It was a truly historic year for the footballers of Naomh Malachi who have senior football to look forward to for the first time in their history after demonstrating remarkable resolve and determination to emerge victorious at the end of a marathon ten-game intermediate football championship campaign. Years of frustration and luckless near misses were dissolved in one heady afternoon at St Brigid's Park in Dowdallshill on Sunday September 29th 2002 when Naomh Malachi defeated Geraldines in the Louth intermediate football championship final to attain senior status for the first time ever. The north Louth men made little of the underdogs tag to deservedly win the final on a scoreline of 3-8 to 2-8 and capture the Seamus Flood Cup. Amazingly, the final was their TENTH outing in the 2002 competition! Thus, to say the red and whites took the scenic route to glory would be more than appropriate. Having signalled their intent by winning the Grogan Cup in April, they kicked off their campaign way back on May 31st with a Group B victory over O'Connells and subsequently hammered Westerns before drawing with Geraldines and losing to Sean McDermotts. That slip-up in the final group match meant a play-off was required against Geraldines to determine which team would go forward to the semi-finals. The Courtbane-based men lost after extra time, a result which condemned them to a quarter-final meeting with fancied Dreadnots. But the executioner was sold a dummy. Capably managed by the canny quartet of Mickey McConville, Peter Rogers, Thomas Conlon and Declan Woods, Naomh Malachi pulled off a stunning victory over the Clogherhead club to book a semi-final meeting with Kilkerley Emmets. A protracted three-game semi-final saga ensued before the eventual champions sneaked through to the final with just a solitary point to spare. Geraldines awaited in the decider. And it was the third time the sides had met in the competition. While Naomh Malachi hadn't managed to win either of the previous encounters, they made no mistake in the one that mattered most. They got off to an ideal start in the final when a quickly-taken Ruairi Daly free set up Colin Murtagh for the opening score of the match. At the end of the first quarter, however, the Malachis trailed by 0-4 to 0-2, their only other score of that opening 15-minute period coming from a fifth-minute Murtagh free. A rush of blood to the head might well have resulted in a red card for Micheal Daly in the 18th minute, but much to the relief of the club's vociferous support, referee Paul Finnegan - obviously determined not to spoil the match - opted to give the Naomh Malachi captain the benefit of the doubt. It was a decision that had a huge bearing on the game and most observers would agree that the midfielder was fortunate to escape ultimate censure when he clattered into John Neary only moments after receiving a yellow card. Shortly afterwards, it was Daly who initiated the move that culminated in Darragh Greene blasting Naomh Malachi's first goal of the game. He won a free in his own half and picked out his brother Ruairi whose precise long delivery left Greene with plenty of time and space to pick his spot. Murtagh and Ruairi Daly added points in the next five minutes and Naomh Malachi led by 1-4 to 0-4 after 26 minutes of the first half. There was high drama in the closing stages of the half as the teams in turn benefited from slack defensive play to hit the net. First, Geraldines equalised when Joe Corcoran took advantage of chaos in front of the Malachis goal; then Gerry Hamill produced a lovely finish after three Geraldines defenders messed up going for the same ball. Half time: Naomh Malachi 2-4, Geraldines 1-4 Any notions that Naomh Malachi might be in for an easy ride in the second half were dispelled within 20 seconds of the restart when Gers landed a point. But the Courtbane outfit restored their three-point cushion immediately when Ronan McElroy set up Greene for a nice point. The game was thrown back into the melting pot in the 35th minute when the Haggardstown/Blackrock side registered their second goal. A high ball into the danger area sparked panic in the Malachis defence and a penalty was conceded. Goalkeeper Aidan Hoey guessed the wrong way and the sides were level, 2-5 apiece. It was anybody's game now and the momentum was with the Geraldines. Naomh Malachi had to rise to the challenge like never before - and they did, demonstrating remarkable reserves of courage and determination. A Phelim Daly