Down IFC 2005 - Previewed

Posted on 10th Aug 2005 by AMN

The Intermediate Championship is the second tier in Down knockout football and is made up of the teams rated 17th to 32nd according to 2004 league placings.

As the reigning Champions are traditionally granted a place in the Senior Championship the following season - and therefore unable to defend their title - each year sees a new name on the cup. In all likelihood this year will see a brand new name being etched on, as of all the competing teams, only Bosco (1996) and Ballymartin (1993) have lifted the title before and neither could really be considered amongst the favourites.

Despite there being a 50:50 split between the South and the East, it looks likely that the East Down clubs will dominate proceedings, with Kilclief and Carryduff likely challengers, while most observers would pick out the former county kingpins Downpatrick and Loughinisland - both competing in this Championship for the first time - as the teams to watch, the teams to beat.


The Big Guns
When Burren were regarded as the best team in Ireland during their golden period of the 1980s, if there was one side from Down who could always push them the whole way, it was Loughinisland. Indeed it was an Island side backboned by the Mason brothers, which put an end to Burren's six-in-a-row by winning the SFC in 1989.

The following year then marked the start of the greatest period in Downpatrick's proud history. A team dripping with county players, and led by the legends that are Barry Breen (their current manager) and Conor Deegan reached five SFC finals in six years, winning three of them.

Move the clock forward some fifteen years and these two fine clubs can now be found bolstering the intermediate ranks. A couple of questions spring to mind - how did this happen, and for how long will it continue?

If anything, the case of Downpatrick is the more bewildering one. Beyond a proud history, this is a club with an enormous catchment area and one that boasts playing facilities unrivalled by any other club in the county.

From an outsider's point of view, the trouble would appear to have emanated from the RGU not nurturing and developing enough young talent over recent years. Quite a few of their dream team of the 1990's - messrs Starkey, Rice, Louden, Smyth and the Deegan twins - are still very much among their key players, and although a few decent sorts have appeared on the horizon in the meantime, nobody has yet come in and really outshone these players, even though they are in the twilight of their careers.

The rise in prominence in recent years of formerly unfashionable neighbours such as Kilclief and Saul probably hasn't helped matters either. Whereas players once might have forsaken their local team for a shot at the big time with the Town club, the situation has almost gone the full circle and two important players in Donal McCartan and Mark Stitt have even left the RGU this season to rejoin their home team, Bright, in Division IV.

Despite all this, Downpatrick should still have a little too much class for just about any team they meet in the Intermediate Championship. Of the aforementioned players, Gerard Deegan is still an extremely dangerous forward and the likes of Jakey Clarke and Karl Oakes should complement him nicely. Peter Turley is a big influence at midfield, while young David Turley and Philip Oakes provide ballast at the back.

They could have got an easier start than Drumgath, but at least this first round fixture does offer them the opportunity to lay down a marker for the rest of the Championship.

Perhaps it is too much to ask of a club with a catchment area the size of Loughinisland to consistently compete with the best in the county, yet to their credit they consistently produce a stream of players worthy of wearing the county's colours.

Three of their panel - Dan Gordon, Alan Molloy and Joe Doran - played Championship football for Down this year, while the likes of Brendan Ward and Gary Gordon have been recent members of the county panel. Throw in recent county underage stars like Ryan Stranney, Willie Russell and John Turley, and the Island can boast great resources up their middle.

Except, crucially both Dan Gordon and Joe Doran are currently in the States and their earliest involvement could be in the semi-finals, should their club make it there.

Gordon in particular is a great loss to the Blues, not just because in he and Molloy the Island can boast an inter-county standard midfield partnership, but also for the fact that he is normally one of their top-scorers and a very good free-taker.

Still, they should have too much class for Glenn in the first round anyway, especially if the likes of Stranney, Turley and Mark Valentine are firing on all cylinders.

League form in Division II, where they are clear leaders, would also suggest that Loughinisland are very much the team to beat in this Championship

The Main Dangers
But as the Shamrocks found out to their cost last season, reputation alone will not win you an Intermediate Championship and if anything, the team that dumped the Newry side out of it last season, Kilclief, could offer an even bigger challenge for honours this season.

Beaten finalists by Ballyholland in 2003, Kilclief have come from the depths of Division IV less than a decade ago to establish themselves as one of the more consistent sides in Division II, and after showing a marked improvement in each of the past four seasons, they are now even involved in the promotion chase for senior football.

Up until now this has resurgence been based primarily upon a fine defensive effort, with the likes of Liam Woods, Kieran Polly and Gary Cull all very able customers in this department. Of late though their forwards, such as Dale Curran and Ciaran Sloan, have started raise their game too. But in particular watch out for the recent Down Minor call-up, Ricky Kerr, who looks a class act and could fire Kilclief to glory, while if things aren't going so well, no full-back in the county will welcome the sight of the man-mountain that is Rory Sharvin - nearly back to fitness after a long lay-off - coming in on the edge of the square.

