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JEKYLL AND HYDE YEAR FOR SENESCHALSTOWN.
BUT THEY'LL BE BACK.
Fixtures Committee do them no favours
1997 will
not hold too many fond memories for the followers of Seneschalstown. A year which
promised so much at the beginning, deteriorated rapidly into the realms of embarrassment.
A quarter final mauling at the hands of Simonstown drew the curtain on their participation
in the championship, which prior to that had been topsy turvy to say the least.
It's difficult to comprehend why a team which boasts players of the calibre of Colm
Coyle, Graham Geraghty, Alan Finnegan, Mattie McCabe and Padraig Coyle consistently
flatter to deceive.
One Seneschalstown supporter in the aftermath of the defeat to Simonstown suggested
that they relied heavily on the big names to save them from troubled waters. This
is hardly the case. Right corner back Paul Finnegan is one of the most under rated
footballers on the Meath club scene, and not too many forwards will recall being
marked by Paul fondly. Kevin Macken has been a model of consistency for the Yellow
Furze outfit at full back for the past number of years. A tight marker, Kevin gives
little away and has been a tremendous servant to the club. In attack,the tireless
efforts of Tony McDonnell have often resulted in scores, and few are more commited
than the wing forward.
On the bright side, the emergence of Ciaran Macken was a
plus for the Seneschalstown G.A.A. fraternity. A rare prodigious talent, he has
the ability to initiate panic in opposing defences.His strength and speed combined
with his knack for scoring separates him from the mediocre, and he looks to have
a bright future in the game. Add in others such as David Dillon, Paddy O'Brien and
Paul Donohue and that particular Seneschalstown man's theory goes straight out the
window!
Anyone looking for answers should point to the ludicrous decision by the fixtures
committee to have the 1993 championship winners out on four Sundays in a row. Seneschalstown
were forced to play Trim, Dunderry, Walterstown and Simonstown on the trot, and
this proved to be the rock on which their title aspirations perished. The Senschalstown
management quite rightfully sought the postponement of the quarter-final tie with
Simonstown, but the request was refused. The irony of it all is that these very
same people which sit on the fixtures committee, along with the rest of us witnessed
the detrimental effects of congested campaign had on the Meath team this year. Yet
they insisted on dishing out a similar fate to Seneschalstown. One can just speculate
as to whether or not the outcome would have been any different in the Simonstown
encounter, it's all pie in the sky at this stage, but there's no doubting that they
wouldn't have capitulated so easily against the Navan side had they been allowed
sufficient time to recuperate from the previous week's exertions.
Fatigue was apparent in the lethargic display against the 1995 intermediate champions,
and the fresher opposition ran them into the ground. Seneschalstown failed to do
themselves justice, and many of their supporters left the ground struggling to come
to terms with how badly they played. Of course, Seneschalstown have only themselves
to blame for their earlier round form which saw them open their campaign with a
shock defeat to Summerhill.
In a game which was far from a classic, the Yellow Furze side succumbed to a fitter,
faster and more determined Summerhill outfit on a score line of 1-15 to 1-9. The
eventual winners took the early initiative and Seneschalstown were always playing
second fiddle for the remainder of the clash. Seneschalstown folk's misery was compounded
when Tony McDonnell received his marching orders for two bookable offences.
Next
up were neighbours Walterstown, and Seneschalstown got their Keegan cup challenge
back on track. Although the manner in which they achieved their 0-10 to 1-3 was
less than impressive.The blacks were guilty of some sloppy finishing, and if they
had been a little more accurate they could have stolen three points.
Against Carnaross, last years beaten finalists at last displayed the clinical finishing
which is required to win the championship. Five forwards and centre-back Alan Finnegan
and Graham Geraghty, who was at midfield got on the score board. It was player/coach
Colm Coyle who took the scoring honours with 2-1 of his side's 4-9 total. With a
date with Trim looming over the horizon, confidence was high that they could increase
their unbeaten record to three games and secure their place in the knock out stages.
But, Trim forgot to read the script and in the biggest upset of the year, the town
club struck late to snatch a one point win over their more illustrious opponents,
0-18 to 3-8.
That loss left Seneschalstown requiring a win against Dunderry to savage their faltering
championship ambitions.
They gave themselves a lifeline courtesy of a 0-17 to 2-8
win over the 1994 Meath champions, and set up a mouthwatering play-off with Walterstown
A powerful first half performance from the team in blue and gold gave them a 0-10
to 1-3 interval advantage, and, although Dunderry threatened to make a comeback
in the second period, Seneschalstown never looked like being denied.
So the team and their supporters made the eight mile trip to Navan for the third
consecutive Sunday. Walterstown
entered the game optimistic that they could reverse
the earlier round result, and after fifteen minutes they had secured the lead. But
it was short lived as Ger Geraghty's men began to stamp their authority on a game
which would make or break their championship dreams. It was a bruising encounter,
and the violent element which has crept into gaelic football raised it's ugly head
when Graham Geraghty tussled with Walterstown centre-back John McCarthy. Geraghty
received his marching orders for his misdemeanour and in the process ruled himself
out of the remainder of his team's matches in the competition.
In the county man's defence he had been subject to some very close attention himself
prior to his dismissal. Referee Joe Harlin failed to give him sufficient protection
so he decided to take the law into his own hands. But he can have no complaints
about the ref's decision. He wasn't the only player to step out of line and could
easily have been joined by two or three others for the early shower. As it as he
was made out to be the villain in the piece, and left to rue the consequences of
his actions. As things transpired on the field of play, his team mates soaked up
the anticipated Walterstown pressure, and inspired by the promptings of Colm Coyle
finished the stronger to score a fully merited 1-14 to 0-8 success. But, even then
the signs were on the wall, this lack lustre performance left a lot of room for
improvement. And so onto that ill fated quarter final clash with Simonstown. The
road from Kentstown to Navan was rapidly deteriorating by this time-something similar
to the Seneschalstown team!
On the day they were simply outclassed and outplayed by the new kids on the block.Simonstown
assumed control from the throw in and never looked like relinquishing it. The previous
three matches had taken their toll and Seneschalstown who appeared a tired, weary
team met their championship Waterloo. Had circumstances been different and Seneschalstown
been given a fair throw of the dice this story may have had a happier ending. As
it happened, Simonstown themselves and the fixtures committee successfully combined
to end another year of unfulfilled promise.