point followed by a Murtagh free made it 2-7 to 2-5 with 15 minutes left. But five minutes later, Gers had drawn level again. In the meantime, Naomh Malachi 'keeper Hoey pulled off his third outstanding save of the game to keep his side in it. With Ruairi Daly having switched to midfield, the Malachis were clearly playing more as a team and began to take control of proceedings. Five minutes from time, Greene won a free which Murtagh converted to edge them back ahead. Then came the score that virtually finished the game as a contest: some great persistence from substitute Redmond O'Neill led to Gerry Hamill being dragged down inside the square and the ever-cool Colin Murtagh made no mistake with the resultant penalty. The referee allowed another seven minutes but the only worthwhile effort the Gers could muster was tipped over the bar by the impressive Hoey right at the death. After the final whistle, County Board Chairman Paddy McMahon presented the Seamus Flood Cup to jubilant Naomh Malachi captain Micheal Daly and a parish that was still high on the ecstasy of Armagh's incredible All-Ireland win seven days earlier broke into further celebration. What a year ... and senior football is quite a prize too! All in all, it must be stated that ultimate victory was a fitting end to a campaign in which Naomh Malachi simply refused to even consider throwing in the towel. While their backs were never quite to the wall in the final, there were times when the Malachis had their resolve firmly tested. In their quarter-final against Dreadnots, for instance, the north Louth men came back from a seemingly impossible situation to wrestle a mighty 2-10 to 2-7 victory - having trailed by 2-8 to 0-4 at the end of the first quarter. In the first semi-final replay against Kilkerley at Louth village, the Malachis found themselves in another tight fix, losing two key defenders: Sean Gogarty got injured and Mark Meegan was sent off. But still the would-be champions held on for another bite at the cherry. In the second replay, they trailed by four points but held their opponents scoreless for the entire second half to prevail by the narrowest of margins. Goals from Ronan Lynch and Paul Leneghan were decisive when St Malachys beat O'Connells at Dowdallshill in their first group outing on the last day in May. Indeed, a measure of the winners' dominance in that match can be gleaned from the fact that all O'Connells' scores came from Mark Stanfield frees as Naomh Malachi won out by 2-7 to 0-9. Phelim Daly got the show on the road with a point in the second minute and the Malachis went on to lead 1-5 to 0-2 at the break. From there, they never looked back... A trio of first half goals were decisive at The Grove on Sunday June 9th as Westerns were tamed by 3-8 to 0-8. Colin Murtagh started his season as he would go on when he bagged 2-2 in the first half and Ruairi Daly displayed sharp reflexes to knock in the third major after the ball came back off the upright. Those goals arrived within the space of nine minutes and, remarkably, Naomh Malachi led by 3-4 to 0-4 at the break. Eight points were shared in the second half and the Courtbane combo had one foot in the knock-outs. Three weeks later - at Roche on June 30th - the Malachis drew with Geraldines thanks to a disputed Darragh Greene point three minutes into overtime. Final score: Geraldines 0-9, Naomh Malachi 1-6. Gers were sharpest into their stride and led by 0-4 to 0-0 after eight minutes before the Courtbane men replied with a goal from Phelim Daly. But Gers were two points clear again by the 12th minute. A late tackle on John Neary led to an ill-tempered ten-minute spell during which Mark Meehan missed a penalty. The north Louth men trailed 0-7 to 1-1 at the break. The Geraldines still led by three points after 40 minutes but the eventual champions refused to give them an inch in the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time... Naomh Malachi surprisingly slipped up against Sean McDermotts (3-6 to 0-6) in their final group outing and also lost their subsequent play-off against Geraldines. But they were still through to the quarter-final stage. Three wins and two draws later, they had booked a place in senior football. All in all, it was a magnificent year for Naomh Malachi. They also won the Grogan Cup in April (beating St Mochtas in the final) and the Division 4D league (beating Dreadnots in the final by 1-11 to 1-4 on Sunday October 13th). Tweet

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