Park celebrate famous Leinster club triumph
Leinster Champions 2006
PARK/RATHENISKA, LEINSTER JFC CHAMPIONS 2006
Back (left to right) Brendan Delaney, Har Ramsbottom, Pat Brennan, Brian Ramsbottom, Ger Ramsbottom, Paddy Kelly, Max Ramsbottom, John Kelly, Paul Kelly, Denis Brennan, Cathal Óg Greene, Enda Fingleton, Adrian Flannery, Dessie Conroy, Tommy O Connell.
Middle (L to R) Will McEvoy, Steven Dennehy, Ned Mansworth, Pat McEvoy, Andy Morrin, Jamie Cahill, Colm Brennan, Paul Kelly, David Larkin, Seamie Flanagan, Ned Flanagan, Jim Morrin, DJ O Connell.
Front (L to R) Pat Smith, Liam Brennan, Barry Delaney, Shane Whelan, Tommy White, Brendan Conroy, Brendan Greene, Sean O Sullivan, John Kelly, Johnny Nevin, Brendan Fingleton, Tom Bowe, Kieran Delaney, Mark Delaney.
(Young fellas at front - Johnny Nevin Jr, Daniel Bowe)
THIS game will live long in the memory of anyone who braved the icy wind and spitting rain which endured for much its duration. It seemed all in attendance were resigning themselves to 20 minutes of extra time when John Kelly had fired over his equalizer with three minutes remaining on the clock.
Leinster Club JFC Final
Super sub Nevin sinks Saints
Park-Ratheniska 2-8
St Ultans 1-8
PARK-RATHENISKA: John Kelly 1-4 (0-3 frees), Johnny Nevin 1-0, Ciaran Delaney 0-3 (two frees) and Ger Ramsbottom 0-1
ST ULTAN'S: Gary Rogers 0-4 (two frees), Alan Ball 1-1, Alan Martin 0-2, Cian Rennicks 0-1
However substitute Johnny Nevin produced one of those Roy of the Rovers moments you dream of as a footballer. The game had entered its final minute when Brendan Fingleton took a pot from 30 yards that seemed destined to go over the crossbar.
Neil Burke in the Ultan's goal rose to claim it though and seemed to have saved his side but instead he managed to fumble and Nevin threw himself at the loose ball and fisted bravely to the Ultan's net.
Cue scenes of jubilation from the large Park-Ratheniska following. It was just reward for a team who showed reserves of fitness and commitment when the game seemed to be slipping from them.
They had so many heroes on the day with the Delaney twins Mark and Ciaran leading their respective lines brilliantly. John Kelly was tormentor-in-chief at corner forward managing a 1-4 haul for the game whilst Tom Bowe at full forward was his usual wily self.
In defence their full back line, after some rejigging, got to grips with their dangerous inside line and limited their triumvirate to just a single point in the second half. Cathal Og Greene and Ger Ramsbottom at midfield put the shackles on Gary Rogers in the second half and both gave outstanding battling performances throughout.
Park-Ratheniska were first to score and it was a John Kelly free from 21 yards after only two minutes which got them off the mark. St Ultan's had kicked a trio of early wides before full forward Alan Ball took advantage of good work from the dangerous Cian Rennicks to fire low to the Park net with only eight minutes gone.
Rangy midfielder Ger Ramsbottom replied for Park a minute later when his kick from 40 yards grazed the fingertips of goalkeeper Neil Burke. Kelly levelled soon after from play and it took a fine block from Brian Ramsbottom at the other end to save the blushes of a then porous looking full back line.
Kelly had his third point on 12 minutes from an awkward 30-yard free to restore Park's lead. St Ultan's response came from the much vaunted Gary Rogers, who played a short '45 to Darren Mallon and took the return to curl over his first.
Ultan's were to enjoy a fruitful 10 minute period up until half time with Alan Ball adding a point to his tally from an acute angle which Ciaran Delaney cancelled out with his first from play.
Again it was Rogers with the response, finding himself in space and firing over arrow-like from 30 yards. A minute later corner forward Alan Martin was finishing the first-half scoring having picked up a loose ball 20 yards from goal and looping it over. His point left the half time score at 1-5 to 0-5 to the Meath men and provided plenty of food for thought for the Park-Ratheniska management team.
A Ciaran Delaney free from a tight angle at the start of the second half was the Park response and only a minute later they were to manufacture the game's best score. Cathal Og Greene sent a beautifully weighted ball Tom Bowe's way and he duly collected under pressure 20 yards from goal. John Kelly came steaming past and Bowe immediately released him with the hand pass. Kelly powered past his man and finished brilliantly to the near post to put Park a point ahead.
