Taking shape
March 01, 2010Belturbet deservedly annexed County Board silverware at adult level in the shape of the Division Four league (beating Cuchulainns by 0-15 to 1-11 in a thrilling decider). They finished second on the Division One table (winning nine of their 13 matches) and were still waiting patiently to play their semi-final against Castlerahan at the time of writing (mid-January 2010). Two-thousand-and-nine also saw Belturbet qualify for the U21 Division One championship decider and the county junior 'B' championship final (against Castlerahan).
In the SFC, they were pipped by Mullahoran at the quarter-final stage (2-10 to 1-11), having beaten West Cavan Gaels (3-11 to 1-7), Redhills (1-12 to 0-12) and Drumbride (1-13 to 1-11) to emerge from the group stage with a 100% record. It was an extremely busy year for the club across the board and it's encouraging that so much exciting young talent is coming through the system to forge a well-balanced senior team with an enviable blend of youth and experience.
It's worth noting that Belturbet operates as a sole club at underage level and invariably give a superb account of themselves at all grades. They got to an U21 final last year, losing to an amalgamation side, and also enjoyed a notable 0-12 to 0-9 league win over the Gaels in '09. Clearly, things are taking shape and who knows where it will all end for one of the county's most progressive clubs…
Mark Lawlor was part of the management team with the U21 side that lost the 2009 Division One championship final to Ramor-Munterconnaught. Reflecting on that campaign, he notes: "We got to the final as a sole club and we were beaten by an amalgamation. We're happy enough with that but, at the same time, these lads have lost two or three finals now - all to amalgamations - which is very frustrating.
"Having said that, it looks very good for the future. We got to an U21 final and we did it on our own, which is significant. We're only going to lose four of those lads this year and - while they're four key players - we should have a strong enough U21 team in 2010 as well."
The U21 backroom team in '09 was completed by Declan Reilly, Jimmy Coen and Patsy Teevan, all of whom worked with this crop of players right through from U12 level up. "Those men have done tremendous work with that group of players for the past ten years or so. I only came in for one year there and gave them a hand. Seven or eight of the U21s are on the senior panel already, with five or six of them starting regularly. It's great to see so much young blood coming through and we're confident in the ability of these players."
Mark was in charge of the senior team for three years prior to '09, helping the club to a SFC semi-final in '07, wherein they were beaten by Cavan Gaels. "We've been to three semi-finals but haven't managed to get through to a final yet. But hopefully our time is coming…"
Having stepped aside himself, Mark was very impressed by what he saw from the Belturbet seniors in 2009: "The senior team really impressed under Gary Donohoe from Gowna, Declan Reilly, Aaron Donohoe and Pat Donohoe. They did a superb job. We qualified for a league semi-final, having finished second in Division One, and we're the only team to have beaten the Gaels in the league in the past two years. We also got to a championship quarter-final, so we're right up there now as one of the top clubs in the county."
What's an achievable goal for Belturbet in 2010, then? "We're in the top three or four in the county and we just need to make the breakthrough now. Obviously, the Gaels are the team to beat and that's what we have to look at. If we can just push it on a bit more and try to get a little bit extra out of the team, bring a few more lads through and get a bit more maturity, then we should go close.
"Jason O'Reilly has retired from intercounty football now and that should be good for the club. Jason has been a wonderful servant to Cavan over the years and we're really looking forward to having him available to Belturbet for the entire season. That could prove a massive boost. Paul Murphy will also be back from injury and Eoin McGuigan is on the county senior panel this year. If all those guys step up, Belturbet won't be far away."
The club is also going well at juvenile level. A Cumann na mBunscol title was garnered by the local school during the year and Belturbet also reached an U12 'A' championship final as well as an U16 semi-final. "The underage structure is good and we're fielding on our own at all levels," Mark continues. "We have a separate juvenile committee and they are doing tremendous work. Senior and junior Scor have also started up in the club again and we were delighted with the performances of our reserve team in 2009, who won the Division Four league and got to the junior 'B' final."
The brilliant 'B' team was managed last year by Ciaran McCaffrey, Vinny Fitzpatrick and Sean Martin.
Looking at the broader picture, Belturbet is a healthy club standing in very good stead on all fronts. The first team struggled with injuries in 2008 and just about hung on that season but they kicked on in '09 with a strong new management team and laid the foundations for what could prove a landmark 2010.
"We also have Kevin 'Chops' McConnell back from Australia and things seem to be falling into place. We should be very strong this year and I would be quietly optimistic about the next few years for Belturbet. The groundwork has been done over the past six or seven years and we should be there or thereabouts with the experience we have and the U21s coming through to give us a good mix."
The Belturbet team that beat Cuchulainns in the 2009 ACFL Division Four final at Killygarry in October was: Darryl Anscombe; Killian Reilly, Peter Shannon, Darragh Dolan; Conor Vaughan, Mark Teevan (0-2), Donald McGee (0-1); Ollie Donohoe, Johnny Klushe (0-2); Niall Reilly (0-1), Cormac Rudden, Enda Henry (0-1); Padraig Corrigan, Brendan Fitzpatrick (0-6), Gareth Fitzpatrick (0-2). Subs: Breenan Reilly, JJ Murphy. Tweet
