Having suffered the heartache of losing the previous year's decider by the narrowest of margins, Naomh Malachi bounced back to claim the 2006 Louth intermediate football championship in considerable style. The Courtbane men demonstrated remarkable reserves of resilience and grit to edge out O'Connells by 1-9 to 1-8 in a tense IFC decider at Louth village on Sunday October 15. Naomh Malachi could not have picked a better time to flee intermediate ranks. Okay, we all know the Courtbane men were crestfallen after their agonising IFC final defeat to Geraldines in 2005 (and, unbelievably, they also lost the Division Two league final to Sean O'Mahonys), but the Malachis more than atoned for that setback when claiming the Seamus Flood Cup with a magnificent 2006 effort. In a case of inverted deja-vu, the '06 intermediate decider was every bit as dramatic as the previous year's - only this time with a different outcome for Naomh Malachi players and supporters. While the border club may have been down on their luck as the 2005 denouement scripted itself, they arguably got the breaks to take this year's middle knockout competition. In fairness, it was a matter of things evening themselves out: in successive years, the Malachis contested two championship finals that could have gone either way, winning one and losing one. Justice has been served. On county final day, it was possibly the winners' big match experience that proved vital. While both sides had recent experience of senior fare (and O'Connells most recently…), this was Naomh Malachi's third intermediate final appearance in four years and they simply possessed more killer instinct when the match hung in the balance late on. It completed an incredible eight-game championship voyage when captain - and county man - Ronan Greene collected the Seamus Flood Cup and - to borrow and amend a phrase from another sport - ended twelve months of hurt. Not only was it a thrilling victory for the border club, it is also a significant one. There was only one promotion place available to intermediate clubs in '06, while five moved in the opposite direction. In 2007, only twelve clubs will contest the new streamlined SFC and Naomh Malachi will be one of those. Stabannon and Clan na Gael are amongst those who will not. Thus, the men from Courtbane have every reason to celebrate a great year and to look forward. In Group A of the 2006 IFC, Naomh Malachi did enough without ever performing like potential champions. They enjoyed victories over Stabannon Parnells (2-10 to 0-11), Dowdallshill (0-17 to 1-10) and Naomh Fionnbarra (1-7 to 0-9) but lost to Dundalk Gaels (1-11 to 0-9). They then met the town side again in a play-off to determine who would progress directly to the semi-final stage as group winners, but lost once more, this time after a replay (2-10 to 1-8). This meant a quarter-final appearance for the Malachis and they dispatched of St Nicholas (1-10 to 1-6) before seeing off O'Raghallaighs (1-10 to 1-5) in a surprisingly one-sided semi-final. The widely-anticipated county final rematch with Dundalk Gaels never materialised as O'Connells sent the Ramparts men packing at the penultimate stage. And so it came to pass that Naomh Malachi and O'Connells locked horns for the Seamus Flood Cup and a coveted place at the top table on the middle Sunday of October. With a 100% record thus far, O'Connells started as clear favourites. In contrast, Naomh Malachi had only played in fits and starts en route to the decider. Having missed the promotion boat twice the previous year, however, they were ultra determined to make it third time lucky. The decisive moment in the 2006 Louth IFC final arrived in the 53rd minute: substitute Ronan McElroy - donning the No.22 jersey - picked up possession 13 metres from the O'Connells goal and coolly sent a direct shot to the top corner of the net. McElroy had already helped himself to two points - one whilst on the field as a blood substitute. However, the three-pointer is the one that will go down in Naomh Malachi folklore. A real matchwinner, McElroy finished the match as top scorer with 1-2. It was also an amazing story of personal triumph as the player had missed the '05 decider with a broken leg and demonstrated remarkable powers of recovery to return to action. Amazingly, though there were still seven full minutes remaining plus five more of added time, McElroy's strike was the last score of the match and the Malachis held on in the face of a fierce O'Connells onslaught to take a one-point win. The losers started best with a brace of early points from Stuart Reynolds but Kevin Rogers replied with two points for the Malachis. McElroy (2) and Jason Clarke (free) completed their side's first-half scoring as O'Connells seized the initiative with a Dean Stanfield goal at the midway point in the first half. The champions-elect trailed by a goal at the interval (1-5 to 0-5) but stormed back into contention with four unanswered points in the middle of the third quarter. Clarke and Feidhlim Daly (2) had the sides level and a Clarke free put the Courtbane side ahead after O'Connells came close to registering a flicked goal. Fourteen minutes in, O'Connells got their first score since the turnaround to tie things up again and the Castlebellingham/Kilsaran combination looked likely winners when they also bagged the next two points to move 1-8 to 0-9 in front. Then came McElroy's dramatic intervention: a mix-up in the O'Connells defence gifted possession to the replacement player and he made no mistake with a sweet finish. The losers had ample opportunities to at least force an equaliser in the remaining twelve minutes of play but this was destined to be Naomh Malachi's day. The champions-elect opened their 2006 IFC account with a 2-10 to 0-11 victory over Stabannon at St Brigid's Park on Friday July 9. Appropriately, it was also Ronan McElroy who got their campaign rolling as the centre forward's 24th-minute goal put daylight between the teams for the first time. The major gave the wind-assisted border outfit a 1-5 to 0-4 advantage and points from Eamon Agnew and Feidhlim Daly eased them into a 1-7 to 0-5 interval advantage. McElroy almost added a second goal just before the break but was denied by a decent save. Three minutes after the restart, though, he turned provider to place Colin Murtagh for the killer second goal. With seven points between them, the