In the clamourous cockpit that was the All County Football League season in 2009, the usual mix of the good, the bad and the ugly was present.
In Division Three, Bailieboro Shamrocks proved a class apart, only dropping a single point all season. . . . to Munterconnacht.
Sadly there was a familiar denouement to Munterconnacht's league campaign. For all their knocking, the door remained firmly closed at year-end.
The outgoing team-management of Gerry Hanley, Val Yore, Declan Hetherton, Martin Cadden and Eugene Sheridan gave it everything. No stone was left unturned.
At the start of the past year, there were genuine hopes in the Munterconnacht camp that another day out on finals day at Breffni were in the pipeline.
Reflecting on what was a year of 'what might have been', club Secretary Aisling Matthews paints a vivid picture of the missing pieces in the jigsaw.
"We seem to be quite hopeful every year of a good run in the league or the championship but, overall, 2009 was another disappointing year for us.
"The team-management and the players themselves did their best though and the team showed a lot of potential in the game against Bailieboro.
"That was a game that we could even have won but there were others too that we got a draw when we could have gained all two points at stake.
"As things worked out, if we had gotten another couple of wins instead of those draws we would have possibly been in line for a top four spot."
In common with most - if not all - clubs, Munterconnacht's league season was guillotined; pre-championship and post-championship league.
In July, the Meath-border crew came up against Cavan Gaels' second string in the JFC and lost out by 1-4 to 1-12.
Heroics by the Cavan Gaels' 'keeper saw him pull off a double save from Sean Nolan in the 36th minute and from there to the finish an air of inevitability slowly wafted its way over proceedings.
Sadly for Munterconnacht, that double whammy fairly knocked the stuffing out of their challenge and came at a time when they desperately sought to eat into the Gaels' 1-6 to 1-1 cushioned half-time lead.
In truth though, the Meath-border side had been playing a game of catch-up which they scarcely ever looked like winning.
Munterconnacht simply lacked the punch, drive and guile going forward to hatch enough scores that would have driven them at speed towards the chequered flag.
A draw with Shercock, also in the group stage, meant that Munterconnacht were really up against it in trying to qualify for the play-offs.
"We got that game re-arranged because of the leaving cert but nothing went right for us in front of the goals. We were the better team on the day."
Nevertheless, the blue and whites thundered forward in search of redemption and duly carved out a morale-boosting 3-10 to 3-9 win over Swad.
A last-minute point by John McCabe was all that separated Munterconnacht and their opponents when the teams clashed in the JFC at Terry Coyle.
Sadly McCabe's expert finish failed to save his side from exiting the championship nor did it block Swad's path to the quarter-finals.
With only pride at stake for Munterconnacht, it was expected that the Fermanagh-border side would coast through to the last eight but McCabe and co. had other ideas.
After some early sparring, it was McCabe's 16th min goal in the 16th minute - after good work by Terry McCabe - which gave the winners a neat start.
However less than 90 seconds later, Swad also found the net to eventually leaving Munterconnacht trailing by 1-3 to 1-4 at the interval.
The second half proved to be another tit-for-tat encounter with one team and then the other threatening to steal a march on their opponents only to see their hands ripped free of the tiller.
Swad remained two points in front, 1-8 to 1-6, up to the 43rd minute but then the tide suddenly changed with Munterconnacht recording a hat-trick of points from free-kicks via the boots of Darragh Carroll, Colm Caffrey and Tommy Brady.
Munterconnacht were now playing with a renewed sense of self-belief and conviction and when Darragh Carroll goaled in the 51st minute to leave his side 2-9 to 1-8 ahead, Swad looked in deep trouble.
It was all-action stuff and later Darragh Carroll was fouled in the square and after dusting himself down, crashed the subsequent spot-kick into the Swanlinbar net to propel his side into a 3-9 to 2-8 lead.
True to form, Swad rebounded off the ropes in spirited fashion and two quick-fire points from the would-be county finalists tied the scores yet again.
Munterconnacht had a sting in their tail though and in the dying seconds, John McCabe made himself the match-winner with a neat finish to seal it.
Sadly the gritty win was all to no avail as the Gaels and Swanlinbar went onto the quarter-final stages partly because of Swad's win over the Gaels.
Munterconnacht ( 2009 JFC v Swanlinbar);
Shane Roche; Peter Cullen, Tommy McCabe, Mark Flynn; Brendan O'Shea, Tommy Brady (0-1), Sean Nolan; Dan Nolan, Stephen Sheridan; Paddy O'Dwyer, Shane O'Reilly (0-2), Mark Finnegan; Colm Caffrey (0-1), John McCabe (1-3), Darragh Carroll (2-4).
Subs used; Johnny Morrissey; James Bough.
"By the middle of August we were out of the championship and up to the end of the season, it was difficult to get the lads motivated,"says Aisling.
"At the start of the season we had hoped to at least get ourselves out of the group and into the play-offs so, in that sense, it was disappointing.
"We were in the so-called Group of Death though - the only junior team there, competing against Cavan Gaels, Swanlinbar and Shercock.
"We got the short straw when the draws were made but I suppose if you're going to win a championship you have to beat the best teams in it."
The Gods weren't on Munterconnacht's side, it appears, in 2009. The blue and whites had every reason to vent their spleen, stamp their feet.
Always up against it with regard to the 'numbers game', Munterconnacht were shorn of the services of three - abroad-based - key players last year.
England, Scotland and Australian's gain was Munterconnacht's loss in '09. And yet Aisling feels that more success could definitely have been gained.
"The players gave it their all; with lads even commuting home from England. But even with a full-squad, we didn't manage to win certain games.
"It was ironic that sometimes with the bare minimum of players - when we'd be praying for no injuries - we managed to get the win."
Fulsome in her praise for the work carried out by a host of people at the coalface, Aisling wishes the best of luck to new manager James Cole.
"We're hopeful that James can work the oracle. Also we're hopeful that we can field a second adult team this year.
"2009 was a topsy-turvy year for us but the average age of the team is only around the 24 mark and they haven't much ground to make up.
"We know the lads have good ability and the potential is definitely there but maybe they're lacking a bit of a killer instinct or even self-belief."
Aisling is buoyed by the excellent work being done at juvenile level in the club and she says the U21 Division One title win last year was a big boost.
The fact that there was a handful of Munterconnacht players on the title-winning U21 amalgam was "a great shot in the arm for the club" says Aisling.
"The amalgamations suit us at times but the ideal thing obviously is to be able to field teams on our own," the long-time administrator opines.
"We have a brillant underage structure in place with over 70 players turning out every Sunday morning for training.
"The work is ongoing but it will take a few years for the work at juvenile level to manifest itself at adult level so it's all about having patience.
"We're optimistic that the youngsters will come through but there's no guarantee and a lot might depend on the effects of the economic situation."
With ambitious work planned by the club regarding the extension and refurbishment of the club's clubrooms, it'll be all-go once again this year.
Imbued with the same gra for Gaelic games as that which has coloured her father Johnny's life, Aisling says there's a great rapport within the club.
"We're a united bunch at the club and we're all working towards achieving a common goal which is the betterment of the club."
And her role in working towards achieving stated goals?
"I will do my best. I want to see winning teams at the club and I will work as hard as I can to help in that regard.
"I don't see my workload as club Secretary as a burden."
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