Waiting to bounce back
December 31, 2003
Moynalvey know what it's like to mix it with the big guns and they possess a real desire to bounce back from recent disappointments, but their first campaign back in the junior ranks failed to bring the desired success in 2003.
Ratoath, who went on to reach the final where they were beaten by Wolfe Tones, ended Moynalvey's title hopes at the quarter-final stage of the Junior Football Championship when deservedly winning by 2-10 to 0-9 at Dunshaughlin.
It was a disappointing end to the campaign for Moynalvey who have endured their fair share of such moments in more recent years, suffering two championship drops in three seasons, including in 2002 when they went down by three points to Drumconrath in an Intermediate Championship relegation final.
But despite those setbacks, the hunger for success is there and it will be something of a surprise if Moynalvey don't challenge seriously for the junior title in 2004.
Moynalvey, who last won the Junior Championship in 1981, before adding the intermediate title just two years later during a wonderfully successful spell for the south Meath club, were drawn in Group D, a section that also included Drumbaragh, Dunsany, who were the fancy of a fair few people for the title, and the second strings of Dunshaughlin, Skryne and Dunboyne.
It was always going to be very interesting to see how they would fare in their first year in the junior ranks and how they would react to the disappointment of relegation.
A bright start was called for and they got it when edging out Dunboyne by two points (0-13 to 2-5) in the first round at Dunshaughlin. It was a close call and Moynalvey had to thank goalkeeper Giles Drumm for producing a series of vital saves in an outstanding performance.
Dunboyne led by 1-4 to 0-6 at the break and added a second goal soon after the resumption, but despite kicking 11 wides over the hour, Moynalvey did enough to open on a winning note as Denis O'Shea, Kevin Kane, John Donoghue, Jason Maughan and Robert Quinlan proved particularly effective.
The second round meeting against Dunsany at Trim was always going to be one of the most attractive fixtures in the Group D campaign, particularly as Dunsany had gone all the way to the final the previous autumn where they lost to a very talented Nobber side.
The well-contested match produced another Moynalvey victory on a 1-9 to 2-3 score line as a goal from a Paul Weldon penalty with five minutes to play proved decisive after Dunsany had held a 2-3 to 0-7 advantage with 11 minutes remaining.
A victory against a side which had gone so close to outright success the previous year suggested that Moynalvey would be very much in the shake-up when the championship reached the business end, though the fact that they kicked 13 wides, to add to the 11 they tallied first time out against Dunboyne, certainly meant they had a fair bit of room for improvement in the shooting department.
"Winning our first two games against Dunboyne and Dunsany meant we started the championship on a very good note, which was what we wanted to do," recalled Moynalvey player Martin Knightley. "Dunsany had reached the final in 2002, so that definitely looked like a very good result for us. After that victory we really felt we had every chance of going on to win it out.
"Indeed, we definitely felt before the championship started that we could go all the way and bounce straight back up to intermediate football. At worst, we felt that whoever did manage to win it would be no better than us and that we wouldn't be too far away."
Those two wins provided Moynalvey and manager Willie Hughes with just the start they wanted and the victory over Dunsany, in particular, surely had to do a lot for confidence within the team.
Yet, in the third round, Skryne's second string brought them back down to earth with a bang when they ended the unbeaten run at Dunshaughlin. Skryne edged into a 1-6 to 0-2 lead during the opening half, but a goal from Knightley gave Moynalvey hope, though they still trailed by seven points at the change of ends (1-2 to 1-9) and were clearly in a very precarious position. They reduced the deficit in the second period, but were always chasing the game and were still three points adrift at the final whistle (2-7 to 1-13).
"After making such a bright start, we went on to lose to Skryne in our third match which was a big disappointment at the time," Knightley added. "That was a game we definitely thought we could win. However, we managed to bounce back and had a comfortable win over Dunshaughlin, before we earned a draw with Drumbaragh."
The victory over Dunshaughlin's second string in the fourth round at Dunsany was very clearcut as Moynalvey won by all of 12 points on a 2-14 to 0-8 score line to copper-fasten their prospects of making it through to the knock-out stages.
They stayed at the top of the group as goals from David Durkan and Sean Treacy helped them to lead throughout the contest.