Malachis were on the road to a crucial win. It was a pleasing start to their programme as they had fielded without midfielder Ruaidhri Daly and Michael Murtagh. The Courtbane club suffered a hiccup when losing to the Gaels by five points at the same venue on July 29 but there was a three-way tie at the top of Group A following Naomh Malachi's hard-fought 0-17 to 1-10 win over Dowdallshill at Clan na Gael Park on Thursday August 3. The Malachis were under severe pressure going into this game and the 'Hill - who had lost their two previous outings - made them fight all the way for a four-point verdict. The winners tore into a commanding 0-10 to 0-2 interval lead and there was little sign of any resistance from the underdogs at this stage. Dowdallshill battled their way right back into contention and were left to rue a couple of near misses with goal chances in the second half. In the end, Naomh Malachi - who benefited greatly from eight free conversions from the trusty boot of Mark Meegan - were mightily relieved to hear the final whistle. On Friday August 25 at Knockbridge, Naomh Malachi enjoyed a somewhat controversial 1-7 to 0-9 victory over Naomh Fionnbarra. The win guaranteed the border club a place in the knockout phase of the competition and they still had a chance to progress directly to the last four if they could beat Dundalk Gaels in a play-off (to determine who topped the group). Colin Murtagh fired the decisive goal in first-half stoppage time and the same player quickly added a point to give his side an unlikely 1-3 to 0-4 interval edge. Gerard Hamill and Jason Clarke added quickfire points upon the resumption but the Finbarrs battled back to trail by just a point with time almost up. Corner back Aidan Murphy was sent off in the fourth quarter and the losers were left infuriated when the referee blew the final whistle rather than awarding them a 14-metre free right at the death. The play-off took place at Knockbridge on Saturday September 2 and the teams managed just 1-6 apiece in normal time, with Eamon Agnew providing Naomh Malachi's goal as early as the third minute. But the Courtbane crew lost both Micheal Daly and Ronan Greene to injury at the end of normal time and were outscored by 1-4 to 0-2 in the 20 added minutes. As Dundalk Gaels marched on to the penultimate stage, Naomh Malachi had a lot of work to do - especially with a quarter-final looming the following weekend. A semi-final place was booked when St Nicholas were pipped by 1-10 to 1-6 at St Brigid's Park on Sunday September 10. Substitute Kevin Rogers punched the winners' goal at the start of the fourth quarter of a match overshadowed by a bereavement in the St Nicholas camp. Despite conceding the first two points, Naomh Malachi rallied into a 0-6 to 0-2 lead in their semi-final clash with O'Raghallaighs at the same venue on Sunday October 1. Kevin Rogers opened the Malachi scoring and also popped over the point that gave his team a slender interval lead, 0-7 to 1-3. Rogers also fired a 55th-minute goal as the Courtbane outfit 'won' the second half by 1-3 to 0-2 against a disappointing Drogheda team. It was a poor 'semi' but Naomh Malachi found themselves one hour from glory. This time, they would make no mistake… Naomh Malachi, 2006 Louth intermediate football champions: A Hoey; S Burns, M Kane, M Gogarty; M Murtagh, R Greene, A Murphy; R Daly, E Agnew; D Greene, M Meegan, G Hamill; J Clarke (0-3), F Daly (0-2), K Rogers (0-2). Subs: R McElroy (1-2), C Murtagh, C Rooney, P McShane. NAOMH MALACHI Naomh Malachi C.L.G. was founded in 1966, for the first 17 years of its existence the club was based in Rassan a short distance from its impressive current home venue of Courtbane. Work began at the Courtbane complex in 1983 when the "Cutting of the Sod" ceremony was carried out by Paddy Buggy the then Uachtaran C.L.G., a year later in July 1984 the first match was played on the new ground against the O'Connells. Since the initial Clubhouse was built the club has added an enclosed stand, netting and boundary wall. In 1999 work began on an extension to the original building which included 2 dressing rooms, kitchen, meeting room and toilets. In May 2000 the pitch was officially opened in front of a large attendance that watched Armagh play Louth. Over the past year the original building has been completely refurbished and it is one of the best facilities in the county of which the members are rightly proud. Twelve years after the founding of the club in 1979 the Malchis recorded their first major success on the field when they won the Junior championship by defeating the Martins. The club maintained its intermediate status up to 2002 and on two occasions, 1998 and 1990, almost made the step up to the senior grade but were narrowly beaten by Naomh Martin and St. Josephs respectively. In 1998 the club won its first County Board trophy since 1979 when they beat Glyde Rangers in the McGahon Cup. This success was built on in 2000 when the Grogan Cup was won and the team reached the Championship Semi-final only to be beaten by St. Kevins. The major breakthrough came in 2002 when Naomh Malachi beat the Geraldines by three points in the intermediate championship final. The Grogan cup was also collected in 2002, a double which was the most successful year in the clubs history. Following two years in the senior grade the club found itself back in the intermediate division for the 2005 season. In 2005 the Grogan Cup was collected for a third time with a one point victory over The Gaels. The team also reached the intermediate final but lost out by one point to The Geraldines. The team also came very close in the league. They finished joint top in the league but lost out in the play off final to an injury time goal to the Sean O'Mahonys. This year the team has reached the Grogan Cup final again but was narrowly beaten by the Gaels. The team has been inconsistent in the league but their best performances have been saved for the championship. Following the group stages of the championship they lost a play off with the Gaels after extra time which meant that the team went into the quarter final against the Nicholas which they won by three points. In the semi final the O'Raghalaighs the opponents and the Malachis produced a solid performance to reach the final in which they claimed yet another IFC win. Tweet

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