Battle hardened and full-of-heart underdogs on November weekends can take the most fancied of favourites out at the knees on the biggest of occasions - something that Kilmeena knew only too well as they made the journey north to Crossmolina last Saturday.
Cill Chomain weren't traveling south to make up the numbers, they were there to do a job and create their own little bit of history - but when all was said and done, it was the men from the mouth of Clew Bay, who were drinking from the cup of joy as they claimed their first Mayo Junior Football Championship in 19 years after a hard-fought three-point win.
Kilmeena were touted from early doors as the team to beat in the junior championship this year and they moved through the group stages and the knock-out rounds at their ease and looking exactly like the team everyone thought they were. Cill Chomain though, were always there, not far out of sight, a side with accomplished attacking key-men and an iron will and resolve that forged their own path to last weekend's final.
The West Mayo men powered out of the blocks early on, raising three white flags, with John McGlynn getting things going before Joey Smyth and Niall Feehan followed suit. But if they thought this was going to be easy, Cill Chomain rocked them back in their socks with the next score of the game. Derek Moran fetched a long ball in, he fed the ball off to Darragh Murphy who fired it past Paul Groden and Cill Chomain were off. The talented Justin Healy got his first score of the day and Murphy added a point of his own and Paul McGarry's men were 1-2 to 0-3 up at the first water break.
The eventual champions showed the composure of winners in the next quarter to turn the tide back in their favour, with Darragh Keaveney kicking two points from frees, along with a great score from Mayo man Jack Carney, to put his side a point to the good as half time approached. One point down at half time is something Cill Chomain would have been pleased with - but just before the median whistle the game swung irrevocably in Kilmeena's favour.
They pushed up on the Cill Chomain kick-out and forced the ball to be turned over inside the danger area and team captain Sean Ryder was on hand to put the ball to the back of Aaron Healy's net and send his side in to the dressing rooms leading 1-6 to 1-2 ahead, a healthy four-point lead on a day where scores would be hard to come by.
The second half proved as challenging with the sides registering just nine points between them in the second half. Cill Chomain didn't lie down in the final half-hour, with Mark Tighe and Justin Healy getting two early points to cut the gap to just two points. Jack Carney steadied the nerves of his side with a booming effort to stretch it out to there again. But the north Mayo men would not go away and Derek Moran and Justin Healy hit points to leave just one between the sides.
The Clew Bay men responded in kind with Keaveney and Ryder landing points in reply to leave their side 1-9 to 1-6 up at the second water break, as the game headed for the championship minutes. Everything these sides had worked for all year was about to come down to 15 minutes of football. It was tight and tenacious - but Kilmeena were able to hold their nerve down the home straight, with Ryder getting his second point of the day to put his side four to the good and despite their best efforts, Cill Chomain could just register one more score of their own in sight of the finishing line and it was Kilmeena's day to shine.
