St. Paul's suffered their second successive relegation in the league in 2004 (having dropped down from Div 3 the previous year) and will ply their trade in Division 5 next year. However, on a brighter note they made the quarter-finals of the Junior 'B' Football Championship, which marked a considerable improvement on the previous year. Joint Manager John Curry reviewed their year. It can take an awful long time to turn an ocean going ship. Firstly you have to stop it and then manoeuvre it until, it is finally motoring in the right direct. In many respects St. Paul's year mimicked the above analogy over the course of the last two years. In 2003 St. Paul's failed to muster a single victory in the league and championship and lost their Div 3 league status in the process. 2004 was spent bringing the St. Paul's vessel back on course. To the credit of joint managers John Curry and Joe Barker who took over at the helm at the beginning of 2004, the ship is now heading in the right direction. Granted St. Paul's failed to hold on to their Div. 4 league status, but in every cloud there is a silver lining. "We were desperately disappointed to be relegated to Div 5, but it could be all for the best. We are going to flat out next year to regain our Div 4 status. We feel we have the players to achieve that," John enthused. He continued: "Our league form this year was poor, but well feel we have a good chance of gaining promotion from Div 5 and putting a good run together next year." Throughout 2003 St. Paul's victories were as scare as chickens teeth, but John believes St. Paul's have the wherewithal to clock up a series of victories in 2005, which will ultimately see them regain their Div 4 status. The halcyon days when St. Paul's won the JFC in 1999 as well as the Div 3 league the following year are still fresh in the memory around Clonee. John is confident the club can take the first tentative steps on the road to recapturing those glory days, starting with promotion from Div 5 next year. St. Paul's championship campaign made a mockery of their poor league form and culminated in a quarter-final appearance, where they were humbled by eventual winners Longwood. But there was no disgrace in that defeat. Longwood swept all in front of them in 2004. The Clonee based outfit's campaign got off to a jittery start when Bellewstown beat them, by the narrowest of margins 0-13 to 1-9 in the Round 1. It was a game St. Paul's should really have won, according to John. "We beat them everywhere except where it matters on the scoreboard. We were the better team for much of that game and deserved at least a draw. Our shooting let us down on the day," he recalled. Having got out of the winning habit in 2003, John feels that his charges hadn't the confidence in front of goal to notch up a winning score on the day, but they overcame that weakness in Round 2, when they accounted for Na Fianna. The victory was as comfortable as the 1-14 to 0-8 scoreline suggests. "We played very well on the day and took our chances. I suppose we learned from our mistakes in the previous round," John admitted. That victory was to prove the catalyst for a qualifying run through the rest of the group, which started with a 6-13 to 1-4 demolition of St. Patrick's in Round 3. He recalled: "We played with the benefit of the hill and the wind in the first half, when we scored all six goals. We we're leading by something like 14 points at the break. There was no way back for St. Patrick's after that." John admits that they got their tactics badly wrong in Round 4, when they came out on the wrong end of a 2-7 to 0-6 defeat at the hands of Boardsmill. "We had seen Boardsmill playing a couple of times and identified their danger men." He continued: "We picked our team to counteract that danger. As it turned out, the lad who had been doing all the scoring for Boardsmill in the previous rounds didn't even start. He came on as a sub during the game, but didn't do a whole lot. Our team was all over the place and nobody knew what they were doing." They suffered another defeat in Round 5 at the hands of Cortown 1-12 to 1-8, on a day when they failed to play to their potential. "We had two great goals chances in the final moments, but we missed both of them. If we had got those goals and went on to win the game it would have been hard on Cortown, who were the better team on the day," he explained. Clonard proved tough opposition in Round 6. While St. Paul's outscored them 13 to nine, the concession of two goals enabled the south Meath outfit to force a 0-13 to 2-7 draw. John is loathe to criticise referees, but a number of "harsh decisions" on the day went in favour of Clonard and contributed significantly to them gaining a share of the spoils, he believes. However, they got the rub of the green elsewhere in Round 6, which opened the door for a quarter-final berth. They cemented that quarter-final spot when they overcame Trim by the narrowest of margins 2-7 to 2-6 in the final group game. "It was a tense affair. It was Trim's third team, but they had a number of quality players. They made us fight all the way for our victory. We put in a battling performance and deserved the win," he recalled. John admits that spirits were high in the camp on the night of that victory. "It was as good as us winning the Junior 'B' when you consider the year we had in 2003. It was like a dream come true to be in the knockout stages of the Junior 'B' championship. Their record in the group read three wins; three losses and a draw. It was a vast improvement on their showing the previous year and was just reward for all the hard work they put in during the year. John knew that his charges would be up against it in the quarter-finals against Longwood, who had been warm favourites to win the Junior 'B' from a very early stage. "We just didn't perform on the day. We are better than the 2-17 to 1-3 scoreline would suggest. The fact that they went on to win the championship proves just how good a team they are," he added. John summation of the year is positive although it is tinged with a smattering of regret. He is deeply disappointed St. Paul's lost their Div 4 status, but is delighted with the way his charges acquitted themselves in the championship. He is equally delighted with the way they responded to Killinkere, Co. Cavan native Emmett Traynor who organised the physical training. "I would have to say that Emmett did a great job in getting them team fit this year. The lads put in a big effort in that respect," he confirmed. The return to full fitness next year of Cormac Finn and Philip Connolly, who missed a large chunk of the year with groin injuries, and the return of Aidan Minch, who took a year out to tour Australia, will significantly boost St. Paul's chances in 2005, John believes. If Rory Kissane and Alan Barker can maintain their 2004 form and if young guns Damien and Anthony Barker continue to progress, St. Paul's could be real 'live contenders for promotion from Div 5. and 'dark horses' for the Junior 'B' title. But as John readily admits, it is a numbers game in Clonee. "If we had everybody fit and available to us, we would have a panel of about 24 players. If we can remain injury free and get a big commitment from the lads 2005 could be a very good year for the club," he concluded. Tweet

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