There are not many footballers who operate in Cavan club football circles who have the capacity to both excite fans and frighten opponents in any given match. Drumgoon's Mister Versatile Keith Fannin is, thankfully, an exception to the rule. Kevin Carney reports. Keith Fannin has many strings to his bow and, more often than not, when he fires an arrow it goes straight into the heart of the opposition. It's little wonder then that Drumgoon's half-back 'cum half-forward has found favour with new Cavan boss Eamon Coleman and no wonder that as a member of both county under 21 and county senior panels, that the skilful Fannin is one of the most talked about players currently figuring at grass roots level in the Breffni County. Fannin is a fine footballer, Coleman and many others will tell you. A real individualist on the field but also a good team player whose talents have been well recognised by all and sundry au fait with the native game in Cavan. One of his club's most outstanding footballers, Keith Fannin is ambitious and wants to win as much as he can for Drumgoon and Cavan. He has already collected a handful of county medals with Drumgoon and in 2002 was afforded the honour of being named Cavan Intermediate Player of the Year. Surely, like all other things that he confronts on the football field, he took the honour bestowed upon him in his stride with little discomfort: "No, I was a bit surprised that I got it because there were a few other boys on the (Drumgoon) team that could have got it and David McKiernan of Denn must have been in the running too because he had a good year as well." But Keith understands that, more often than not, its a member of the best team around who picks up the singular gong. And seeing as the flying left-half back went and scored two points en route to picking up the man of the match award in the 2002 intermediate championship final, our man Fannin was really odds-on favourite to be afforded the Player of the Year trophy at the subsequent awards ceremony. Funny though, Keith is the first to admit that the width of a post may well have been all that prevented the aforementioned McKiernan being lauded instead at the gala event in the spring of 2003. "John Smith almost won the final for Denn but his shot hit the post in the last minute so you never know what way things might have worked out like had Denn won that day," Keith opines. So before the memory of that ground-breaking intermediate final dims, one wonders what are Keith's most oustanding memories of that day. "I remember we were missing our usual goalkeeper John Reilly but his replacement, Seamus Morris, made a great save in the first half which proved to be very important. "I remember Denn missed a few crucial frees too and it wasn't a great game of football. "I think we showed a lot of nerves that day - it was the first time any of us had played in an intermediate final and we seemed to lose our nerve a bit at times, especially when we got the ball forward and were in a good position to have a shot at goal. "A lot of people said that it was a poor final and I wouldn't disagree with them. We were very nervous and Denn had a lot to loose and the two things combined made for an untidy game." In hindsight, one suspects that the type of self-assuredness and ambition which runs through the 21-year old Fannin were the main factors which held Drumgoon in such good stead when things threatened to explode in their faces against Denn in the 2002 championship decider. "We might have been very nervous in the final itself but we didn't lack for confidence going into the game. "Because we had played so many of the teams in the league, we knew what we were up against in the championship and we weren't really scared of any of them. "We thought that the title was up for grabs between us and maybe three of four others - the likes of Ballinagh and Denn - but we felt that on our day we would be a match for any of the top teams." So how does Keith explain the tremendous success achieved by Drumgoon in winning the Junior Football Championship in 2001 and the intermediate the following year and then its consolidation of its place among the senior outfits? "The workrate of the team is a big thing and the players have a great self-belief. "Our fitness levels over the last few years would have given us an advantage over a lot of teams too." Keith is fulsome in his praise of the influence exerted on the team by Latton native Paddy Bates, team-manager and trainer for the last number of years. Interestingly the senior county rookie says that while Drumgoon were "flying and on top of our game" at the time they scooped the All-Ireland junior club title, he believes that there's a lot more in the collective tank and the current top dogs in Cavan had better watch out! "I don't think we did ourselves justice in last year's senior championship. "We blew it in the quarter-final against Mullahoran when we went three points ahead and looked to be cruising. "For some reason we lost our belief in ourselves at that stage even though if Paul McCabe hadn't been so unlucky with his goal chance, we'd probably have gone on and made the semi-final." Did he feel meeting the Mullahorans of this world represented a major step up in class? "In general there's not that much of a step-up from intermediate to senior level except for when you meet the top three or four teams at that grade. "The hitting is that bit harder, alright, but apart from Cavan Gaels, there isn't that much between the teams at senior level." Not that Keith thinks for one moment that the county town side represent the untouchables of Cavan football. Instead, he believes that the Gaels' strength in depth is that much more superior to that boasted by the chasing pack which he nominates as that of Gowna, Mullahoran, Bailieboro and Drumgoon. "The present Cavan Gaels side is that much quicker than the other teams. They've a very young team but all of the players have a string of underage medals under their belt." But the degree of self-assuredness and even cockiness which the Gaels' lads show is within reach of Drumgoon's finest, Keith maintains. "The Gaels players know that they've won so many county titles before that it almost looks like they go out almost believing that they're due another county title. "They'll probably start off the 2004 championship as favourites again and you couldn't really argue with that. "It's up to the other five or six teams who'll be in the running to knock them off their perch. "I don't think the destination of the championship next summer is a foregone conclusion." Honoured over the years with inclusion on the Cavan county under 16 and minor teams, Keith's elevation onto the under 21 and senior county teams has capped a rapid rise up the ratings for the player. Just six years ago, he was dovetailing between goals, forwards and backs for a somewhat struggling Drumgoon junior team. These days he's part of a highly-rated club side which, along with Keith, boasts of having Edward Jackson, Michael Andrew Hannon and Keith Hannon in training with Eamon Coleman's Cavan senior crew. The Drumgoon club has come a long way in just a few years with Keith saying that things really couldn't have gone sweeter overall. "I think it was a blessing in disguise that we didn't go up to intermediate ranks the year Cornafean pipped us in the junior final. "I think that would have been a year too soon for us. It was a big blow to lose to Cornafean in the way we did but the team showed great character and spirit to come back from that." Again Keith hints at the reserves that Drumgoon can all upon ahead of their next tilt at the blue riband championship title. He firmly believes that there's some great stuff up and coming with the likes of county minor Michael McDonald bound to add to Drumgoon's overall potency this year and for a fair few years to come. Not normally one for crystal ball gazing, Keith does, nevertheless, reckon that a place in the 2004 senior championship final does beckon for Drumgoon. A noted soccer player and one who has been approached once again to play in the Eircom League in 2004 by Monaghan United, Keith says that playing in the county decider later this year would really help cement his allegiance to the native game. Making the county final later this year would mean a hell of a lot to him personally and the Drumgoon club. And what of the county scene in 2004? "An Ulster under 21 medal and a senior one too would be great," he answers, half-joking, whole-in-earnest. Tweet

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