There is an old GAA saying that states leagues are for playing in and championships are for winning. Over the years many have argued its relevance but the Drumalee club certainly proved that theory true this year.  

Drumalee entered the intermediate championship as relative underdogs after an inconsistent league campaign. In fairness, they were tipped as dark-horses for glory from some quarters but their ninth place finish in the ACFL Division Two did not inspire confidence and failed to give a solid foundation for that argument.

However, after a topsy-turvy season all in the club pulled together for their championship adventures and they eventually reaped their rewards. There was no miracle moment where everything fell into place for the team. Their climb to the top was a long, enduring test and they learned a substantial amount about themselves as they went along.
Team manager Mickey Lee struggled to hide his delight when looking back on the impressive feat.

"Winning the championship was great for everyone in the club and I have to say it was very special to me being the manager of my own club. At the start of the year we sat down and decided that we were going to give a good rattle and thankfully it panned out that way," he said. 
Interestingly, their opening championship match was anything but a dream start as they went down to Kill on a score-line of 1-8 to 1-6 in Crubany.  In a group of just three teams that defeat immediately placed them under immense pressure and it left them with a do-or-die fixture against Laragh United on July 31.

The Stradone men put up a strong resistance but eventually Drumalee clinched a three-point victory to secure their safe passage into the last eight of the IFC.  There they met Cootehill, the 2009 beaten finalists and it was far from a pretty contest. Played under lights at Kingspan Breffni Park this game was a measure of each sides hunger and Drumalee's shone through as they edged out their opponents by a single point, 0-10 to 1-6, with county ace Mickey Brennan putting in an excellent performance.

After that victory it was obvious that the town side were getting wind in their sails and their dreams of returning to the senior ranks were gathering momentum like a snowball which had started at the top of a mountain.
"I don't think there is any doubt that we were outsiders at the start of the championship and we got off to a poor start. Kill beat us by two points and we played very poorly on the day. Truthfully, they should have beaten us by more and we got off very lucky against Laragh to make it out of the group.

"Honestly I think the turning point in our season came in the game against Cootehill. Nobody fancied us to beat them after them being in the final the year before. Credit to the lads though they knuckled down and we tried hard against Cootehill. It was a tight game and we managed to win by a point and it was after that win that I think our lads started to believe in themselves," said Lee.

At the penultimate stage they faced an experienced Knockbride outfit who still boasted the threat of Peter and Larry Reilly as well as John Tierney and Raphael Rogers. However, despite such formidable opposition the Drumalee defence completely thwarted that threat and limited them to a paltry tally of just two points over the course
of 60 minutes of play.  Obviously they won the contest after conceding such a little amount and the seven points of their own was enough to drag them into the intermediate decider against a high-flying and well fancied Drumlane side.

"Conditions for the Knockbride match really were awful. It was raining all week and the field was just a mess. We won it 0-7 to 0-2 in the end but it really was dreadful. That didn't bother us all that much though because we got the win we wanted.
"We'd watched their quarter-final against Drumgoon and identified their four main men. As a management team, we thought that if we could mark and stop the likes of Larry Reilly and John Tierney then we would have a great chance of beating them. We defended superbly in that match and in fairness to all the lads at the back our defence had been great all year," said the manager.

There was no doubt that the men from the west were favourites for the decider as they kicked on from an excellent league campaign to sail through to an intermediate final. At the semi-final stage they were pushed to a replay by Bailieborough Shamrocks and they particularly impressed in that affair.
Form, however, often goes out the window when competitions get to such an important stage. Drumalee were desperate to win the cup they last held back in 2006 and in fairness they kept their best performance until last as they comfortably overcame a disappointing Drumlane outfit on October 10 in Cavan GAA HQ on a score-line of 1-11 to 0-8.

On the day Lee's charges were dominant in all sectors of the field and were full value for their triumph. Although the west Cavan men drew first blood inside three minutes through full-forward Stephen McCann, Daragh Gaffney quickly registered Drumalee's first score with a routine free at the opposite end.  
 
The town side upped the momentum after that and were a point ahead when the game's only goal arrived. A direct ball into the square from midfielder Mickey Brennan wasn't dealt with by the Drumlane defence and Gaffney latched onto it to fire past 'keeper Darren Murphy and into the bottom corner. That major seemed to knock the stuffing out of Drumlane and they never fully recovered - trailing by 1-7 to 0-4 at the interval.  