Cian Rennicks supplied the Ultan's response four minutes later when he slotted over, a score his excellent performance deserved.
Rogers soon had them back in the lead pointing a 21-yard free after Alan Ball had been fouled.
The lead only lasted three minutes however as Kieran Delaney took a Tom Bowe pass to score his third of the day. What followed was nine minutes of stalemate as both teams looked to stamp their authority on the game and the Meath men tried to up the physical stakes with no great success.
They were however next to score as Rogers fired over his fourth point from a 21-yard free to give them what looked like an invaluable lead. There was three minutes left on the clock when John Kelly's free again drew the game and extra time was now looking a distinct possibility. Cometh hour the cometh the man though and Johnny Nevin's late heroics will surely be written into the footballing lore of this proud club as he sealed a deserved victory for the Park-Ratheniska men.
Footnote: Great credit to the officials of the Park Ratheniska club who had an army of volunteers on hand to co-ordinate the day's activities. They are the model of how a rural club should be run and hats off to anyone who participated in any way in a great day in the club's proud history.
PARK-RATHENISKA: Brian Ramsbottom; Jamie Cahill, Denis Brennan, Tommy White; David Larkin, Mark Delaney, Andy Morrin; Cathal Og Greene, Ger Ramsbottom; Brendan Fingleton, Kieran Delaney, Seamie Flanagan; John
Kelly, Tom Bowe, Colm Brennan. Subs: Johnny Nevin for Colm Brennan (47 mins), Ned Flanagan for Denis Brennan (injured - 53 mins)
St Ultan's: Neil Burke; Tomas Coyne, Declan Galligan, Kieran Lynch; Derek O'Brien, Brian Mulroe, Brian Galligan; Kevin Galligan, Colm Travers; Derek O'Brien, Gary Rogers, Richie Lynagh; Cian Rennicks, Alan Ball, Alan Martin. Subs: Ciaran Rogers for Darren Mallon (47 mins), Gary Gorman for Tomas Coyne (54 mins)
Referee: Con Costelloe (Offaly)
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Park Ratheniska rule supreme in Leinster
Cathal Óg Greene lifts Leinster trophy
(From Left) Max Ramsbottom, Brian Ramsbottom, Jamie Cahill, Brendan Greene, Cathal Óg Greene, David Kelly, Paul Kelly, Seán O Sullivan, Tommy White, Shane Whelan, Denis Brennan.
CHAMPIONS of Leinster has a nice ring to it and after an absorbing final, particularly the second half, Park Ratheniska claimed the tag on their home pitch on Sunday.
This was an occasion to savour as the Laois champions turned on the style both on and off the pitch making history by becoming the first Laois club to land the junior title and only the third after Portlaoise and Crettyard to land provincial club titles.
To win the title Park Ratheniska had to turn in one of the great second-half displays by any Laois team as, playing against the winter elements, they turned a half-time three-point deficit into a clear goal winning margin.
Few people at the venue would have given them little chance at half-time as they trailed by 1-5 to 0-5 having played with the strong wind and driving rain at their backs but they were run ragged by a fine St Ultan’s side and were lucky not to have conceded another two goals at least.
All of that was forgotten by a magnificent second-half display as they held their opponents to just three points and hit 2-3 themselves for a thor-oughly-deserved victory.
The result however was in doubt until the final seconds of normal time when with the sides locked at 1-8 each substitute Johnny Nevin struck for the winning goal.
It was a very similar finish to the semi-final against Longford champions Caulry when in the final minutes the Park Ratheniska team sudden-ly raised their game and with towering displays from the middle diamond of Cathal Óg Greene, Ger Ramsbottom and the Delaney twins Mark and Kieran they killed off their opponents with surges forward.
Once again corner forward John Kelly was the scoring hero of the day as he continued his goal-scoring exploits of a goal in every one of his four Leinster championship games and bringing his total in the campaign to five in all.
Once again however apart from the diamond it was a fearsome display from the Park Ratheniska defence that the victory was built from. They may have been under pressure and even taken apart a few times in the opening half but their second-half display against the elements was astounding. Brian Ramsbottom, as he did in the semi-final, again made brilliant and crucial saves while Jamie Cahill, Tommy White, Davy Larkin and Andy Morrin were all superb. Any mistakes they made in the opening half were well forgiven by the end of the game with White and Morrin particularly impressive under pressure.
Meath senior football panellist Gary Rogers threatened to spoil the party for the local side with his first-half display making him a contender for man of the match and with Kevin Galligan dominating the crucial mid-field battle.
