From a relegation play off in 2015, Nugent has been part of Ferbane's ultra consistent decade

IT is hard to believe it now considering their phenomenal consistency over the past decade but in Kevin Nugent's first year on the Ferbane senior football team in 2015, they had to survive a relegation play off to retain their top flight status.

One of Offaly's great footballing clubs, home to some of its most heroic footballers, relegation would have been unthinkable for Ferbane and would have went down like a tonne of bricks in the town and the wider, sprawling parish.

Without a championship win since 1994 when they won their 11^th title, Ferbane had been very poor for a few years and the prospect of relegation had begun to loom large as the 2010s progressed.

They beat St Brigid's that day and a year later, Ferbane were back in the county final where a then powerful Rhode overwhelmed them and also proved to be their bugbear in the 2018 final. In 2019, Ferbane ended a long twenty five year famine to scenes of wild jubilation but Tullamore have broken their hearts regularly since then, beating them in the 2023 and 2024 finals and losing a penalty shootout semi-final to them.

Since 2015, Ferbane have been in every semi-final and the team that beat them has generally gone on to win the championship. It is a run of remarkable consistency but as he begins to approach the stage when he will be classed as a veteran, Kevin Nugent still has only one senior football medal to his name.

Joint captain with Cian Johnson this year, Nugent was too young to fully appreciate the trauma that the 2015 relegation play off would caused to many of the great figures of the past but did have an inkling of its importance.

That was his first year playing senior football and he said last week: “I knew what was going on around the place. We were just glad to win and stay up.”

The desire to add to the 2019 medal is a powerful one for Nugent and so many others. As he fielded questions in the Ferbane club-house last week about their final defeats to Tullamore and hard semi-final losses, he pointed over his shoulder to the Ferbane hall of fame – a wall with the pictures of 11 of their 12 senior football winning sides, with the 1914 one missing. “I'd love to be on the 12^th to go up there,” he smiled.

There has been considerable change to the Ferbane line-up this year with Leon Fox transferring to Louth, Joe Maher opting for intermediate and other players injured. In a way, it was no harm to freshen things up but Nugent insisted: “I don't know if it freshens things up. The two boys are a big loss. Thirty years between them. Great players and leaders and big personalities. Other lads have stepped up to the mark.”

Sunday will be Nugent's sixth final to play in but with just one win out of five, the conversion rate is not good. Back in 2019, they looked certain to win more and Nugent agreed:

“I suppose so. We probably dropped back a bit. It's not that we expected we were going to win but people expected. There were tough years in finals against Rhode.”

He insisted that they didn't relax having won one, pointing out that they lost two semi-finals to penalty shootouts – a cruel way to lose.

“Yeah they were. It's a lot down to pot luck. It's something that was new at the time. They were very good teams as well, Rhode and Tullamore.”

He referred to their volume of dual players when asked about their consistency. “We had very good players and to keep coming back. We had 13 dual players this year.”

The refereeing came under scrutiny after last year's final loss to Tullamore but Nugent doesn't want to go back to that.

“It was a 50/50 decision. Some people were upset about it but there was other things we done in the match. We don't want to put ourselves in that position”

He doesn't go along with the suggestion that Ferbane have blown hot and cold this year, declaring:

“You are probably slightly harsh on us. We had a very good first half against Rhode, poor second half. Same against Edenderry. By the time we played Edenderry they had played three championships matches whereas some of our dual players had six. It makes a difference. I am absolutely not excusing it but now we are in the final.”

Nugent is only one of a few football only players and points out that playing both codes is just something they do.

“We have been doing it since were under ten. We're well used to it, we don't use it as an excuse.”

Ferbane fell over the line against Shamrocks in the quarter-final with controversy surrounding a two point score that should have been one.

He remarked: “They pushed us very hard. That was a proper championships battle. It went down to the very last 15 minutes. Shamrocks are a very good side. They probably have some of the top forwards in the county. Big men in the middle as well.”

That match was the best in the championship to date and Nugent smiled:

“It was exciting football. People want to go and enjoy a game like that. That is why you play. People want exciting football. The spectacle is better. I would like to think that Ferbane are an exciting team to watch.”

Edenderry were slight favourites for the semi-final for many but those type of things fly over the head of Ferbane.

“No. We don't worry too much about what's goes on outside. Obviously Edenderry won the league. One of the best in our group. Going on that they were probably justified being favourites. But we were proven and ticking over nicely. They had goal chances there at the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half and we made two great saves.”

Ferbane played some of their best football in years as they blasted Edenderry out of the water in the second half.

“We got on top. Our backs were really good, They were really tight in the air. Our forwards did very well. The goal kinda opened up the game. It was exceptional really. In the second half we played well.”

He is under no illusions that Tullamore won't give them the same space.

“No. Absolutely not. Tullamore are a fine side. They have great players. Some of the top players in the county at the moment. A great keeper. They are very well settled at the back. They are favourites. They are very high up the odds for Leinster. That is justified. We know what we're up against. We've to perform exceptionally well for 60 minutes.”

He was asked about the importance of Cathal Flynn to Ferbane.

“Extremely important. He's after coming on in the last couple of years. He's a brilliant footballer. His displays have gone through the roof but it is going to take 15 and five or six subs as well.”

A third county final defeat to Tullamore is nightmare stuff for Ferbane.

“Yeah. Tullamore are a great side. They probably don't get the respect they deserve. They are great footballers with great depth and a great management team behind them.”

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A garda based in Roganstown, memories of past county final defeats will inflame Ferbane passions ahead of this match.

“Lads are chatting about it. It's tough. All you can do is get back playing. There is no point dwelling on it for too long.”