Despite the disappointment of being edged out on junior championship final day, Glen Emmets retained their focus brilliantly to earn promotion to intermediate ranks via the league. This was no more than the Tullyallen men deserved for a wonderful effort over the course of the year. County attacker David Bracken spoke to 'Wee County 2004' about an eventful season on all fronts. Two-thousand-and-four heralded a marked improvement in Tullyallen GAA. Glen Emmets approached the season with the right attitude and the players knuckled down, determined to escape the suffocating grip of junior football. The Green & Reds threw themselves manfully into the task at hand and the end result - promotion - was fully merited. Glen Emmets won the Division Three league title in tremendous fashion, capturing the McArdle Cup for the first time in the club's history. Nobody could argue with the merit of this success as the Tullyallen men won eleven of their twelve league games, collecting a superb 22 points out of a possible 24. David Bracken also made his mark with the Louth senior team. His progress with the Wee County has done Tullyallen proud. But it would be wrong to deduce that Glen Emmets are a one-man team … to the contrary, they are anything but. For the first time since the loss of too many key men in the late 'nineties, Emmets have strength in depth. This was a telling factor in '04, as they demonstrated remarkable consistency in both league and championship. In the JFC, Tullyallen qualified for the final by topping Group A with three straight wins. During the decider, at Ardee on Sunday September 5, they led St Mochtas by two points with less than three minutes remaining but a late surge from the Louth village men gave them a dramatic 2-14 to 2-10 victory. Defeat came as a cruel blow to Glen Emmets, but they had certainly contributed handsomely to one of the best finals seen in Louth in recent years - and their fate was still very much in their own hands. Promotion (via the league) was still a distinct possibility as the team's form in general had been impressive all year. Determined to salvage their season, the players quickly switched their attention to the remaining fixtures in Division Three. There was no time to lose and Emmets went on to prove themselves the outstanding side in Division Three in the process earning promotion to intermediate ranks. Bidding to bridge the seven-year gap to their 1997 junior championship success (when Westerns were defeated in a thrilling final), Glen Emmets were in Group A of the 2004 Louth JFC. They kicked off their campaign with a 3-12 to 1-6 defeat of Wolfe Tones on June 20 and defeated Young Irelands in their second group outing, 2-10 to 1-6 on July 1. This set up a group decider against John Mitchells and the Tullyallen men came out on top by a point at the end of an epic encounter, 3-8 to 2-10, at Tallanstown on Sunday July 11. The Emmets had qualified for their first junior decider since 1999 and were just an hour away from collecting the Christy Bellew Cup. It was a full eight weeks before the final was played. With Emmets waiting patiently - and inactive - in the wings, Group B winners St Mochtas (who'd been demoted from intermediate in their final game in 2003) eventually beat Group A runners-up John Mitchells in a semi-final replay to book their place in the decider. While Emmets had a 100% championship record, Mochtas were unbeaten to date in both league and championship and - ominously - had won the two previous 2004 matches between the teams - in Division Three at the Tullyallen venue and in the Kevin Mullen Shield. Still, the Emmets went into the game brimful of conviction and determination. The final itself - between the two form teams in junior football all year (then first and second on the Division Three table) - was a nip and tuck affair, a game Tullyallen could easily have won. However, in the end, the men from Louth village just about sneaked it. One of the most striking aspects of Glen Emmets' play all year was their ability to conjure up goals almost at will. In their four championship games, they found the net ten times, including a great hat-trick of majors from full forward Joey Carolan in the first-round defeat of the Tones. Played out over 66 memorable minutes, the 2004 JFC final was one of the most dramatic games of the year in Louth. Glen Emmets trailed by three points with 13 minutes left but stole a two-point cushion when the excellent Keith Lynch fired an unstoppable 57th-minute shot to the bottom corner of the net. It was the corner forward's second goal of the final and the south Louth contingent could sense a famous victory. But, frustratingly, Emmets were unable to gather possession in the dying stages and the villagers captured the silverware with a late 1-3 salvo. However, all was not lost and Emmets showed focus and character to go on and win the Division Three title in an emphatic manner. They lost only two matches all year between league and championship