Last season, they found Drumgath just a little too good for them in the semi-final. As they have an unfortunate habit of doing though, in the shape of Atticall, the Rathfriland men found one a little too good for them in the final - their third IFC final loss in recent seasons.

So despite their frankly abysmal league form (they are currently in the bottom two), Drumgath can never be discounted from proceedings in knockout competition. It is hard to know which Drumgath will turn up for any given fixture, but they normally tend to pull together come Championship time.

If they do so again, then they can field a team with almost a surplus of options at midfield in the form of Declan Sheerin, The Lynch brothers, the hugely talented Daniel McCabe, and Packie Downey - although Downey's leg injury is certain to keep him out of the equation until at least the latter stages of the Championship.

Mark Connolly is an extremely dogged man-marker and Seamus Hynds is a tough defender too, while up front Martin Burns (if available) and Paul Hynds both can cause problems.

Given their league form though, it is honestly difficult to see Drumgath launching a serious assault on the Championship this year, but they will not lie down either and with Downpatrick as their first round opponents, they could cause an early upset.

The other main dangers in the competition can be found not far from Belfast, taking the form of Carryduff, even though by rights their lowly league position and recent history in the Championship should not rate them as a dangerous proposition at all.

The problem with being a city club is that players do not often feel the same affinity for their club as rural teams enjoy, but Carryduff occasionally enjoy the flipside of this equation, players moving to the city and looking for a new club. This year has been especially fortuitous for the 'Duff in this regard, with former Tyrone men Damien Teague and Eamon O'Neill joining their ranks, along with recent Down panellist John Lavery.

Along with Adrian Scullion and Aidan McGirr, these players combine to give the city team a huge physical presence that will not be matched by many at this level. Their undoing could lie in their forward line though, where key men like the O'Neill brothers and Eamon Blaney, although all decent players, may not provide the cutting edge required to dispose of the better teams.

Lively Outsiders
The IFC contains a veritable host of dark horses this season, smaller clubs that have been improving in recent years and that secretly - in some cases quite openly- fancy their chances of success.

Quite a few of these dark horses are in Division III such as Bosco, Ardglass and Tullylish, but I reckon that if there is going to be a victor from the third division (the first since Ballyholland in 1994), then it would mostly likely be its current leaders, Glassdrumman.

The Quarter Road side have spent a couple of seasons in Division II of late and although they appeared to lack the depth required for that league, certain results would suggest that they are a talented side when fully-fitted.

Simply though, what marks them out as a potentially good Championship team is the fact that they have four forwards all capable of match-winning performances - Raymond Clarke, Raymond Magorrian, Mick Mooney and Cormac Murphy - the last of whom could lay serious claims to the title of best player in Division III.

If their defence can keep things tight, they could go very well, and their first round match-up with Carryduff could be one of the games of the Championship.

Based on their first season in Division II, where they are more than holding their own, Darragh Cross could be a better bet for honours though. They had been knocking on the door for promotion to this level for a few years, and look determined to stay there now they have made it.

Marcus Miskelly's ability to take a score should come as no surprise to anyone who followed the Down under-21s this year, and he has a very decent striking partner in Gary Kennedy, who can often be found sporting a Cliftonville shirt in the Irish League.

They can also boast a reliable midfield pairing of the veteran Tom McMahon and his younger counterpart Peter Swail, and these two will need big Championships to keep the pressure off a defence that although fit and fast, can leak scores.

Dark Horses
For the rest of the teams involved, outright Championship success is unlikely, but shocks should not be ruled out as every team in the competition is capable of producing the goods.

Score-happy forwards can always cause a shock or two and one Division III side with options up front are Tullylish, with Chris McGovern, Gary Chambers and John McAreavey all regular scorers. The Laurencetown men also have a wealth of experience to call upon, which could be vital. But after being badly found out in both of their recent Division II campaigns, they may just not have the belief in themselves that is required to prosper.

They face Ardglass, a club with a fine minor team, one that appear to be going places at present and one that could well end up in Division II next season if they keep up their current form. With a player of Michael Magee's frame about their midfield, they will always gain their fair share of possession and in the likes of Chris Deegan and Paul McCargo have forwards capable of damage.

Still, as it has only happened once in the competition's history, it would be a remarkable and improbable achievement for a team of players that haven't yet figured at Division II level to plough their way through higher ranked opposition and take the trophy, although they should account for Tullylish in round one.

The only representatives in the competition from Newry are the Bosco and in truth they could only be classed as a serious outside bet if they can manage to regain their impressive early season form, which has petered out quite rapidly in recent games.

Their excellent MFC winning team of 2002 have now fully graduated to the adult ranks but unfortunately for this talented bunch, they did not have a settled core of senior footballers to blend in with and so far have struggled to develop a consistent winning formula.

