest, two late goals for Turin gave the the final result a respectable outlook. Six points from seven games meant that Crookedwood had to beat Turin in their last match to ensure Delvin qualified for the semi-final stage, but unfortunately as Crookedwood were already qualified for the knock-out stages, they did not exert themselves on the game to the extent they normally do and Turin came away with the victory and more importantly the final place in the last four. Although Delvin were out of the championship, their early season form had earned them a place in the final of the Division two league, while also progressing to the decider of the Intermediate Cup and not to be out done their Junior 'B' comrades met Southern Gaels in the final of the competition. Southern Gaels had won this competition for the previous two years and their experience was to bear fruit as they claimed the three-in-a-row. Delvin never really got in to this match, but had plenty of goal chances which they failed to take as the Athlone side ran out victors, 0-13 to 1-7. Having being knocked out of the championship before the knockout stages meant that Delvin had not hurled for two months before the intermediate Cup final and this was to prove decisive as Crookedwood, who had played in the championship final just a fortnight earlier were far fitter and more adapt to the conditions than their opponents. Played on December 7, conditions as expected were poor and although the game was far from a classic, the rivalry between the two sides was evident as players on both sides exchanged some unpleasantries. Delvin got off to a better start and held Crookedwood scoreless for the first twenty five minutes as they tagged on three points themselves. Two points from veteran Bernard Byrne and a free from Niall Williams settled any nerves Delvin had. Despite the early scoring spree, Seamus Ennis's side went in trailing at half time as a five minute blitz for the 'wood yielded 1-3, the goal coming from corner forward Derek Doolin. The winners got off to the perfect start in the second half when Noel Yourell scored an excellent point to leave four points between the sides. A Kevin Williams free kept Delvin in contention but man-of-the-match Stephen Leavy restored parity with a well taken point and that was soon followed by an Aidan Bardon point. John Cogan did raise another white flag for Delvin, but is was left to Crookedwood corner forward Johnny Orme to finish the scoring with a point and once again break Delvin hearts in a final. Throw in the defeat to Ringtown and this makes an unwanted treble of defeats for Delvin but Gaffney feels that this side is young enough to bounce back and rectify the club's losing streak at intermediate level. "We didn't play for about two months before the Crookedwood game and this was evident as our fitness levels let us down in the second half. Once again some of the decisions the referee gave went against us, but we are a young team and with a little bit more experience, there is no doubt in my mind that we can produce the goods at this level. We have a great underage set-up and with the likes of Willie McGrath, Pat Farrelly and Anthony Kelly looking after them, in two or three years time we should be winning honours and not just contesting for them." The Delvin team that contested the intermediate Cup final was: John O'Shaughnessy, Martin Forde, Darren McHugh, Daniel Clune, Patrick Farrelly, Barry Williams, John Cogan, David Flynn, David Barry, Niall Williams, Kevin Williams, JP Farrelly, Padraig O'Shaughnessy, Bernard Byrne, Brian Farrelly. Subs Damien McHugh for P O'Shaughnessy; Thomas McInerney for B Farrelly; Alan Farrelly for B Byrne. Tweet

Most Read Stories