Raharney have not been crowned Westmeath senior hurling champions since 1994 and during the intervening years the club have been going through a transitional period. However, the 2005 campaign saw the Deelsiders emerge as genuine contenders for the title. The Joristown outfit have been building a team for the past decade and it has not always been smooth sailing as relegation stared them in the face four years ago. They avoided the dreaded drop and since then have been slowly making progress back to the top of the pile. A new generation has emerged and the stature of the club was never more evident as they had three players on the Westmeath starting XV that annexed the inaugural Christy Ring Cup title last year. More fittingly, captain of the team was John Shaw, who accepted the Christy Ring cup much to the delight of all Westmeath gaels, but it was even more special for everyone in the parish of Raharney and Killucan. History was made on that day last August and the Raharney club can feel very, very proud that one of their own was captain, while they will be equally proud of Paul Greville and Conor Jordan who started the match, while Brian Connaughton also played his part throughout the year. There is an air of expectation in the area that the long wait for their next senior title may be about to come to an end and if the 2005 campaign was anything to go by, then Raharney supporters will not have to wait too much longer. The club have put in place an underage structure that is the envy of many of their rivals in the county and they have been securing a steady flow of success at underage level for the past few years. Last year was no different as the under-14's won the Feile na nGael title with many of these young players certain to have a long future in the game. At the start of last year, Raharney were quietly confident that their young side could make a huge impression in the championship. On an annual basis the club are considered certs to make it to the last eight, but they have found it difficult to progress from there. However, their opening match in the championship certainly brought them back down to earth with a shudder. The Deelsiders came up against a St Oliver Plunkett's side who are on the verge of a breakthrough also. The town team like Raharney have been knocking on the door for some time now and have recorded some impressive results in the last few campaigns. However, their performance against Raharney was little short of spectacular as the green and whites ran out comprehensive winners on a scoreline of 5-14 to 0-10. Raharney just did not perform on the day and nothing seemed to go right for them as Plunkett's were in top form, taking scores from all angles, although the sides would cross paths later on in the championship. The Deelside blues needed a win to boost confidence and they couldn't have asked for much better when they defeated defending champions Castletown-Geoghegan in their next outing. The manner of the performance was impressive as centre forward John Shaw was outstanding for the winners and a constant threat to the Castletown rearguard. At the end, Raharney were worthy 0-16 to 1-6 winners and their campaign was back on track. However, a seven-point defeat to Castlepollard left the Joristown outfit with just two points from three games. Relegation candidates Delvin were the next opponents and a tense affair was the outcome. Luckily, for the blues, they came out on top by three points 0-10 to 1-4. Their most significant win of the year came when they defeated neighbours Clonkill to settle an old score. A comprehensive win over Ringtown in their last group match guaranteed them a place in the quarterfinal against St Oliver Plunkett's. Revenge was the order of the day as Raharney were a far more confident team than when the sides first met earlier in the year. The Deelsiders had five-points to spare at the and a place in the semi-final was secured where Lough Lene Gaels were the opponents. In an entertaining contest, the teams were level on no less than seven occasions and was generally played in a very good spirit. Unfortunately, the game ended in fading light and spectators will be glad to have seen the end of late throw-ins for another year. However, this did not detract from a wonderfully competitive hour's hurling, which ended with John Shaw, unlucky to see his difficult free in the fifth minute of injury time tail wide, which meant that a great point from play three minutes earlier proved to be the winner for the Gaels. Raharney opened the scoring in the second minute with a fine 30-metre point from Brian Smyth. Five minutes later, the Gaels levelled matters with a 40-metre free and they went ahead before, the Deelsiders drew level, courtesy of a terrific point from about 50 metres by John Shaw. However, the blue and whites were dealt a major blow after exactly a quarter of an hour's play when an innocuous shot from 55 metres crept into the corner of the net as the unfortunate Raharney net minder Jimmy Greville tried to shepherd the sliotar wide. Undaunted by this setback, Raharney replied immediately with a point by John Shaw from 45 metres, but this was soon cancelled out by a 25-metre free from a very awkward angle. Raharney tied the scoring with a brilliantly-taken goal from 25 metres by John Greville, after effecting a great catch from a Padraig Connaughton pass. With 24 minutes elapsed, the purple and golds went ahead again when they pointed from 30 metres after a great downfield move. Raharney equalised when Padraig Connaughton received Paul Greville's pass and the full forward's shot on goal fell to Brendan McKeogh who fired over the equaliser. Two minutes into injury time, Killian Cosgrove picked up a loose ball 35 metres from the Raharney goal and shot over a great point to leave the Gaels ahead by 1-5 to 1-4 at half time. The respective number 13s were looking very dangerous anytime they gained possession and John Shaw emulated the feat of his Westmeath colleague Cosgrove with a superb point within two minutes of the resumption. A minute later, a Gaels shot brought out a good save from Jimmy Greville. In the sixth minute, Gaels' stretched their lead with another point. John Shaw duly equalised from a 30-metre free but a converted free managed to keep the winners' noses in front from another placed ball in the 11th minute. The action was coming thick and fast at this juncture, even if both sides were struggling to get vital scores on the board. Jimmy Greville pulled off a great save in the Raharney goal. By now, the light was fading rapidly in Cusack Park but the spectators remained glued to their seats. John Shaw equalised from a 25-metre free for Raharney a minute from the end of normal time, after he had been fouled en route to goal. Most neutrals would probably have accepted a draw as a fair result at this juncture but both sides went all-out in search of the winning score. In the 32nd minute the Gaels nabbed what was to prove to be the clinching point and it was a score worthy of settling any game, from all of 60 metres. Raharney threw everything into attack but a powerful Conor Jordan run came to nothing. However, when Padraig Connaughton was fouled deep into stoppage time, the Deelsiders had one last chance to force a replay, but John Shaw's free went wide of the target and the Gaels breathed a collective sigh of relief. Raharney will feel desperately unlucky not to, at least, have earned a replay from this fixture, but can take many positives from the game as they face into this year's championship. Tweet

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