On the back of Drumbaragh's 2002 Div.3 under 21 success, the club had high hopes of being involved in the business end of the Junior A championship in 2003. Instead they found themselves embroiled in a relegation play-off at the tail end of the season. Stalwart Christopher Carry reviewed the year. There is no doubting the rich vein of young footballing talent that exists in the Drumbaragh club. Its under 21s captured the 2002 Div 3 title - the first ever success in the grade - when they pipped St Vincent's in a nail-biting finish at Rathkenny just before Christmas. Buoyed by that victory the club hoped to launch a serious challenge in the Junior A championship and set a target of making it through the group to the knockout stages. Anything after that would have been a bonus. Team manager Liam Thorpe and selectors Tommy Carry and Johnny Connolly planned to blend the cream of that under 21 team with some of the club's more seasoned campaigners. "We knew we would lose two or three from last year's team through retirements etc., but we thought we would be able to bring some of the under 21s through and add it to what was already there," Christopher commented. However, even the best-laid plans can go astray. "Instead of losing two or three of the senior players we lost seven of last year's Junior A team. We were forced to play too many of the under 21s too soon. It was just too much too ask of them so early in their careers," he recalled. Christopher explained how the club's plans came apart at the seams. "It was a combination of a number of factors. Some of the lads were ruled out through work commitments, which meant they couldn't train. Others didn't want to put in the commitment that is required for Junior A football and were happy to stay with the second team" Consequently, while the Junior A team struggled to make any sort of headway in the group, the second team, coached by Padraig Black, Niall Carry and Pat Higgins made it through to the quarterfinals where they were subsequently beaten by Seneschalstown. Drumbaragh's record in Group D of the Junior A championship read: played five, lost four, drew one, which from a statistical viewpoint doesn't make encouraging reading. Their Div 4A league form of played 11, won four, drew one, lost six gives a truer reflection of the club's standing in 2003. "It was a learning process for a lot of the lads. It was their first experience of playing Junior A football, which is a step up from the under 21s. They will come on a lot from their experience," Christopher noted. As the old saying goes there are lies, damn lies and statistics! Beneath Drumbaragh's poor showing on paper, lies a completely different story. "We weren't beaten by much by any team all year. In our opening game against Dunsany we were beaten in the last five minutes. Most of our games were lost in the last 15 minutes. You can put a lot of that down to a lack of experience," he recalled. Drumbaragh had to wait until their last group game before they got their first championship point on the board. They showed something close to their true form, when they earned a deserved point against Moynalvey who ultimately finished runners up in the group. "We were forced to play them with a weakened team because of holidays on so on. In the end Moynalvey came back and drew the game. Being honest we probably deserved to win even though we had a weakened team," Christopher opined. Drumbaragh's lack of experience can be illustrated by the fact that only two players on the Junior A team this year were over 30. "Myself and Adrian (Corcoran) would be the only two players over 30. The rest of the panel were from 25 down to 16 years old. There is an awful lot of young talent in the club, but you need the blend of experience also," he added. The club's plethora of young talent pays tribute to the strong underage structure within the club over many years. It also bodes well for the future of the club, Christopher believes. Christopher is hoping the club's close brush with relegation will act as a wake-up call for the players. "For the last three years we have been knocking at the door of the knock-out stages. It was a culture shock to be in a relegation play-off this year. We will be looking to show our true colours next year." Christopher is confident the current Drumbaragh crop could put the club back on the Junior A map with the required level of commitment. "There is the potential to win a Junior A championship in this club if they put in the effort. The thing is getting 20 or 25 lads that are willing to put in the effort for 12 months." "Some of the lads have a lack of self belief and they don't realise just how good they could be if they put in the work. The under 21 triumph showed them what they can achieve if they put in the effort. They are just lacking that bit of confidence to take it a stage further." Ironically Christopher was one of the three players that had intended to retire at the end of last year. But when push came to shove he was happy to make a return to action. "It was nice to get the break at the start of the year. I got involved again in May. I started as a sub against Dunshaughlin. I started against Skryne at full forward and got moved out to midfield when the brother Damien was injured, but my days at midfield are behind me," he chuckled. However, he is adamant that 2003 was his final swansong. Work and family commitments and a succession of knee operations means that Christopher is finally bringing down the curtain on his career. However, he isn't ruling out future involvement with the club at managerial level, although he is looking to take a long well earned break away from the game in 2004, so he can dedicate time to his family and business. In that vein Christopher was involved in the 2002 under 21 triumph and expressed his satisfaction at the way the players responded to training and coaching. "It was the first under 21 championship the club ever won and there was great excitement. They were a great bunch of lads to work with. "I'd work with them again some time in the future," he hinted. Tweet

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