Moynalty had hoped to be in the knock-out stages of the Junior 'A' Football Championships at the business end of the season. In contrast they found themselves embroiled in a relegation play-off, which ultimately led to relegation. Club secretary Joe Curley reviewed an average season. To borrow a phrase from another sporting code: football is a funny old game. Manager Jimmy Nevin and his fellow mentors Charlie Reilly and Mattie Coldrick felt Moynalty who were pitted against Ballinabrackey, Ratoath, Drumbaragh, Kilbride, Moynalvey, Dunsany and Navan O'Mahony's in Group C of the Junior 'A' Football Championship, had the wherewithal to launch a serious challenge for honours in 2004. That optimism wasn't unfounded. Having established a foothold in the Junior ranks in 2003 following their relegation from intermediate in the previous year, the club felt a place in the knock-out stages of the championship was well within their grasp. "We finished mid-table in the group last year. We were hoping to build on that foundation. The draw wasn't particularly kind, but we still fancied our chances of getting out of the group," Joey recalled. By the time they faced Navan O'Mahony's in their opening group game they had notched up four straight victories in Div 4 of the All County 'A' League and confidence was high within the camp. "It was going well for us at that stage and we were getting good attendances at training, so we were confident going into the match with O'Mahony's," Joey noted. However, they were brought back down to earth with a bump when they came out on the wrong end of a 1-10 to 1-6 score line at Carlanstown in their opening championship fixture. The Navan outfit was first out of the blocks and seized the initiative with three early points before Moynalty gained the upper hand, eventually taking the lead through a well-worked goal from Ronan Tormay. By half time the North Meath outfit had lost their way once again and trailed 1-6 to 1-2. The second half was evenly contested with both teams tacking on four points. Despite the best efforts of Tormay who hit 1-1, Damien Lynch (0-2), James Gallagher, Donal Lynch and Eamonn Coldrick who hit a point apiece Moynalty were unable to close the gap. "O'Mahony's seized the early initiative but we took control of the game. But we seemed to lack the self-belief to go on and win the game. In the end O'Mahony's deserved their victory and were a better team on the day," he remarked. That defeat, followed by a heavy league defeat at the hands of St. Ultan's in the league, put a huge dent in the players' already fragile self-confidence. Joey elaborated: "St. Ultan's put four goals past us in the league in Moynalty, which didn't help we still felt we could get back on track." They had a chance to atone for the disappointments against O'Mahony's and St. Ultan's when they faced Moynalvey at Carlanstown in Round Two. Moynalvey had the better of the early exchanges as Moynalty struggled to find their rhythm. However, they battened down the hatches and breezed into a 0-9 to 1-3 interval lead. They tacked on another three points early in the second half to extend their advantage to six points. Ronan Tormay, Stephen Smith, Jim Gallagher, and Donal Lynch did most to establish that lead before the south Meath outfit staged a near miraculous recovery that resulted in last gasp victory. "I think they got a penalty in the first minute of the game, but we came back strongly and led by three points at half time and six points early in the second half. We just ran out of steam. We just couldn't keep them out. It was all down to a lack of fitness," Joey rued. In Round Three they faced another south Meath outfit in the form of Kilbride. The 'Brides had made an equally disastrous start to their campaign and it was evident that the losers of this encounter would be staring the relegation play-offs in the face. Wayward shooting cost Moynalty dearly on the day. They shot 13 wides, ending up on the wrong end of a 0-14 to 1-8 defeat. It was a day when they could have done with the services of sharp shooter Paul Govern, who suffered a serious ankle break in the second round of the league, which kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. The absence of influential midfielder Jim Gallagher also had a huge bearing on the outcome of this encounter. "We felt we had the beating of Kilbride who had also started badly. We kicked a lot of wides on the day. Kilbride were the better team and deserved their victory," he remarked. Joey hoped Moynalty would finally wake from the summer siesta in Round Four when they were fixed to meet north Meath rivals Drumbaragh. "Drumbaragh and Moynalty would be a big local derby, so I was confident the team would be up for that game," Joey opined. However, Moynalty's Round Two fade out at the hands of Moynalvey was repeated when Drumbaragh scored six unanswered points in the closing stages to record a two-point victory 0-10 to 0-8. The sides were deadlocked 0-4 apiece at the break. Moynalty had the better of the early second half exchanges and went on to lead by double scores. However, the wheels came off the Moynalty bandwagon in the closing stages and once again they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. "We had the game won. We were leading by 0-8 to 0-4 with 10 minutes to go. Then they started coming at us. It was Drumbaragh all over again. They finally got the winner in injury time." "Moynalty is a pretty young team but having said that there is plenty of experience in the team. The most of the team played intermediate in 2002. They just have to learn how to close out games from a winning position," he added. Moynalty suffered their fifth defeat in as many outings when they went under to Ratoath in a dismal encounter at Bective in Round Five. In a match where scores were at a premium, Moynalty suffered their heaviest defeat of the campaign when they went under 0-9 to 0-4. Despite the best efforts of Ado Lynch, Dermot Olwell, Alan Brogan and Emmet Tormay, Moynalty were unable to leave an indelible mark on this thoroughly forgettable encounter. "Neither team played particularly well but we were still in the hunt entering the final moments," Joey recalled. In Round Six they ran Dunsany close at Martry, loosing 2-11 to 1-11. "Dunsany led by 1-8 to no score after 15 minutes, but in fairness to lads they managed to claw their way back into the game. It took a lucky goal in the closing stages to secure victory," he recalled. The week prior to their final group match against Ballinabrackey, Moynalty were unable to field a team in the league against Kildride who were awarded a walkover. They were only able to muster 13 players from a combined panel of 25 or so adult players and failed to travel. However, they pulled out all the stops when they faced up to Ballinabrackey at Dunderry to secure their first point of the campaign. Damien Kangley netted twice, while Plunkett Tormay had an impressive outing at midfield, in a solid team performance. The result of this Round Seven tie was irrelevant. Moynalty were already doomed to play in the relegation play-offs, but the manner in which Moynalty battled to the end suggested that they were in with more than a sporting chance of avoiding the drop. In their seven championship fixtures their heaviest defeat - at the hands of Ratoath - was just five points, which hardly constitutes a hammering. They lost by four points to Navan O'Mahony's, the odd goal at the hands of Kilbride and Dunsany, two points to Drumbaragh, a solitary point to Moynalvey and a gained a creditable draw with Ballinabrackey. Moynalty blew their first chance of staying up when they were beaten by lowly St. Vincent's 1-12 to 0-7. We were never really in that game, and St. Vincent's deserved the victory," Joey noted. That defeat meant they were pitted against Clann na nGael in the last chance saloon. With time running out it looked like Moynalty would prevail on 1-8 to 0-10 scoreline, but nobody could have predicted the mayhem that would follow in the final 90 seconds. With time running out Clann na nGael were awarded a penalty which they converted to give them the narrowest of leads. Before anybody could draw breath Moynalty were then awarded a penalty at the opposite end. It all came down to the last kick of the ball to decide Moynalty's fate. The chance was squandered and Moynalty slid quietly out the back door of the Junior 'A' championship. Moynalty's Div 6 'B' FL victory over Gael Colmcille, 2-7 to 0-12 proved a small crumb of solace for the club. "We were desperately disappointed to be relegated. We know there are half a dozen teams capable of winning the Junior 'B' next year, so we know we have our work cut out to bounce back straight away." "The 'B' league win was great for the younger members of the team, but it didn't make up for the fact that we were relegated," Joey concluded. Tweet

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