Underage teams provide hope
April 30, 2010Since sweeping the boards at junior level in 2007, Rosemount have struggled to find their feet in the intermediate ranks. In 2008, they only avoided relegation by virtue of a playoff victory over Caulry and last year a solitary win over Shandonagh was enough to keep them out of another relegation playoff.
In fact, those are the only victories the once mighty black and ambers have managed since returning to the intermediate championship. But while accepting that Rosemount's championship results over the past two years make for grim reading, club chairman Michael Hanevy claims they don't provide an accurate reflection of the team's capabilities.
"They're a bit misleading," he argues.
"We're not as bad as our results show. We were narrowly beaten in a number of games last year and it was the same the year before. No-one gave us a hammering or anything close to it.
"There is a very fine line between winning and losing in the intermediate championship, and unfortunately we have come out on the wrong side more than we would have liked. We should have beaten Tubberclair in the first round and they went on to win the championship. That's how close the teams are."
The building contractor adds: "Whereas only three or four teams have a realistic chance of winning the senior championship, the intermediate championship is wide open. Any one of the teams can win it."
Under the management of Cloghan, Co. Offaly man Gary Daly, the tone for the year was set when Rosemount lost their opening game to Tubberclair by 0-9 to 1-9 in Mount Temple. In what was a very close contest, two points was the most that separated the sides during a first half that ended with Tubberclair leading by 1-5 to 0-7.
Then, after Declan Mullen had brought the teams level in the 33rd minute, Tubberclair scored four unanswered points between the 35th and 52nd minutes to take control. Rosemount rallied in the closing stages, but their only reward was a Danny Fox point in injury-time.
Successive one-point defeats to Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall and Ballinagore left the Roses battling relegation with two rounds left to play. After trailing Castletown-Finea by 0-3 to 0-8 at half-time, Gary Daly's charges reduced the deficit to the minimum with 10 minutes remaining thanks to a David Tone goal and an Enda Boland point. But they were unable to gain parity as the north county outfit held on for a 0-11 to 1-7 victory.
Ballinagore inflicted further misery on Rosemount when they eked out a 1-9 to 0-11 win at Pairc Chiarain, Athlone. The nine-time senior champions led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time, but Ballinagore scored an unanswered 1-4 after the restart to turn the game on its head. To their credit, Rosemount hit back with points from Danny Fielding, David Malynn and David Tone (two) to leave just the minimum in it. The margin was still the same when the black and ambers thought they had won a penalty in injury-time, but they didn't get the decision and Ballinagore held on.
The Fr O'Growney Park outfit finally got their first win when they had six points to spare, 2-11 to 0-11, over Shandonagh. Full forward David Tone was the Rosemount hero, scoring two goals in as many minutes to give them a 2-6 to 0-4 lead at the break. And whatever hopes Shandonagh had of getting back into contention were dashed when Eoin Carberry made a vital save immediately after the restart from Damien Moran and, from the counterattack, Danny Fielding landed a fine point to push the Roses seven points clear.
The campaign ended with a fourth defeat to Ballymore, 0-8 to 0-11, but Rosemount avoided a relegation playoff against Milltownpass by virtue of their win over Shandonagh, who they finished level on points with at the foot of the table.
Ballymore had match-winners in Derek Molloy and Paddy Martin, who bossed the midfield sector, with the former finishing with 0-6 to his name. Ballymore led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time and while John Keenan narrowed the gap from a free early in the second half, Ballymore pulled clear again with points from John Gilligan, Derek Molloy and Alan Slevin. Rosemount replied through Keenan and Shane Tone, but Ballymore were not to be denied.
"We were working off a small panel at the start of the year and by the time we got a few of the lads back, we had already lost three games," Hanevy remembers.
"Patrick Boland, James Geoghegan and Enda Boland missed the early part of the championship due to exam commitments, Tom King was out injured, and both Richie O'Brien and David Mullen missed the entire championship through injury."
By contrast, Rosemount's league form was very good, but they were still pipped for promotion from Division 3 by Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall.
"We beat Castletown-Finea, but a loss to Ballinagore and a draw with Loughnavalley cost us promotion. We'll be doing our best to put that right this year. We need to be playing against better quality opposition in Division 2 if we are to progress."
Rosemount have recruited Eamonn Gallagher as their new manager for the coming season. The Dalystown man, whose selectors are Michael 'Mixie' Molloy and Jim Whelan, managed the Westmeath hurlers last year and served as a Westmeath football selector prior to that.
"We are delighted to have got a manager of Eamonn's calibre. He has the experience of managing at inter-county level and has enjoyed a lot of success at club level in Westmeath with both the Raharney hurlers and Killucan. He won an intermediate championship with Killucan a few years ago and hopefully he'll be able to repeat the trick with us."
While silverware may have eluded them, Rosemount's minor and under 21 teams gave very good accounts of themselves in 2009. The minors reached the Division 2 championship semi-final which they lost to eventual winners St. Malachy's/Ballinagore, while the under 21s contested the semi-finals of the 'premier' and 13-a-side championships. Both teams were managed by Tom Darcy, Michael Geoghegan and Patrick Boland.
Rosemount lost the 13-a-side semi-final to Bunbrosna by 2-8 to 3-7. In the 'premier' championship, they recorded wins over Milltownpass, Ballymore (1-9 to 0-5), St. Malachy's/Ballinagore (1-13 to 2-5) and The Downs (1-8 to 0-5) before succumbing to champions-elect Mullingar Shamrocks in the semi-final which was played under lights in Tubber at the beginning of this year.
The 1-10 to 0-8 scoreline didn't do justice to Rosemount's efforts as they had held their illustrious opponents scoreless from the 20th to the 49th minute, only to concede five unanswered points in the closing stages. The black and ambers had some excellent performers in Declan Mullen, David Malynn, James Geoghegan, Shane Tone, Liam McCormack, Thomas Duffy and Paddy Boland, and these players are likely to form the backbone of future Rosemount intermediate sides.
"The performances of the minor and under 21 teams were highly encouraging and bode well for the future. John Keane will be coaching our under 14s this year and that is another big boost to our underage set-up.
"While John's retirement from inter-county football is a big blow to Westmeath, it is a boost to us because he will now be able to give a lot more time to the club. John is a great clubman and having him available for league games and training will be a big help to us."
Michael continues: "Cathal Keane and James Molloy are also back on board this year which should strengthen us further."
Over the past few years, Rosemount have carried out major improvements to their ground, including the development of a second pitch, Astroturf pitch and a walking track. More recently, new ball-stopping nets and an electronic scoreboard have been added and these facilities have helped to transform Fr O'Growney Park into one of the best club grounds in the county.
The Rosemount under 21 team which faced Mullingar Shamrocks in the under 21 'premier' championship semi-final was: Eoin Carberry; Enda Boland, Liam McCormack, Luke Kelly; Eamonn Boland, Paddy Boland, Shane Tones; Declan Mullen, David Malynn; Thomas Duffy, Cyril Elliffe (captain), Brian Clarke; David Tone, David McCormack, James Geoghegan. Subs used: Emmet Heavin. Tweet
