Tubberclair's terrific year
April 30, 2010While there was acute disappointment at losing the Leinster club intermediate final to a late Maynooth rally, Tubberclair can still look back on 2009 as one of their most successful years.
A third county intermediate championship triumph, coupled with a first ever provincial final appearance, made it arguably Tubberclair's best year since they claimed senior championship honours for the first and only time in 1985. After accounting for Ballynacargy in the Peter Geraghty Cup decider with surprising ease, the south county outfit embarked on an exciting Leinster championship run which yielded wins over Dunlavin (Wicklow), St. Patrick's (Dublin) and Walsh Island (Offaly).
Sadly, the season ended on a disappointing note when they lost the Leinster final to Maynooth after leading most of the way through. But their fine provincial run would suggest they will be more than capable of holding their own when they make their return to the senior ranks in 2010.
Under the guidance of St. Brigid's, Kiltoom clubman Tom Lennon, Tubberclair's objective at the start of 2009 was to win the intermediate championship and return to the top-flight where they spent five seasons between 2003 and 2007. They needed little motivation after their surprise semi-final loss to local rivals Maryland in 2008, and signalled their intentions with a 1-9 to 0-9 victory over Rosemount in their opening game of the group series.
A Liam Doogan goal after only eight minutes gave the green and golds the perfect start, but they were just a point to the good at half-time, 1-5 and 0-7, and within three minutes of the restart, Rosemount had levelled matters. But four unanswered points between the 35th and 52nd minutes were crucial in giving Tubberclair a winning start to the campaign.
A goal in the opening minute of the second half from county player Francis 'Brolly' Spollen proved decisive in Tubberclair's 1-12 to 0-10 second round win over Shandonagh at Athlone's Pairc Chiarain. It was no more than Tom Lennon's charges deserved after they had spurned several goal chances in the first half.
Despite their wastefulness, Tubberclair took a 0-7 to 0-4 lead into the break and they never looked back after Spollen's strike gave them a six-point cushion on the restart. Shandonagh managed to reduce the deficit to four points before scores from Spollen and Liam Doogan closed out the game.
Tubberclair made it three wins from three when they came from behind to defeat Ballymore by 1-11 to 2-5. A shock looked to be on the cards at half-time when Ballymore led by 1-3 to 0-4, but the introduction of young guns Ian Coffey and Michael Healion quickly turned the game on its head with Coffey going on to post four points and 'Brolly' Spollen scoring his second goal in as many games to complete the comeback.
James Durkan's 54th minute goal for Ballinagore condemned Tubberclair to their only defeat of the campaign (1-9 to 0-11), but the Glasson side still qualified directly for the semi-finals following a 1-13 to 1-9 victory in a top-of-the-table clash with Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall under the Lakepoint Park floodlights.
Tubberclair laid the foundations for their success in the first half when a Conor Elliott goal helped them to a 1-6 to 0-3 interval lead. Further points from Ian Coffey, Fergal Wilson and Michael 'Junior' Hopkins following the resumption extended their advantage before Castletown-Finea staged a late rally which left them just four points adrift at the final whistle.
Tubberclair met near-neighbours Tang in the semi-final at Cusack Park on September 12 in what was a repeat of the 2002 intermediate decider, and after a tremendous contest, the outcome was the same with the green and golds securing a 3-9 to 1-12 victory.
Pre-match favourites Tubberclair looked to have one foot in the final when they led by 3-5 to 0-6 at the break, but Tang fought back to trail by the minimum with 10 minutes remaining, only for the winners to finish the stronger with points from team captain James Martin and Ian Coffey.
Tubberclair were much sharper in the first half and a couple of early goals from 'Brolly' Spollen and Conor Elliott had eased them into a 2-3 to 0-1 lead by the end of the opening quarter. A third major, scored by Spollen, gave them an eight-point cushion at the interval, but Tang came out for the start of the second half with all guns blazing and were back in the game when Aidan Burke beat Gary Connaughton in the 37th minute.
Burke was the driving force behind Tang's second half recovery and when they brought the margin down to the minimum with 10 minutes still to play, the signs looked ominous for Tubberclair. However, Martin's 53rd minute '45' gave them much-needed breathing space before Coffey sealed the deal with the last kick of the game.
Tubberclair's goal-scoring ability was again in evidence in the final against Ballynacargy on October 11 when strikes from Conor Elliott and Fergal Wilson propelled the southerners to a 2-10 to 0-9 victory over Ballynacargy in front of 3,200 spectators at Cusack Park.