Down under-21 full-back Mark Rooney is obviously a stand-out player and other names to notes include Mark Quinn, Francie Downey, Neil Conlon and Conor Larkin. If these five produce the goods, they will be too strong for Banbridge in the first round, and then who knows what can happen.

Of the remaining Division II sides, Ballymartin are enduring a dreadful time of it at the foot of the table, but as they showed in last year's relegation play-offs, when push comes to shove, they can still do the shoving.

Aside from Bosco they are the only team involved who can lay claim to having won the trophy, although survivors from that 1993 final would be few and far between, especially now Paul Higgins has (allegedly) hung up his boots for good.

Darren O'Hanlon is a full-back who is a cut above this level though and will not be passed easily, while Cathal McDowell and Ryan Rooney will usually generate enough scores to keep games close. It probably won't be enough to account for Kilclief though.

Saul deserve immense credit for retaining their Division II status last season at the first time of asking, and are not far off course from offering a repeat this time around. Tactically and fitness-wise they seem to be on their game but I suspect they just don't have the overall class or the strength in depth to really take the IFC on. A recent change of manager might not do them any favours either.

Big results against Downpatrick, Annaclone and Ballyholland in recent years should serve as a warning shot to anyone who treats them lightly though and with forwards such as JP Burke, Philip Traynor and Michael Vint, they could punish any leniency shown towards them, and should push past Drumaness at the very least.

Rank Outsiders
That leaves us with just four sides - Glenn, Clann na Banna, Drumaness and St Michael's - and in truth it is difficult to see any of these sides mounting any sort of serious challenge for the title.

Glenn could probably be considered a step or two above the rest of this group and would have been moved up a notch if it wasn't for being drawn to meet Loughinisland in the first round.

The John Martin club has started to make serious progress again after such a dramatic freefall over the past decade and with Colm Murtagh, Damien O'Hare, David Bagnall and Peter Farrelly on board, they have the makings of a decent side. A special mention must be made of the personal tally of a goal and fourteen points that O'Hare recently clocked up against Aghaderg in a league game (yes, 1.14). Frank McGuigan eat your heart out.

With a forward in that sort of form anything is possible, but the Island should realistically be a bridge too far.

Having fallen just short of promotion to Division II in each of the last two seasons, Clann na Banna had the look of a club that could be going places. But having been hit by retirements and emigration (both of their first-choice midfielders are in Oz) this year, they have nestled down again at the lower end of Division III.

With players like Paddy Feeney, Lee Rooney, Johnny Burns and Rory Hill about, given a bit of discipline and belief, this Banbridge side could still very well give Bosco a tough time of it in round one.

After just squeezing into the IFC in coming fourth from bottom of Division III last season, and then in continuing that form through to this season, there is little reason to suggest that Drumaness will cause any ripples in this year's Championship.

Built principally around the scoring power of their talented half-forwards Conor Walsh and Willie Megoran, Drumaness could have done a lot worse than drawing Saul out of the hat, but would still be doing very well to progress to the quarter-finals

That leaves just Division IV leaders St Michael's, who take their place courtesy of their JFC success in 2004. The Magheralin men are a tough, physical side that will not give in easily, but although the brothers Hamill can take a score or two, they are heavily reliant on their Down Minor Declan Lavery, to do the business and the gulf in class between Divisions II and IV should be reinforced by Darragh Cross when they clash in the first round.


Tie of the Round I - Downpatrick vs Drumgath (Thu 11th Aug in Kilcoo at 7.30pm)
The club from South Down most likely to stop those from the East completely dominating the IFC this year are Drumgath, but the maroons could hardly have landed a tougher opening round tie.

A fully-focused, full-strength Downpatrick side could threaten more than a few sides in the Senior Championship and that, together with much better league form than their opponents, will see them enter this game as strong favourites -despite losing the very recent league fixture between the sides.

Jackie and Justin Lynch provide a strong central pairing for Drumgath and one that could win the midfield battle, and if they can get the ball into Daniel McCabe, he could be too athletic and able for Richard Starkey. But the game will most likely boil down to the efforts of Mark Connolly and Seamus Hynds who will need to be on top form to snuff out the threat of Gerard Deegan and Jakey Clarke.

Verdict: Downpatrick to keep their noses in front, just.


Tie of the Round II - Glassdrumman vs Carryduff (Sat 13th Aug in Loughinisland at 4.30pm)
This could well be a very intriguing clash between one of the better forward lines in the competition in Glassdrumman, and one of the better back lines in Carryduff. All eyes will be on the key battle between county full-back Adrian Scullion and the free-scoring Cormac Murphy. Scully is a very adept man-marker but potentially could be exposed under the high-ball, which is one of Murphy's greatest strengths.

If Glassdrumman can get on an even keel at midfield they have the forwards to power to victory, but it is very difficult to see Pat Mallon and Declan Grant getting on top of John Lavery in this sector. Should Lavery see plenty of ball, he will control this game and with it, supply enough ammunition for his forwards to win the game.

Verdict: Carryduff's experience to see them through.

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