Sean Moran and his beleaguered Bective colleagues hung their heads in despair. The final whistle had sounded and the game was all over. Sportingly they shook the hands of the opposing, victorious, Wolfe Tones players who had just annihilated them 2-11 to 0-6. It was only mid-June but Bective's junior championship ambitions were already over for another year. That defeat was Bective's second on the trot, coming on the back of a poor performance against Moylagh. It had all started so much better with a narrow, but deserved, 0-9 to 0-8 victory over Moynalty in the first round of the championship. The win brought with it false hope to many Bective fans, and instead of inspiring the team forward they stumbled at the next two hurdles. However Sean, like many others in Bective, realised that they had been placed in a difficult group from the very outset and that tougher opponents lay ahead after they had beaten Moynalty: "We knew it was a strong draw when it was made. The Wolfe Tones, Moylagh and St. Michael's were all in our group and they are all very good, strong teams," he states. Retrospectively, the defeat to Moylagh was the beginning of the end for Bective, because from there on they could not afford to drop a point and with the mighty Wolfe Tones still to play, the odds were always against them. The 'Tones' actually finished top of the group, unbeaten along the way. As the Bective players took to the field they knew it was a make or break game. A win would catapult them back into the championship chase, while a defeat would all but end any chance they had of qualifying to the latter stages. "We were just completely out of the game that day and never got going. I don't know what happened but all over the pitch we failed to get into the match. We had got off to a good start with a victory over Moynalty in our first game but then had Moylagh in our second, and we knew that they would be tough. They beat us by a couple of points so we had to beat the Wolfe Tones the next day to keep in touch and stay in with a chance but we were well beaten. It just didn't happen for us on the day," admits Sean. To their credit, the Bective players bounced back with a 2-11 to 2-5 victory over Bellewstown in their next outing. Their last championship match was against St. Michael's in late July, but by then both teams were playing for nothing but pride: "When we played St. Michael's both of us were out of it and we had nothing to play for really. They beat us by a couple of points but it didn't really matter." St. Michaels ran out 0-13 to 0-8 victors in an incidental encounter and Bective finished fourth in the group, just ahead of Moynalty and behind St. Michael's. Sean, who has donated Bective almost 20 years of sterling service, started the year at midfield but trainer Martin Barry utilised his versatility by moving him to centre halfback in an effort to strengthen the defence. It was Barry's first spell back with Bective after a successful stint in previous years. Back in 1997 he led them to the junior championship and in 1999 he was still in charge when Bective took on Syddan in an intermediate semi-final. Since then Bective have taken on the manifestation of a rudderless ship drifting further and further out to the depths of the ocean. Eventually rudderless ships sink and are soon forgotten about. However Sean is adamant that Bective will not drift to anonymity in the backwaters of lower grade junior championship football, and believes that the return of Martin Barry may also bring a return of good fortunes to the club. "Martin Barry was back training us this year after leaving a few years back, and he is a very good trainer and it was nice to have him back. There was nothing really he could do though this year. We did poorly in the junior championship and were well beaten by Wolfe Tones and lost three times in total but we are still capable of improving. We do have the players coming up. We have an under-14 team that won the championship two years ago and they got to the final of the under-16 this year so there will be a good few of them knocking on the door in the next two or three years for the junior team hopefully. "I think next year we are certainly good enough to qualify from the group. If all the lads put in a big enough effort we could qualify for a quarterfinal. We are definitely strong enough to do so. If we get to a quarter-final then who knows, it is anyone's championship," he says. However Sean, who has seen many players come and go in his time with Bective, is honest and forthright about the present crop and why he thinks success has eluded them in recent years: "I don't think the current Bective side are good enough to win the junior championship at the moment. We have a lot of good young players now but could probably need a couple of older heads at the moment but we just haven't got them." Bective also finished mid-table in Division 4A of the league this year with Ballinabrackey, St. Mary's, Kilbride, Na Fianna, Nobber and St. Ultan's all finishing above them, ensuring another barren year for the club based just outside the town of Navan. Sean's Bective career started way back when he was only 9 or ten, and the club can thank his father John for introducing him to green and white jersey. John Moran's association with the club spans two decades also, and he has held down numerous administrative roles within the club: "I got involved with Bective through my father and along with my brother, Noel, we ended up playing for them," says Sean. These days Bective are going back to the drawing board and planning another assault on the junior championship, but mention past triumphs and the reaction is instant: "Winning the junior championship in 1997 was just tremendous. It is my best memory of my playing days with Bective so far. We were playing Skryne in the final and they were well fancied because they had a lot of seniors on the team but we all played well and won. It was just incredible and a great win," smiles Sean. Indeed Sean himself was instrumental in bringing the junior title to Bective, with fantastic displays throughout that championship year. On their way to the final Bective saw off Drumree and St. Mary's. Skryne went into the final as favourites though after beating one of the championship favourites, Meath Hill, in their semi-final. However battling Bective ran out 0-11 to 0-9 winners to crown a magnificent championship campaign. It was the greatest of wins and the sweetest of years. Sean scored a point that day against Skryne and was a fulcrum in midfield, winning possession, and dispensing the ball to the Bective forwards: "I was playing midfield but to be honest can't remember anything much about the game because it just went by. I do remember watching the video of it afterwards though." For this winter at least, it appears that the 1997 championship winning video will be getting some more viewing in Bective households. It is quite possible that everyone associated with the club has a copy somewhere in their homes. However it is more than likely collecting cobwebs, sandwiched in between last week's episode of Coronation Street and some old Boyzone concert that somehow ended up in the collection. But then that is what happens to success. As the years go on, past triumphs grow further away. Eventually they end up being the hazy 'good auld days.' For now at least, 1997 will have to suffice, but perhaps it is time the Bective players dug out that video, pressed play and remembered how it felt to win a junior championship. As Sean said, this Bective team are certainly capable of qualifying to a quarterfinal next year, and after that it is anybody's championship. And who knows, perhaps this time next year Bective will have another video to add to the exclusive collection! 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