As team captain, Enda Fitzpatrick proudly led Mountnugent into the 2003 Cavan JFC final. Lavey gatecrashed the party but the Meath border crew have placed a very clear marker in the sand. Enda anticipates further progress in '04. Following a tentative start to the year, Mountnugent eventually got into their stride and qualified for the county junior football championship final. Though defeat was their lot on the big day, it was nonetheless an encouraging campaign and 2003 offers the Green & Yellows a solid platform upon which to build. While there's never been any doubting that Mountnugent would one day return to prominence within the claustrophobic dog-eat-dog Breffni County GAA circuit, few expected a major show from the Dunigimmon-based side in 2003. However, James Cole's team made an entire county sit up and take notice with a series of gutsy displays that propelled them to within an hour of intermediate fare - as well as a league quarter-final place. Not a bad year's work! And full back Enda Fitzpatrick is confident that there's plenty more to come from this emerging 'Nugent crop. Enda was club captain in '03 and he admits it was a decent year, even though county final day defeat was obviously a bitter pill to swallow. In general, he's upbeat and positive: "Looking back on the year, it was definitely more good than bad. We've set down our marker for next year and the experience of reaching a county final can only stand to us. We know what it's all about now and I believe we can only learn from the experience." Did the year end on a disappointing note though? "No, I don't think so," comes the immediate response. "If anything, it actually finished on a high ... certainly when compared to the poor start we made. We made a disappointing start in the league but got things back on track and ended up doing much better than most people expected." On county final day, Mountnugent simply failed to perform, allowing Lavey to have things all their own way and thereby cruise to a facile 0-12 to 0-6 triumph. In fairness to the losers, it was just one of those days when nothing seemed to happen. Says the captain: "It was disappointing to lose the final after going so far but, to be honest, the performance was more disappointing than the result. At the end of the day, however, we know we did well to get so far and we're hoping to get back to it again this year." Mountnugent showed the stuff they're made of by quickly putting the JFC defeat behind them to produce a few impressive league displays. "We reached the league quarter-final, which was also satisfying, especially as we started poorly. After the county final, we had three league games left and we had to win them all to qualify for the knock-out stages. We succeeded in achieving that so, all in all, it was a good year. We were in contention right down to the latter stages of both league and championship and can take a lot of heart from our performances. Hopefully we can bring it a step further this year." The 2003 Cavan junior football championship final meeting of Mountnugent and Lavey took place at Kingspan Breffni Park as curtain-raiser to the Gaels/Mullahoran senior decider on Sunday September 21st. It was a surprise final pairing as neither side had been particularly impressive in the league and both carried the underdog tag for their respective semi-finals against Shercock and Kildallan. James Cole had taken charge of Mountnugent at the start of the year and, assisted by the experienced backroom team of Bertie Lynch, Ned Reilly and Mickey Joe Hennessey, his aim was to win a championship. Despite drawing from a small rural area, Mountnugent set about their task accordingly and negotiated an unlikely path to the JFC showcase. Boasting a happy knack of winning close games, they qualified for the decider by virtue of a memorable one-point semi-final defeat of competition favourites Shercock, 2-7 to 0-12, this hot on the heels of an equally hard-earned quarter-final win over Templeport (0-13 to 1-9). A close final was predicted and opinions varied as to who might take the spoils. Unfortunately, the final itself was something of a non-event as far as Mountnugent were concerned and they tamely capitulated to a 0-12 to 0-6 defeat. Still, they had surpassed all expectations in getting to the final in the first place and are now in a good position from which to mount a serious challenge this summer. Enda agrees: "After such a poor start, it was more than we'd hoped for. We'd have probably settled for a championship quarter-final but we managed to go a couple of steps further..." Mountnugent returned to training on January 6th, again under the watchful eye of James Cole, with the intention of training three nights a week and making a concerted push in both the league or championship - or ideally both!. According to the 2003 captain: "With the league revamped, we're hoping to have a real go in Division Three and we're also going all out to win a junior championship. It's been twelve years now since the club won a JFC and we feel it's about time we went out and won one." For the '03 JFC, 'Nugent were in the same group as Killeshandra and Shannon Gaels. The section took some time to resolve and the games had to be played a second time before the Yellow & Greens eventually beat Killeshandra at Terry Coyle Park to emerge for a quarter-final meeting with Templeport at the same venue. Thereafter, rumours of Mountnugent's imminent demise were greatly exaggerated - and way off the mark! "People didn't give us a chance in the semi-final against Shercock, who are always there or thereabouts. But we had nothing to lose and were determined to make the final. We played with a lot of belief in that game and deserved to progress." Enda continues: "It may not have been the best game in the world but we were really motivated going in and that extra bit of determination saw us through. Shercock were a bit unfortunate when they went for goals late on and probably should have taken their points, but we did enough and were delighted with the outcome." Needless to say, there was a big build-up to the final, with a current of excitement charging the atmosphere in and around Mountnugent. The final gripped public attention like no other club fixture in the preceding decade and the players knuckled down, determined not to let the hype distract them. Then came final day and the famous trip to Breffni - "It was a great experience," reflects the man who led the team out onto the pitch. "For most of us, it was our first time to play in a county final and it was something to savour. It was also a great personal experience to be captain for the year and to lead the team out for the final. "In fairness, it was easy enough to be captain. The older lads in the camp made my task a lot easier. Men like Mark Smith and Paul Campbell played in the '92 final and they gave tremendous leadership all year. Having those guys around lending their experience is a great comfort to everybody on the team." Lavey seemed to have it all too easy. What went wrong? "We just never got going on the day ... I think we bottled it. We were in first gear throughout and Lavey were the better team. It was disappointing. We had beaten them in the league and expected to at least compete. We could have done a lot better ... it's a shame we didn't do ourselves justice." What was the mood like in the dressing-room afterwards? "We were all disappointed, but at the same time we realised we had done well to get to the final, so we weren't exactly demoralised. We have given ourselves something to build on and hopefully we can do that." Enda Fitz' has been a regular on the Mountnugent first team for the past three years. The current side is well-balanced but young, with time very much on their side. "We've a good few minors and U21s and I think the team has yet to peak," the full back opines. "Over the next two or three years, I'm hoping to win some major honours with this team. "Our immediate objective is to escape Division Three and to go up to intermediate. We'd settle for one or the other next year, but realistically the championship is always the main priority." And why not? Mountnugent emerged as genuine contenders in 2003 and should be in the shake-up once more when the action resumes in 2004. Tweet

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