Bective enjoyed one of their finest hours this year. Amidst the hype surrounding Navan O'Mahony's and Simonstown, Bective refused to be eclipsed in Meath's chief town. Based just outside Navan, the Green and Whites won their first ever minor title when they captured the MFL Division Four crown with victory over St Vincent's/Curraha at in the final at Pairc Tailteann in July. The triumph carried extra significance given the fact that this was the first time Bective fielded a minor team minus an amalgamation with Athboy. So as Navan O'Mahony's booked their place back in the senior football championship, and Simonstown went within 30 minutes of lifting the Keegan Cup, Bective made their own historic breakthrough. For chairman Jack Fagan, the club's inaugural minor title was extremely satisfying. "It was one of our principal aims to win the minor this year and we knew we had a very good young team," said the former Meath midfielder whose son, John, played for the Bective minors this year. "There has been a bit of a lull at adult level recently, but the aim now is to see these players hopefully progress to the first team in the next few years. This minor win is a good sign for the future." Their campaign started out with a narrow one point victory over St Vincent's/Curraha at the end of March, 1-7 to 0-9. It was a titanic battle, and although Bective edged the result, these two teams would cross paths again before the end of the season. A comprehensive victory over a Drumconrath/Meath Hill combination followed in April, 1-13 to 0-4. Another easy win followed at home to Boardsmill, before a five-goal blitz fired them to victory over Dunsany, 5-8 to 0-8. Their adventure sailed into May, where Bective gave one of their best performances against a Ballinabrackey/Clonard amalgamation. The Green and Whites entered the game minus many of their top performers, but the players that came in proved that there was strength in depth on the panel to claw out a one point win, 2-9 to 2-8. That win was one of the turning points of their season, and from then on there was a genuine belief flowing through the panel that this was going to be their year. Victories over Moylagh and Moynalvey followed before they faced many of their former teammates from Athboy against the newly formed Clan na nGael. Bective chalked up yet another win, and then Round Towers' B side failed to field a team in the final group game. The semi-final took place on July 18, when they faced Dunsany in Skryne. Following their five-goal victory over Dunsany earlier in the campaign, Bective were confident of progressing to the final. However, a tit-for-tat game developed with the result hanging in the balance until a late goal pushed Bective into an unassailable lead. They won by five points in the end, but the score wasn't a true reflection of a close match, 2-9 to 0-10. The final at Meath's GAA Headquarters on July 25 pitted Bective against the St Vincent's/Curraha combination they had faced in their first game way back in March. That day Bective won by the minimum, and a close game looked to be in store for the final. But Bective had obviously improved vastly as the season went on, and were too strong for their opponents. The Bective defence was outstanding in the decider, and they led 2-6 to 0-4 at the break. David Geraghty hit 1-1 for the victors, while Kevin Brennan and Brian Duffy were also in fine form as Bective won by nine points, 3-9 to 0-9. Jack admits that it was a great honour to be chairman the first time the club won a minor title, but points out that there are plenty of people who have helped make this success a reality. The club are lucky to have hard working Gaels such as John Moran, Michael Morris, Bobby Swatman, Stephen Neylon, Gerry Keating, Vincent Keating, Dessie O'Brien, Martin Mulhall, Liam Farrell, Paddy McConnell, Mary McConnell, Manus Tiernan, Breda Kinsella, Joey Geraghty, John Gleeson, Sean Reilly and Paddy Brady lending their valuable time to the cause. The minor success was garnered primarily by the three wise men - Jim Sullivan, Seamus Davis and Davy Cahill. And the club are also fortunate to have such a highly regarded figure as Jack Fagan at the helm. Jack played midfield on the Meath team that won the 1966 Leinster title and were beaten in the All-Ireland final by Galway. The Killallon native hadn't even played club football when he first lined out for Meath. He was noticed while playing college football for Salesian College in Laois and then broke onto the Royal county team. However, he got injured towards the latter part of 1966 and after receiving extensive treatment, Dublin club Erin's Isle asked him to transfer across the border. "I decided I would join Erin's Isle, but unfortunately the move all but ended my time with the Meath team, because back then you had to be playing for a club in your own county to play for the county team," recalls Fagan. "I got a letter from the Meath County Board saying that I was ineligible to play for the county team once I transferred to Erin's Isle." He spent almost six years with Erin's Isle and was even awarded the club captaincy. He was part of the Erin's Isle side that won the prestigious Division One League title and admits that it was an extraordinary high standard of football. "All the best players in the country were pretty much playing in Dublin at the time and I remember one game in particular when we played Civil Service around 1968 or so. They had 15 players who had played in the Railway Cup final that same year and we beat them by two points - but it just showed the calibre of players you were up against." Jack moved home to play with Ballinlough in the Seventies, before a brief but successful spell with Walterstown towards the end of that decade. Bective then chased him to get involved with the club and the rest as they say, is history. "I came in at first to help invest time in building up the juvenile section and we have a good set-up in place now. It has always been difficult because we are picking from the same pool as Navan O'Mahony's really. "We have built up good relations with Cannistown school. We share the pitch with them and we would hope that Bective would be the natural home for the pupils when they opt for a club." The club's junior side failed to make an impact in the championship this year, finishing up fourth in Group B having won two games and lost three. "I think we could have gone very well in the championship but were quite unlucky really. Mattie McCabe did a very good job this year. He got the team together and we thank him for all of his work. Davy Cahill will take charge next year and we believe we are good enough to improve." There is no reason why they can't progress in 2004, and with All-Ireland junior winners Ruairi Russell and Alan Sheehan on board, there should be no lack of confidence in Bective's ranks either. All the talk may still be about O'Mahony's intermediate triumph in 2003. But the Brews Hill Gaels have been casting a cautious eye of their shoulders these past few months. There's something stirring around Bective way. Their minor triumph has not gone unnoticed in Navan. The future may be bright; the future may yet be Green and White. The Bective minor team that beat St Vincent's/Curraha in the 2003 MFL Division Four final was: M McHale; S Sullivan, D Keating; K Dunne, G Brennan, K Brennan; D Geraghty (1-1), B Neylon; J Davis (0-1), J Fagan (0-1), B Donnelly (0-4); S Bedford (0-1), B Duffy (1-0). Subs: M Dowdall (1-0) for Bedford; M Sheerin (0-1) for Davis, M Dolan for Brennan. Tweet

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