Big year for the 'Wood
April 30, 2011Crookedwood chairman Fechin Brennan has set two goals for the club in 2011. They are to win the intermediate championship and to begin work on an ambitious pitch development project.
Crowned intermediate champions in 2005 for the first time, the 'Wood survived just a couple of seasons in the top flight before dropping back in 2008. They have been frustrated in their efforts to regain senior status since then, losing at the semi-final stage in the past two years. But the return of Noel Boyce as manager for the coming season has given rise to expectations that the Adrian Murray Cup will be returning to the picturesque north Westmeath village in 2011.
"Noel won the intermediate championship with us in 2005, so we're hoping his return will be a lucky omen," Brennan says.
"His selectors are Val Brennan (Fechin's brother), Paul Murray (son of the late Adrian) and Gerry Butler, with Sean Collins as team coordinator. We were very disappointed with our performance against Fr Dalton's in last year's semi-final - the players seemed to be lacking belief. But hopefully we can rectify this and go all the way this year. I've no doubt in my mind that the players are good enough."
Brennan, who is a well-known referee on the local club scene and is also involved as a coach with the county under 14 hurlers, cites injuries and a lack of experience as the reasons behind Crookedwood's 2010 championship demise.
"Going into the semi-final, we had a lot of injuries and while most of the lads played, they weren't match fit. If we had another fortnight, we would have been in a stronger position to beat Fr Dalton's but fair dues to them they were the better team.
"Another comment I would make about last year is that we had a very inexperienced team with an average age of 21. When we won the championship in 2006, we had a nice blend of youth and experience. That said, last year will have brought the younger players on. We've reached the last two under 21 semi-finals, only to lose both to Clonkill, so that bodes well for the future," he continues.
Crookedwood's other objective for 2011 is to develop an Astroturf pitch, hurling wall, floodlights and a walking track at their grounds. These facilities would transform the 'Wood's grounds into one of the finest in the county.
"We applied for planning permission just before Christmas and are hoping to get the green light from Westmeath County Council. It's one of the biggest projects this club has ever undertaken and we're really excited about it. We have up to 100 players under the age of 10 out on the pitch every Friday evening and we want to provide the best facilities possible for them and for every other player in the club," Fechin explains.
Under the management of Castlepollard man Johnny McCormack, who was assisted by Tommy Kelly, the 'Wood eased through to the semi-finals of last year's intermediate championship after winning all but one of their five group matches. They opened their campaign with a 1-14 to 2-6 victory over their eventual championship conquerors Fr Dalton's at Cusack Park. That was followed by a thrilling 2-8 to 2-7 win over local rivals Turin and a first defeat, 1-10 to 1-12, at the hands of champions-elect Delvin.
In round four, Barry O'Meara hit 2-6 as the 'Wood got back to winning ways thanks to a 2-10 to 0-9 defeat of Clonkill. They completed their programme of group matches with a 1-18 to 1-5 drubbing of Cullion.
The green, white and golds were strong favourites to account for Fr Dalton's for a second time in the semi-final, but crashed to a 0-6 to 0-13 defeat at Cusack Park. Such an outcome could not have been predicted at half-time when the 'Wood held a 0-6 to 0-4 lead, but they failed to score in the second half as their Ballymore opponents took complete control.
Barry O'Meara, Antoin Savage, Emmett Feerick and Noel Yourell were all on the mark in the first half to give the 'Wood a slender advantage at the break. However, after points from Enda Kincaid and county footballer Kieran Martin brought Fr Dalton's level early in the second half, the 'Wood were overrun by a dominant Ballymore effort in which Kincaid and Martin excelled.
There was some consolation for the men from the shores of Lough Derravaragh when they claimed the Division 3 league title after an unbeaten campaign. They also reached the Intermediate Cup final against Fr Dalton's, which wasn't played at the time of writing.
The 'Wood's second team relinquished their grip on the junior 'B' championship cup after losing to parish rivals Cullion in the final at Cusack Park. The holders paid the price for a poor first half display, at the end of which they trailed by 1-0 to 2-3, despite having played with the aid of a strong wind.
Cullion got off to a flying start when James Whyte raised the first green flag. Adam Mitchell had an immediate opportunity to cancel out that score, but his penalty was saved and he also failed to find the target from the resultant '65.
A second goal from Whyte in the 18th minute put Cullion firmly in the driving seat before a kicked goal from Noel Kiernan moments later revived Crookedwood's challenge. However, they failed to score again in the half as Cullion added three points to take a commanding lead into the break.
Cullion lost John Shaw to a straight red card within two minutes of the restart, but they remained untroubled until the closing stages when points from Brian McLoughlin and Michael Savage were followed by a goal from Noel Kiernan. The full forward's second major left just two points between the sides, but an injury-time point by Robbie Galvin from a penalty sealed a 2-8 to 2-5 success for the Cullion men.
The 'Wood have been making great strides at underage level in recent years and currently have huge numbers at under six, under eight and under 10 level. The under 14s achieved promotion to Division 1 last year, meaning they will compete against the top clubs in 2011.
"We are striving to become a top-four club in underage hurling. We're putting in a big effort at all levels and are trying to get ourselves into a position where we will be able to compete successfully at senior level in a few years' time," the chairman says.
Crookedwood's under six and under eight teams are coached by Alan O'Meara and Milo Cox. Christopher Carty and Seamus Moran are involved with both the under 10s and under 12s, being assisted by Fechin (under 10) and Michael O'Cuill (under 12).
The under 14s are mentored by Gerry Butler and Alan O'Meara, James and Antoinette Savage are over the under 16s, while Val Brennan and Eamon Orme coach the minors.
The minors emerged as winners of the Adrian Murray tournament last July when they defeated Ringtown by 0-12 to 0-11 in the decider.
Fechin expects the 'Wood to qualify for the last four of the championship once again this year, but is keeping his powder dry as far as their prospects of winning it outright are concerned.
"We'll make the semi-finals, but after that I can't say for certain what will happen. The semi-final and final are the crunch matches and they're the ones you have to perform in. It'll be a little bit tougher with St. Brigid's and Brownstown coming down from senior, but on our day, we know we are capable of beating any of the intermediate teams," he concludes.
The Crookedwood team which faced Fr Dalton's in the IHC semi-final was: Shane McGovern; Darragh Fulham, Gerard Brennan, Enda Murray; Kevin Orme, Antoin Savage, Shane Collins; Kevin Tormey, Emmett Feerick; Gerard McGovern, Stephen Leavy, Seamus Savage; Tomas Cassidy, Noel Yourell, Barry O'Meara. Subs used: Noel Kiernan, Michael Savage, Edward Nally, Adam Mitchell and Andrew Boyhan.
The team that lost the junior 'B' championship final to Cullion was: Shane McGovern; Darren Fulham, Damien Grifferty, Enda Murray; Kevin Orme, Michael Savage, Gerard McGovern; Emmett Feerick, Andy Boyhan; Edward Nally, Adam Mitchell, Seamus Savage; Simon McCarthy, Noel Kiernan, Tommy Cassidy. Subs used: Ciaran Yourell, Ger Brennan and Brian McLoughlin.
The minor panel that won the Adrian Murray tournament was: Shane McGovern, Cillian O'Keeffe, Gerard McGovern, Lorcan Savage, Darragh O'Keeffe, Ronan Scally, Richard O'Neill, Simon McCarthy, Edward Nally, Brian McLoughlin, Kieran Yourell, Stuart Doyle, Aaron Orme, Barry O'Meara, Conor McCarthy, Aodhan Boyhan and Ciaran McCabe. Tweet