The concluding match in the group stages of the championship was against Drumbaragh at Simonstown and it was a game that Moynalvey looked in serious danger of losing as the final whistle drew ever nearer. Indeed, the
contest was in injury time when Willie Byrne came to his side's rescue as he slotted over a point from a free to force a draw (0-9 each).
Moynalvey had accomplished mission number one in their championship campaign and were through to the last eight, but they were fully aware that the serious business was really only starting.
The quarter-final pitted them against a Ratoath side that was making a big impression in the competition and which included none other than former Dublin goalkeeper Davy Byrne between the posts.
Unfortunately for Moynalvey, it proved to be a voyage too far and Ratoath had seven points to spare at the finish, winning by 2-10 to 0-9. Willie Byrne top-scored for Moynalvey with six points, but there was no denying that Ratoath deserved to book their place in the semi-finals as they led by 1-2 to 0-2 after only seven minutes and by 1-5 to
0-4 at half-time.
There was just no way back for Moynalvey as Ratoath pushed further ahead in the second-half and it took some superb goalkeeping by Giles Drumm to keep them in the hunt for a fair share of the match.
Ratoath advanced and went on to eliminate Navan O'Mahonys at the penultimate hurdle, but Moynalvey's dream of a very quick return to the intermediate ranks was over and, naturally, there was a sense of disappointment after exiting the championship.
"Ratoath just proved too good for us in the quarter-finals," Knightley recalled. "It was a disappointment, quite naturally, but we certainly had no excuses after that particular match. The reality was that Ratoath were the better team on the day and they fully deserved their victory. There was no question about that. They were a very good side and they went on to prove it by reaching the final."
Being knocked out of the championship race is always a big disappointment, but Moynalvey will look ahead to the 2004 campaign in the knowledge that they are right up there, capable of challenging for the title.
"It's now a case of looking to the future for us," an upbeat Knightley added as he looked back on Moynalvey's elimination against Ratoath. "Next year we will go in with the very same attitude as in the 2003 championship, believing that we can go all the way this time and win it. That has to be our attitude.
"We know that the junior is a very winnable championship if we get playing well. We have a fair share of young players in our panel and we believe that we are good enough to win it and move back up to playing intermediate football."
The 2003 campaign may have ended in disappointment for the Moynalvey junior team, but if Martin Knightley's positive and upbeat attitude as he looks to the future is anything to go by, the likelihood is that it won't be too long before they are moving back up the ladder.
When a club has experienced the highs of playing its football in the top grade, there has to be a burning desire to sample it again.
Glory for the 'second string'
Moynalvey may have failed in their bid to make a quick return to the intermediate ranks, but there was compensation in the shape of a well-merited Junior C triumph.
They scored a comfortable 1-12 to 1-5 victory over Ratoath in the final at Dunsany, despite making a nervous start which saw them trail by 0-1 to 1-3 after 10 minutes while playing with the strong wind.
However, they recovered to lead by 0-8 to 1-3 at the break and restricted Ratoath to just two points in the second period. They were only three points clear as the match entered injury time, but a point from Derek Dunne and a Ciaran Ennis goal left them well ahead at the end.
Veteran Paddy Kelly, who was introduced to the full-forward line for the last 10 minutes, created both scores, while the performance of Damien Dixon at midfield in the second-half also proved decisive for the winners.
Ratoath, who had also lost the JFC final, had two players sent off in the closing stages - captain David Lumley and Sean Kelly - but they defended courageously until those late scores killed off the contest.
Ennis top-scored for Moynalvey with 1-5, while PJ Walsh was also highly impressive, particularly in the first-half when he scored four points from play.
Those scores helped Moynalvey to recover after Ratoath had built up that five-point lead - thanks largely to Colm Kelly's goal in the 11th minute - and hold that two-point interval advantage. It was a lead that didn't look sufficient against the wind and the losers were very much in the hunt when trailing by a point (1-5 to 0-9) entering the last quarter.
But Moynalvey, who had gone close to netting on a number of occasions, finished best to claim the title.
Moynalvey - E. Thornton; P. Regan, V. Walsh, R. Walsh; Justin Byrne, John Byrne, A. Brien; D. Dixon, P. Corcoran; S. Collins (0-1), B. Conneely, D. Dunne (0-1); C. Ennis (1-5), D. Hoban (0-1), PJ Walsh (0-4). Subs - P. Kelly for Hoban, D. Reilly for Brien, M. Quinn for Collins.
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