and can go into intermediate football with much confidence. Reflecting on the year, key attacker David Bracken is pleased with how Glen Emmets acquitted themselves: "At the start of the year, our aim was simple - to move up. The championship was our preference, because we knew that if we won that we'd be promoted automatically and there wouldn't be as much pressure on the remaining league games. But we're more than happy with how we did it in the end. "We held a meeting and outlined a few things we wanted to do. We were hoping to stay unbeaten in the league, but once we lost a game we decided to re-focus and keep pushing because we genuinely felt we were good enough to earn promotion." To the outsider, Glen Emmets' 2004 performances were a big improvement on those of recent seasons. Is this a fair assessment? "It probably is. A few lads came in and made a huge difference. Stephen Healy, for example, had an exceptional year and his performances were a real plus. Seamus Meehan and Eamon Taaffe did a great job in midfield. Also, rather than just going through the motions and hoping for the right results, there was a real belief in the camp this time around. "Confidence levels were higher than they've been for a long time and the lads believed that not only were they good enough to go up but also that they could stay up. That was one of the biggest changes in our attitude - suddenly we realised that we're good enough to play intermediate football." David was on the team that pipped Westerns in the 1997 JFC final. He was 15 at the time. When the Tullyallen men took their place in the higher grade, however, things went a little pear-shaped. "When we lost the four Blacks to St Colmcilles, it took the heart out of the team," he explains. "They were four central players for Glen Emmets and their transfers knocked us back. It's difficult to cope with losing so many key men at once, but we're starting to get our strength back now. "We have a decent panel of players now, whereas in previous years we couldn't fill in the gaps when lads were missing. So, even though the first team hasn't changed that much, we have more cover now and a much better squad of players." This is vital to any team with aspirations of moving up through the ranks. Looking at their group, did Glen Emmets fancy their chances of progressing to the business end of the 2004 JFC? "We were fairly confident that we'd get out of the group, but there are no easy games in Louth and we knew we wouldn't get an easy run to the final. We had a serious game against the Mitchells and we also knew the Mochtas would be no pushover in the final…" Emmets gave as good as they got for most of the JFC final. They started well and led by two points after 57 minutes. Where did it go wrong? "When we got the goal to go two up late on, we needed to win possession from the kick-out and try to see the game out. If we'd got possession, we might have held on. We could've boxed them in. "But they got the ball and got a quick point, followed by another one. We couldn't get out of our half and they scored the goal in injury time to finish us off. "It would have been very tough if we'd got no reward from the season after putting so much effort in. We'd had big numbers at training all year and the Tuesday night after the junior final we had 30 up at the field again. That was very encouraging. The lads decided not to take a break, to keep going, to see out the league and make sure we finished in the top two, which would guarantee us intermediate football. "In '99, when we lost the junior final to Annaghminnon Rovers, we were already out of contention in the league, but this time we kept our focus on both competitions." David was a permanent fixture on the Louth senior panel throughout 2004. After impressing Val Andrews when starring for the South Louth team managed by Colin Kelly and Colm Nally in trials in the autumn of 2003, he was called on board and remained involved throughout the season. Despite missing some of the league campaign due to torn ligaments sustained in November of '03, he returned for the Wicklow game at Ardee on February 15. Thereafter, the Glen Emmets clubman featured in the rest of the Wee County's 2004 NFL matches, made a substitute's appearance in the championship qualifier victory over Antrim, and also started the Tommy Murphy Cup game against Clare. The 2002 U21 Footballer of the Year - who has represented the county at all levels from U14 up - enjoyed the experience and hopes to be involved again in 2005. Glen Emmets, 2004 Louth junior football championship finalists: Noel McCarron; Kevin Hilliard, Frank Carolan, Derek Wogan; Stephen Healy, Sean Lynch, Derrick Johnson; Eamonn Taaffe, Seamus Meehan; Turlough Russell (0-1), Andrew Murphy, David Bracken (0-4); Anthony Murphy, Joey Carolan (0-2), Keith Lynch (2-2). Subs: Padraig Pentony (0-1), Eamon Molloy. Manager: Eamon Taaffe. Selectors: Ted Russell, Pat Colgan Tweet

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