After losing the finals of 2005 and 2008, Ballynacargy were hoping it would be a case of third-time lucky, but the writing was on the wall for them at half-time when they trailed by 0-5 to 1-6, despite having played with the wind. Points from Spollen and Wilson gave Tubberclair an early 0-2 to 0-0 lead before Ballynacargy replied with three unanswered points to move in front after seven minutes.
But Tubberclair never looked back after Elliott crashed home a superb ninth minute goal which helped them to a four-point interval lead. Tubberclair surged six points clear on the restart before Ballynacargy brought the margin back down to four.
With 10 minutes remaining, however, county star Fergal Wilson put the result beyond doubt when he applied a delightful finish to a move involving Robert Buckley and Thomas Doogan.
The Peter Geraghty Cup was bound for Shannonside, but the quest for silverware didn't end there. Four weeks after their county final success, Tubberclair cleared the first hurdle in the Leinster club intermediate championship after withstanding a strong second half fightback by Wicklow champions Dunlavin in their home ground of St. Claire's Park.
Tubberclair were coasting at half-time when a Fergal Wilson goal helped them to a 1-8 to 0-4 lead, but despite having corner forward Steven Carthy sent off six minutes after the restart, Dunlavin hit back with goals from Shane Corrigan and Tom Harney (penalty) to leave just three points, 1-13 to 2-7, in it at the finish.
Tubberclair also had home advantage for their quarter-final clash with Dublin kingpins St. Patrick's, Palmerstown, but it didn't seem to count for much when they went into the break trailing by 0-2 to 0-3. But a much-improved second half performance saw Tubberclair emerge winners on a 0-10 to 0-7 scoreline.
Gary Connaughton was the star of the show as Tubberclair booked their place in the Leinster final following a 1-6 to 0-7 over Offaly footballing giants Walsh Island in Walsh Island. The 2008 All-Star goalkeeper made a string of fine saves, including a crucial penalty stop from William Mulhall in the second half.
The Westmeath champions were facing an uphill task when they trailed by 0-3 to 0-6 at half-time, but they outscored the home side by 1-3 to 0-1 in the second period with Francis Spollen getting the goal two minutes after the restart.
Now only Maynooth stood between Tubberclair and an historic Leinster title win. For most of the final, which was played on a rain-soaked pitch in Maynooth, it looked as though it was going to be the visitors' day, but the Kildare champions and their star player Karl Ennis had other ideas.
Ennis' decision to forego the Kildare team holiday to the US paid off spectacularly when he collected a high ball before firing past Gary Connaughton for the only goal with six minutes remaining. It proved to be the game's turning point as the Kildare side hit an unanswered 1-2 in the closing stages, having trailed by 0-6 to 0-8 before Ennis' crucial strike.
With Fergal Wilson to the fore, Tubberclair were the better team for long stages, but were never able to put clear daylight between themselves and the home side. They took a 0-5 to 0-4 lead into the interval, but Pierre Ennis had Maynooth level within a minute of the restart. Wilson quickly restored Tubberclair's advantage before he made it 0-7 to 0-5 from a free in the 40th minute.
Now operating at full forward, Karl Ennis reduced the deficit to the minimum again before Wilson restored Tubberclair's two-point lead from a long-range free with eight minutes remaining.
But two minutes later, Maynooth hit the front when Ennis struck for the only goal. Pierre Ennis added a free almost immediately to make it 1-7 to 0-8 before Karl Ennis copperfastened the win in the final minute of normal-time.
Afterwards, a very proud Tom Lennon was keen to put things in perspective.
"It's been a great year, we'd have settled for this last January," the Tubberclair manager said.
"When you get to a final you want to win it, so it's gutting. But the lads will learn from this and, except for two or three, they'll all be back again next year. I'm gutted for them because they've put in a huge effort."
The Tubberclair team which faced Maynooth in the Leinster club IFC final was: Gary Connaughton; Simon Lawless, James Martin (captain), Rory Walsh; Bernard Cassells, Niall Walker, Enda McGee; Thomas Doogan, David Ganly; Michael Hopkins, Jeffrey Farrell, Conor Elliott; Fergal Wilson, Francis Spollen, David Cassells. Subs used: Enda Dooley and Liam Doogan. Tweet