In the second-half, Drumlane hit back with two scores through Barry Corrigan and Barry Cunningham but that was about as good as it got for them as Drumalee's superb running game proved too much for them to live with.  
Drumalee didn't take their foot off the gas though and scores from Kevin Donohoe, Gaffney and 'Man of the Match' Brennan pushed them six clear in the final quarter.
Drumalee (IFC final v Drumlane): James Heffernan; Enda McCormick, Brendan Smith, Kevin Gavigan; Timmy Looney, Daire Donohoe, Gary Ferncombe; Gary Malone, Michael Brennan (0-4, 1f, 1 '45); Gerard Reilly, Kevin Donohoe (0-2), Craig Sheridan (0-1); Mark Ferncombe, Daragh Gaffney (1-4, 4f), Patrick Colton. Subs: Tomas O'Keeffe, Jimmy Fallon, Damien Donohoe.  
Lee insists it was a very proud day for all associated with the club.

"I think we peaked at just the right time," he said. "We didn't get the scores we should have in the earlier rounds and we were kicking plenty of wides but that changed in the final and I think it's fair to say we had a pretty comprehensive victory. Drumlane are a good side and at that point we were only the second team to beat them all year after they lost one league game to Ballyhaise. Nobody can doubt their quality which makes the manner of our victory all the more sweeter.
"I think our players recent experiences in intermediate finals really stood to us when it really mattered. We last won it back in 2006 so most of our lads had been here before and it wasn't new territory for us. We had also lost the '05 final to Cuchulainns and we didn't want to experience that feeling again.

"Drumlane I think got a bit of stage fright on the big day and it affected their performance. It was definitely the best game we played all year and you really can't pick a better time than the final to do that.
"The last time we got promoted to the senior championship we came straight back down and it's important now that the players don't let that happen again. Everyone is going to have to kick on, pull their weight and try to give this senior championship a proper rattle this time."

It's fair to say that a key ingredient to Drumalee's championship winning flavour was the return of star midfielder Mickey Brennan to the club. The Cavan player was in tremendous form throughout the season for both club and county and he had a telling impact on their season as a whole. Lee admits everybody in the club was delighted to see him return from his stint with Simonstown in Meath.

"Ah look, it was just a fantastic boost to get Mickey back on board with us. He was still living and working in Cavan but he decided to go back to his original club Simonstown for another go with them. When he left it was on good terms and he had always said that he would eventually come back.

"When I took the manager job at the start of the year I really thought having Mickey with us again could make the difference between a good season and a very good season. We won it with him back in '06 and we won it with him again this year so I think that say's all you need to know about Mickey. We were happy that he wanted to come back to us and it made sense because he was still based in and around the club. I think he kicked four points from midfield in the final and got the man of the match award but I have to say we were far from a one man team."

As mentioned before the league campaign was a frustrating one for the team as they struggled in the lower half of the table throughout. Lee feels various factors affected their standings in the ACFL Division Two but admits it never really concerned him too much.

"We started well in the league and won our first three games but it kind of faded off after that. We didn't really struggle, even when we lost it was normally only by a point or two. We had a number of injuries over the course of the year and that effected us. On top of that we had to play without Mickey Brennan for at least five league games," said Lee, who doubles as a referee within the county.

"For championship we very fortunately had a clean bill of health and had a full deck to choose from. That was a massive help and in a small club like us if you have 20 to 25 lads pushing each other on it makes a big difference."
Lee insists 2011 is a year Drumalee should be relishing already and thinks this is the time for them to prove they belong in Cavan football's top tier.

"I would be very, very hopeful for next year. We're still in Division Two in the league so I think the immediate goal has to be to clinch promotion from there. We need to get out of there if you want to be progressing and after that you would be hopeful of a solid season in the championship. I think the next year or two it is all about stabilising ourselves and keeping our senior status. Nobody wants to go straight back down like we did the last time.

"We have a few younger players coming through and they will improve with time. It's just all about knuckling down now and be willing to work hard enough to compete in the senior championship. That's where every club wants to be.
"I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my management team of Ger Shaughnessy, Michael Lyons, Martin Sexton and John Denning. They were a massive help over the year and I can't thank them enough," Lee concluded.  
 
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