Williamstown minors' major achievement

By JIM CARNEY Williamstown .....................1-10 Clifden .................................1-9 A GLORY DAY for Williamstown G.A.A. Club at Pearse Stadium on Sunday, as their brilliant young football team, the pride of the parish, added the SuperValu County Minor 'B' Championship crown to their 2010 North Board title and the two Leagues they've won in back-to-back years. Remarkably, they went all the way this year with a panel of only 18 players, such is their catchment area's small 'pick' but they are 18 young lions. Their families, schools and all of Williamstown are hugely proud of them, and rightly so. And also proud of the two brilliant managers who masterminded all this success, Kieran Conneely and Seán Smyth. Breffny Morgan and Bláthnaid Ni Chofaigh eat your hearts out â€â€ this week, the football-mad parish of Williamstown have their own Celebrity Bainisteorí! And a star of the future, too, if all goes his way, if he stays injury-free and gets the breaks. For the sensational display given by the 16-year-old Williamstown full-forward Gary Kelly was the talk of Pearse Stadium on Sunday; it overshadowed the Minor A final which followed Gary's 9-point scoring blitz â€â€ seven from play, right and left, either straight through the middle or jinking his way in from the wings â€â€ and it was a joy to watch. It is simply impossible to cool it or play it down; this was a virtuoso performance, the likes of which we haven't seen from a youngster on a G.A.A. pitch since the precocious Joe Canning went public with his bravura hurling skills as a 15-year-old. Sure, there is a danger that building up this young Williamstown footballer could heap intolerable pressure on him but I don't think he has anything to fear. Interviewed on Galway Bay fm on Sunday, he was as cool talking about the game as he was in playing it; he was level-headed and modest; his managers will help keep him on the right track if they remain at the helm (Gary has another two years to go in the Minor grade), and why should anyone try to play down what is clearly a very special talent? It was a pleasure to meet him after the game and shake his hand, and you just knew by his mature attitude and his delightful personal manner that here's a young man with a sensible head on his strong shoulders. Not that it was a one-man show, I hasten to add: Williamstown played as a team to get the ball through to their scoring ace at full-forward, and their fantastic team spirit, so much in evidence in a memorable second-half display against Caherlistrane in the North Board final, was a huge factor, too. That was especially the case in the final quarter, after a battling Clifden comeback led to a tremendous goal by right full-forward Chris Holmes, with ten minutes to go, and from there to the end it was a see-saw contest with Williamstown either one or two points up and refusing to yield, and Clifden throwing everything into a huge effort to stay alive. Incidentally, Herald Sport had warned Williamstown after their 1-7 to 0-5 win over Caherlistrane that 1-7 would hardly be a big enough score to beat Clifden, and so it proved. In the end, at Salthill on Sunday, four minutes into injury-time, it came down to a high ball into the Williamstown goalmouth, which the sturdy, courageous full-back Thomas Comer, Man of the Match in the North final, caught cleanly and laid off to Thomas Flynn in intelligent support, and the danger was averted. In fairness to Naomh Fheicín, An Clochán and their mentors Patrick King, Tom King and John McDonagh (a Kilconly man), they gave a magnificent second-half display, into a strong wind, after leading by only one point at half-time, 0-4 to 0-3. On the resumption, it looked like Williamstown's game to win or lose and indeed there was one period in the second half when Gary Kelly was firing over points with such confidence that it was in danger of turning one-sided. But Clifden very noticeably lifted their effort all over the field, and with just over twelve minutes to go they sounded a warning bell when a goal chance came to them but the brave Williamstown 'keeper Michael Smyth stood his ground, stood tall and made a magnificent save which raised a massive cheer from the winners' large army of delighted supporters in the Stand. The excellent Chris Holmes's goal two minutes later left the outcome in the balance but it was destined to be Williamstown's day, not just in the dazzle of Gary Kelly's brilliance but in the fantastic blocks and tackles put in by the two corner-backs Luke Murray and Declan Glennon, the never-say-die defence of the two central powerhouses Thomas Comer and Dara Conneely, and John Noone and Thomas Flynn in the wing-back positions; the massive workrate of Niall Conneely and Thomas Flynn in midfield, and the hard work put in by all the forwards, with a special word for Joseph Dolan who punched in his team's goal in the second half. As they used to say of his famous namesake, the legendary singer â€â€ No show like a Joe Show! In the final analysis, well done to both teams. This was one of those days when you greeted the final whistle saying to yourself: it was great to have been there. Williamstown: Ml. Smyth; Luke Murray, Thomas Comer, Declan Glennon; John Noone, Dara Conneely, Thomas Smyth; Niall Conneely, Thomas Flynn; Stephen Nee, Daniel Kirrane, captain (0-1), Seán Smyth; Declan Nee, Gary Kelly (0-9, two frees), Joseph Dolan (1-0). Subs., Martin Flanagan, for Declan Nee, inj., David Mitchell, for Niall Conneely, inj. Clifden: Niall Staunton; Liam de Courcey, Eoin Kilkenny, captain, Marty Conneely; David Black, John Mannion, Cathal Molloy; Conor Lee, Jack Vaughan; Brian O'Toole, Conal Joyce (0-1), John Cohill; Chris Holmes (1-3), Gerard Gibbons (0-3, all frees), Peter Cullen (0-2). Sub., M. Gavin, for Cohill. Referee: Tom Nally. Herald Sport Man of the Match: Gary Kelly (Williamstown).