Knightsbrook face a big test

The first Meath & District League Challenge Cup final to be played at Hunky Dorys Park could produce a shock result if Knightsbrook can keep the giant-killing attitude intact when they face up to Clones Town next Saturday evening, 6.45. For the un-informed, go to what used to be United Park, it still looks the same, and you should be well entertained as the young guns take on the old boys. Knightsbrook are the young guns on this occasion. They were only formed in 2006 and were born from the seven-a-side tournament which the Meath & District League hosts annually. The founder members of Knightsbrook who are still involved include James Curran, Darren Blaney, David Buckley, Cillian Ryan, Michael Martin, Edward Murray, David Gibney and Eugene Goulding. Although a Trim club, they play at the MDL, Navan and had to endure a number of objections to their affiliation, but they eventually got the green light. Knightsbrook started out in Div 4 and six members of the squad who played in the club's first game are in the panel for Staurday night's big game. Knightsbrook narrowly missed out on promotion in their first season and after a disappointing second season, appointed Michael Craig and Billy Tyndall to the role of management. They won the Div 4 title and the Gerry Reilly Memorial Cup. Last season they were also beaten in the semi-final of the challenge pup by Glenmuir Utd at Marian Park, Drogheda. Already this season, they reached the semi-final of the Leinster Junior Shield, beaten on penalties by Offaly side Banagher, and last Sunday won the O'Neill Shield for the first time. Victory in the cup final on Saturday would represent a great week for the club, but they would also set a record as the first club from what is effectively the fourth grade to win the trophy. "We won the O'Neill Shield last Sunday and we had to work very hard to get the better of Rathkenny Rovers, it was exactly the type of game we needed," Knightsbrook manager Mick Craig told the Meath Chronicle this week. "Clones will probably expect to win the game, as a Premier league team they should be favourites, but we can play good football and I'm expecting to win the game. "I used the Shield final against Rathkenny to have a look at some of the players who don't usually start and it was a useful exercise, I think we have a very strong hand for the game against Clones and we are all looking forward to it," he added. While Knightsbrook are a new club, Monaghan side Clones Town can trace their history back to 1882. One link between the Ulster club and Meath is the fact that Eamonn O'Reilly, a member of Clones Town, was a committee member of the North Eastern Counties Schoolboys League for more than 10 years and served as chairman from 1995 to 2001. He also managed representative teams at various grades. Success has been a frequent visitor to Clones with a unique double in the FAI Junior Cup Ulster area and Midlands area, the only club to have achieved this double. Leinster Senior and Leinster Junior League titles, Fermanagh and Western League, Mercer League Cup, Donegal League, Cavan/Monaghan AUL, LMC, Dundalk, Longford and more recently, the MDL Div 1 title were also achieved over the past 125 years. Clones Town players Jonathan Douglas and Mark Connolly have established professional careers in England. Douglas has played at youth and senior international level for the Republic of Ireland and in 2008, as team captain, led out the Leeds Utd team at the new Wembley stadium. Currently he plays with Swindon Town. Connolly has represented Ireland at youth level and has played with Wolves before moving to Bolton. He is currently on loan to Scottish Premier side St Johnstone. Four years ago, in 2006, Clones Town officials set about developing a home for the club. They purchased five acres of land from Clones Town Council and, with support from the FAI and local fundraising, development is on-going. Looking at this season's challenge cup formbook, Knightsbrook would appear to have a realistic chance of winning the trophy. They certainly had a more difficult route through the early rounds. After disposing of Kingscourt Harps by 5-3 in the opening round, with goals from James Curran (two), Stephen Goulding, Cillian Ryan and Anthony Craig, they then disposed of Premier League high-flyers Duleek (2-1) with a brace from Craig O'Hanlon. They followed that by dumping Monaghan side, current Premier League leaders, Carrick Rovers out by the odd goal in five. Kerry native James Moynihan grabbed two of the goals and Anthony Craig got the other. Clones Town had a much easier passage to the same stage of the competition. A home tie against Navan side Boca Rovers produced no problems (4-0) with a Simon Douglas hat-trick and one by Richard Rooney. That was followed by a trip to Navan to play Bohermeen where goals from Danny Rooney (two) and Stephen Smyth produced a positive result. Clones were on the road again a few weeks later, again to Navan, where they edged out Johnstown (2-1) with the help of goals from Smyth and Gary McKenna. Of the two quarter-finals, Knightsbrook appeared to have an easier task, but it must be remembered that they play in Div 3A while Clones are in the Premier League. Clones had a good 4-3 win over Dundalk side Woodview Celtic with Smyth (two), Brian McDonald and Barry Leonard on the mark. Eddie Murray's goal was enough to get Knightsbrook over the Marsh Celtic hurdle. Clones needed penalties and sudden death to beat Albion Rovers (6-5) after the sides shared a goal apiece in a tight semi-final. McDonald was the hit-man in normal time. Knightsbrook made no mistake when they beat Dromin, also beaten in last season's semi-final, by 2-0 with TJ Garry and Moynihan on target. The formbook points to a Clones Town victory, but if Knightsbrook can keep it scoreless for about 20 minutes and then work their way into the game, they will have a chance of causing a major upset.