St Kevins could hardly have picked a better time to win the Louth junior football championship. Two-thousand-and-six presented one last opportunity to escape the bottom grade before the bottom field increased to twelve teams and the Philipstown men duly fled the scene with the Christy Bellew Cup in tow. By defeating Westerns in the JFC final at Dowdallshill on the last Sunday of September, the Kevins ensured that they will be playing intermediate football again in 2007. The Red & Black made light of the harshly-imposed underdog tag to claim the 2006 Louth junior football championship with a 1-10 to 1-5 defeat of Westerns in the decider at Dowdallshill on Sunday September 24. It was a timely and overdue success for the Philipstown club as they had been pipped in the 2005 county final. And it's also a case of 'All's well that ends well' as promotion in '06 carries much more weight than it did twelve months earlier (due to the imminent restructuring of club football in the Wee County). Westerns went into the junior showcase as favourites for two reasons: they had been relegated from intermediate ranks at the end of 2005 and they also progressed to the decider with a 100% record, including a 0-14 to 1-8 defeat of none other than St Kevins in the group stage. As Group A runners-up, Kevins had to play a semi-final and they easily dispatched a fancied Dundalk Young Irelands side (1-12 to 0-6) to set up the final day rematch, which they led from start to finish. While Westerns looked rusty in comparison, the winners - who'd benefited from the extra outing in that semi-final - set their stall out early and took command in emphatic manner. Captain and full forward Mark Boylan (who would produce a stunning Man of the Match performance) popped over a point inside the opening minute and further scores from Boylan, Bart Landy and Liam Boylan set the Philipstown crew on their way. Westerns managed only two points in the first half. They also created a few goalscoring opportunities for themselves but found Kevins 'keeper Bernard Wogan to be in decidedly uncompromising mood between the posts. In contrast, Kevins managed a goal courtesy of corner back Derek Flanagan just before the short whistle and this was sufficient to give them a very healthy 1-5 to 0-2 interval cushion - with wind advantage to come! Westerns probably sensed that it wasn't going to be their day when Terence Sweeney drove a penalty wide after 37 minutes and their consolation goal from Clint Sweeney didn't arrive until stoppage time. Though the scoreboard at the end may have only showed five points between the contestants, the truth is that St Kevins were comfortable winners. The decider had an early start (1.30) at St Brigid's Park as it acted as curtain-raiser to the SFC semi-final second replay between St Patricks and Cooley Kickhams. While it was unfortunate that a County Board final was playing second fiddle, there was no denying that the two games on offer made for quite an attractive double bill. The junior decider had all the makings of a close and tense contest. These teams were in the same group and Westerns won that particular head-to-head by three points in Ardee to top the section with a perfect record. In their other group outings, both teams beat Wolfe Tones and Annaghminnon Rovers with minimal fuss, so Kevins went through to the semi-final stage as runners-up, whilst the Reaghstown side advanced straight into the final. Dundalk Young Irelands offered little resistance in the semi-final at Dunleer and the Philipstown side booked their second successive junior final appearance on a 1-12 to 0-6 scoreline. This time, they would make no mistake! St Kevins have proven in the past that they can hold their own in the intermediate football championship (they were pipped by Dreadnots in the 2000 IFC decider) and will be hoping that they have now left junior football behind them for good. The determination on show in the '06 JFC final suggests that the men in red and black are capable of ruffling some feathers in the new-look intermediate grade, which will contain five clubs who played senior football in '2006. Mark Boylan fired over the opening point of the 2006 JFC final inside the first minute and Westerns replied with a pointed free before Boylan restored a Kevins lead that would remain intact right to the final whistle. Wogan was then on hand to deny Clint Sweeney a Westerns goal. Kevins had three points in as many minutes from Bart Landy, Liam Boylan (free) and Mark Boylan to lead by 0-5 to 0-1 after 18. Westerns got their first point in 24 minutes from another free but St Kevins delivered a telling psychological blow with the decisive goal just before the short whistle: Landy placed raiding corner back Derek Flanagan with a precise pass and the No.2 made no mistake with a great shot to the net. St Kevins were in command at the break, leading by six points. The first four points of the second half were traded - Mark and Liam Boylan for Kevins; Clint and Terence Sweeney for Westerns - and the winners had a lucky escape when opposition captain Terence Sweeney sent a 39th-minute penalty wide after James Boylan's foul on Dermot McArdle. Two more Mark Boylan points had St Kevins 1-9 to 0-5 ahead with only a quarter of the match remaining. The Kevins turned the screw now and held on for a famous win. The 2006 Louth JFC's top scorer Liam Boylan (with 3-21 from five outings) closed his team's account five minutes from the end and not even the concession of an injury-time goal could dampen the Kevins celebrations. They had won with quite a bit to spare. St Kevins went into the year determined to atone for the 2005 county final defeat to Dowdallshill and, with no promotion place available via the league (and junior football about to be increased significantly with the addition of five clubs), the '06 JFC really was a do-or-die affair. They made a disappointing start, when a poor display consigned them to an opening-round Group A defeat to Westerns at Ardee. Liam Boylan registered an impressive personal haul of 1-6 for the Philipstown team that day and his converted penalty ten minutes from time tied the scores at 1-8 to 0-11. However, three late Terence Sweeney scores gave Westerns a deserved win. The Kevins would have exited the championship if they'd lost their next game and they had to dig very deep to record a hard-earned 2-9 to 2-5 victory over Annaghminnon Rovers. The sides were level on 2-5 apiece when Rovers were reduced to 14 men and the Saints took full advantage by hitting four unanswered points courtesy of Mark Boylan (2), Liam Boylan and Michael Grogan. The final group game against Wolfe Tones was a formality. Liam Boylan's first-half goal gave his side a 1-9 to 0-2 interval advantage and the beleaguered Drogheda outfit failed to register in the second period as the Kevins added twelve more points to their tally, seven of them arriving in the ten-minute spell directly after the break. As runners-up in their section, St Kevins qualified for a semi-final against Group B winners Dundalk Young Irelands. This match was played in Dunleer on Saturday September 9 and a close contest was anticipated. However, the Kevins had wind advantage early on and never looked back after careering into a 1-4 to 0-1 advantage inside the first quarter. Michael Grogan bagged the game's only goal and the winners led by 1-8 to 0-2 at the short whistle. Content to share eight second-half points, they coasted to the winning line. Fifteen days later, St Kevins would gloriously claim the Christy Bellew Cup to secure their return to the middle grade. St Kevins, 2006 Louth junior football champions: Bernard Wogan; Derek Flanagan (1-0), Jeffrey Meehan, Kevin Grogan; Alan Gregory, Ian Wogan, James Boylan; Niall Treadwell, Gareth Boylan; Liam Boylan (0-3), Paudie Boylan, Michael Grogan; Brian O'Neill, Mark Boylan (0-6), Bart Landy (0-1). Sub: David King Tweet

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