Manager Brendan Delaney had other ideas though and his half-time rollicking certainly transformed his side and particularly the midfield in the second period. Greene showed the calibre of player he is by obliterating the threat from Rogers in the second half and with Ramsbottom ended up masters of their patch.
Up front Kieran Delaney gave an awesome display and in the first half seemed to be the only player taking on the opposing defence. He continued this to the final whistle with Brendan Fingleton and Seamie Flanagan giving assistance. Fingleton did particularly well when drafted into defence in the second half.
Playing with the wind the full-forward line of Tom Bowe, John Kelly and 16-year-old Colm Brennan amazingly got little ball and it was only against the wind that long low balls brought them into play while Johnny Nevin made a huge impact in the final quarter.
Park Ratheniska lost the toss and were forced to play with the breeze but it probably was the best decision in the long run. They did score first when John Kelly converted a free from the right side after Kieran Delaney was fouled in attack but nine minutes into the game the home support were rocked when a smooth passing move ended with the unmarked Alan Ball rifling home from the edge of the square.
If the supporters were shaken the players showed how far they have come as they hit back for three successive points to take the lead.
Ger Ramsbottom scored a monster point from all of 55 metres and John Kelly finished a wonderful move with Mark Delaney, Cathal Óg and Tom Bowe involved in the build up to level the game.
However, St Ultan’s continued to open up the Ratheniska defence and were almost through for another goal but somehow Brian Ramsbottom got his body down to deny Alan Ball a second goal. He courageously followed that with another interception after 18 minutes as he deflected a goal-bound shot for a 45.
Again when Kieran Delaney was fouled John Kelly converted to give his side the lead.
The second quarter belonged to St Ultan’s and against the wind they hit five of the six scores that followed with Kieran Delaney’s excellent point leaving Park Ratheniska a goal in arrears at the break. With the Meath style of football so impressive few would have backed against them going on for a comprehensive victory.
What followed was an extraordinary display against the odds and certainly against the conditions.
Park needed early scores and they got them within four minutes to retake the lead.
A Kieran Delaney free narrowed the gap and then a long ball from Cathal Óg Greene was gathered by Tom Bowe who showed all his experience and guile waiting for the exact moment to transfer it to a flying John Kelly and from the tight-est of angles he cracked home a smashing goal.
Now it was time for the doubters to believe. This team was not about to lie down.
St Ultan’s levelled with a Cian Rennicks point and Gary Rogers gave them the lead again from a 20-metre free but Kieran Delaney played a one-two with Tom Bowe and had the sides level after 13 minutes of the half.
Park Ratheniska dominated the next ten minutes of the game but failed to find the target. They had St Ultan’s closed down all over the field but crucially the scores weren’t coming. In typical Meath fashion St Ultan’s broke free with seven minutes remaining and forced a free on a counter attack for Gary Rogers to put them into the lead again.
Urged on by tremendous vocal support the home side fought back and when Kieran Delaney was again fouled up the right flank John Kelly sent over a magnificent equalising free with just over two minutes remaining.
It looked like a case of stalemate but Park Ratheniska threw everything into attack and the ball was passed two and fro in front of the Ultan’s post before Tommy White found himself in a scoring position only to pass out to Brendan Fingleton. Fingleton had a go and his ball seemed to have enough to drag it over the bar but Neil Burke fumbled it onto the bar, the break fell to the floor where substitute Johnny Nevin slipped in between two defenders to finish to the net.
The home crowd were delirious and significantly Cathal Óg won the kick out, the home side dominated the final minutes until the whistle brought scenes of unrestrained joy as tears flowed from players and supporters alike as they celebrated a stunning victory.
PARK RATHENISKA: Brian Ramsbottom; Jamie Cahill, Denis Brennan, Tommy White; David Larkin, Mark Delaney, Andy Morrin; Cathal Óg Greene, Ger Ramsbottom (0-1), Brendan Fingleton, Kieran Delaney (0-3,1f), Seamie Flanagan, John Kelly (1-4, 3f), Tom Bowe, Colm Brennan. Subs: Johnny Nevin (1-0) for C Brennan (48min), Ned Flanagan for Denis Brennan (51min inj).
ST ULTAN’S: Neil Burke; Tomas Coyne, Declan Galligan, Kieran Lynch; Richie Lynam, Brian Mulroe, Brian Galligan; Kevin Galligan, Gary Rogers (0-4, 2f); Derek O’Brien, Colm Travers, Darren Mallon; Cian Rennicks (0-1), Alan Ball (1-1), Alan Martin (0-2). Subs: Ciaran Rogers for Mallon (46min), Gary Gorman for A Martin (55min).
REF: Con Costelloe (Offaly)
