Curraha to stay on course for immediate return

There are plenty of examples over the last two or three decades where teams relegated from the top flight have struggled to arrest the slide and have taken a long time, if ever, to get back to where they once belong.

Clubs like Dunderry and Kilmainhamwood won the Keegan Cup in successive years in 1995 and '96, but now ply their trade in JFC and Junior B respectively.

Also in the JFC are teams like St Ultan's who played senior in 2010, Carnaross were senior in 1999, Ballinlough dropped out of senior in '07 after 16 years in the top flight and Nobber only six years ago.

So it's not unusual that two clubs like Slane and Curraha, who will contest next Sunday's JFC semi-final in Skryne, have fallen through the ranks, and whose single focus is to get back to the top table.

Slane lost their senior status along with Carnaross in '99 and went the whole way to the bottom before starting their climb back in 2013 with success in the Junior B FC.

Curraha's survival in senior since they landed there in 2018 was almost always by the skin of their teeth, but in the last two years they've found survival difficult and successive relegations has left them in the third tier.

Such a drop through the ranks is hard to fathom when assessing the players at their disposal. Names like James McEntee, Jack O'Connor and Diarmuid Moriarty are all part of the Meath senior set up, others like David Toner, Neil Shortall, Conor Moriarty have been there or thereabouts in terms of county selection, so they certainly have the talented individuals.

The problem seems to be getting all those star names on the pitch at the same time and getting them to gel. Another outstanding player, Gavin Coyle, has stepped away from his playing position to takwe on the mangerial role when no-one else seemed to want it and he has steadied the ship brilliantly and now his side look on course to take their first forward step since winning the IFC in 2017.

Slane are more of a perfect example of a good team rather than a collection of outstandingly tralented individuals. Of course they have some extremely talented players like Tadhg Martin, Senan Duffy, Podge McGowan, Braydon Colfer, Ethan Harding, but it is the collective that has set Slane apart.

This semi-final meeting is a tough one to call. Slane's surprise loss to Dunderry in their final group game sent them into a quarter-final and that journey might actually suit them as they got back on the horse with a big win over Moylagh.

However, there's something relentless about Curraha and they seem well placed to bounce back at the first attempt, starting with a win over Slane in Sunday's semi-final. Verdict - Curraha.