After surprising many within the county by reaching the semi-finals of the Intermediate championship in 1999, two bad years has pushed Bective back from whence they came: languishing in the junior grade. Their long serving forward, John Sheehan, believes that all is not lost, however, and that the club can make a concerted push towards the junior championship in 2002. There are bad years and there are bad years. Bective have had two in a row, entering into freefall since defeat to Syddan in the Intermediate championship semi-finals in 1999 signalled the end to that most unexpected of championship challenges. But while Syddan were holding their own in their first year in the senior grade, Bective struggled to maintain the gallop in intermediate and were catapulted back to the junior ranks, and this year they were unable to bounce back immediately when early defeats to eventual champions Curraha and fellow title hopefuls St Michael's virtually ended their championship effort. John Sheehan, the veteran forward, as skilful from open play as from frees, played his part in every championship game for Bective this year, and believes that, had a few things fallen their way, they could have been well on the way to regaining their junior title instead of languishing among the group's non-qualifiers. "I think the way the draw went didn't do us any favours," he says. "We were down to play the two big teams in the group, Curraha and St Michael's, inside the first few weeks, so it meant that we had to get a good start. We were beaten by Curraha but looking back on it, we probably should have won that game. We missed a few chances and lost by only a couple of points, and when we won the [junior] championship a few years ago, it was those tight games that we were winning." After initial defeat, it was vital that Bective get off the mark in their next big game, against St Michael's, who were likewise thinking in terms of going all the way to a title victory. "That was one we had to win," recalls John. "We started well, got a couple of early goals and were eight or nine points up after 10 minutes. But they came back and played brilliantly in the second half, and ended up beating us by three or four points, so that was a real killer after being so far ahead." Two championship defeats so early in the year meant that Bective were relying on favours from others to progress, but it was never really on the cards and, according to John, morale dissipated as it became clear that qualification was unlikely. "The numbers at training started to drop a bit, and everyone - including myself - could probably have been there a bit more, but when you lose a couple of games early on, it makes it harder to go out and train and put in the effort. "It was a downward spiral after that and by the end of the year we were fighting relegation in the league. Confidence was low, and we were going out to play games with no real game plan, hoping we wouldn't get beaten, instead of thinking we were going to win. A couple of years ago, if a team went three or four points ahead of us, everyone would pull it together and turn it around. But this year, if we gave away three or four points, or went a goal down, everyone kind of said, that's it, another game over. The spirit that we had a few years ago wasn't there any more; everyone used to go out for a few pints together after every game, but that didn't happen this year. If we can get that back, we have a great chance of going well." One victory could transform the depression that hangs over the club and unearth a new confidence that would drive a side to further victories. Spirals, downward or upward, are a common feature in the lower echelons of club football, and with a good start half the battle, virtually any side could fancy their chances of championship success should they begin their summer with a victory. Likewise, defeat brings with it the direst of connotations, often resulting in an evaporation of morale, worsening with each defeat. John believes that Bective could go close with a good start next year, and rumours that the club has been able to appoint Martin Barry as manager - meaning a return to the fold for the man who guided them to the Junior title in '97 and the Intermediate semi-final before taking the reins at Gaeil Colmcille for two years will do nothing to dispel his optimism. "It'll be great if we get Martin back," he enthuses, "because we really know exactly what direction we'll be going with him. He was telling us the programme for the first couple of months of next year; no-one will be looking forward to serious training, but really everyone will be delighted to be totally focused on what they have to do. The trainers we had over the last couple of years were very good, fitness-wise, but Martin really knows everyone so well, and everyone gives their all for him. Individually, he's great, he knows exactly what everyone's strengths and weaknesses are. Before games, he would go round and talk to everyone, and everyone would know exactly what their job was. With Martin, we'd always have a clear direction, a clear pattern of play. So hopefully we can get it going again for him." Sheehan cites the youth of the team as one of the reasons why everyone within the club should approach the new season with confidence. "If you look around the team, I think there are only a few lads over 30. Bar myself and Noel Moran, there are very few others, and the average age of the team is probably only 24 or 25. There are some younger players coming through as well, Simon Donnelly and Ciaran Breslin were very good this year, and Robbie Corcoran is playing some great stuff at full back, no more than he's done for the past year or two. The ability is definitely there, if we can get everyone pulling together." John lists the two championship successes with Bective - Junior in '97 and the Division 2 Championship in 1989 - as his most memorable times, but he is also glad he took the opportunity to play senior football when it arose in the early 1990s. He joined Walterstown for a three-year period, playing "every championship game for the first two years". He feels he never really settled in there, something he blames on the fact that he was working in Limerick and Cork at the time. "Soon after I got the transfer, I started working in Limerick," he explains, "so I wasn't really able to train with the rest of the team, and just came home at the weekends for games. It would have been hard enough if it was with lads you knew, but I had never played with any of them before, so it was hard to get used to. "I played every championship game for the first two years but then, in the third year, when I was working in Dublin and should have been able to put more time into it, I didn't make the team. Bective had been very good to me, they had let me have the transfer after I had agreed to stay for one more year, and I never had any hesitation about going back. Walterstown was great, it was well worth doing and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't my 'home' club, and it was great to come back to Bective after a couple of years away. And then to go on and win the junior was brilliant. I'd have the intermediate run [in 1999] right up there with it, because we were on the verge of the top. I don't think we'd have lasted too long in senior, but it was great to be playing at a good level, and beating teams like Duleek and St Pat's was a big change to struggling against teams in junior." Bective might be back in junior now, but if the morale has not been fatally affected by the events of the past two years, they could be a force to be reckoned with again next summer. And should they get that early win, anything, as they say in the AIB ads, is possible. Tweet

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