It was not all doom and gloom in St Michael's during 2000. Okay, so junior football in 2001 may not appeal to a club with such a proud tradition but the performances of their U16s in capturing the Division 4 crown suggests that more adult success may be just around the corner. Royal County talks to Juvenile chairman Jimmy Farrelly who was also a selector with the victorious team. The officials, players and supporters of St Michael's won't recall the year 2000 with much fondness in the years to come. The club's adult players endured a disappointing year which concluded with relegation to the junior grade. In contrast, the club's U16s could do no wrong as they annexed the Division 4 title at the expense of north Meath neighbours Kilmainhamwood. The Castletown scoreboard read 1-12 to 0-11 at the end of an absorbing encounter. Former St Michael's player, Jimmy Farrelly, who's also the chairman of the club's juvenile section, was a selector with the victorious team along with Patsy Dowdall, Michael Flood and Jim O'Reilly and, needless to say, was delighted with the team's performances throughout the year. "We were unbeaten throughout the course of the competition," he revealed. "We knew we had some very talented footballers in the club at U16 level but our job was to make sure that we got the right blend and that the team played together as a unit. Thankfully, everything worked out as we had hoped it would." St Michael's qualified for the final against Kilmainhawood thanks to a semi-final victory over Moynalvey and the Carlanstown/Kilbeg outfit had four points to spare over their north Meath opponents at the end of an exciting sixty minutes at Castletown. Jimmy and his fellow selectors couldn't have asked for a better start as their charges raced into a 1-5 to 0-0 lead, the goal arriving courtesy of Andrew Rogers ten minutes into the game. But, Kilmainhamwood, to their credit, fought back, and the half-time score read 1-5 to 0-4. Michael's resumed with points from Rogers and Peter Clinton while their opponents replied with a point before John Barry O'Reilly and Ben Farrell extended their team's advantage. There was some nervy moments near the end, however, for supporters of St Michaels as Kilmainhamwood rattled off six points on the trot to reduce the deficit to the minimum. But points from Farrell (two) and O'Reilly steadied the boat and the Michael's held on to secure a thoroughly deserved success. Brendan Ryan, Derek Flood, O'Reilly, Clinton, Rogers and Farrell were the winner's most impressive performers on the day. "Like all local derbies it was a very tough game," recalled Jimmy. "We were lucky in that we got a great start and Kilmainhamwood were playing catch-up for the rest of the game. "They came at us very strongly in the second half though and it was a very tense and exciting finish. Whenever they got a score though we always looked capable of going back up the field and extending the lead. Thankfully, we finished the stronger." Jimmy continued: "There was a great turn-out at the final and Castletown had the pitch well prepared. Both sets of players provided their supporters with something to cheer about and it was a very good game of football." The St Michael's U12s narrowly missed out on similar success when losing their championship decider to Drumconrath/Meath Hill by the narrowest of margins. Ambrose, Oliver and Pete Cassidy and Bernard Lynch were involved with that team. Jimmy reveals that we're bound to hear more about a number of these players. The U12s and the U16s were the highlights of another disappointing year for the Carlanstown club. As recently as 1998, St Michael's were performing in the top flight of Royal County football but things haven't gone right for them since and the junior grade now beckons since they suffered relegation from Intermediate this year. It is for this reason, according to Jimmy, that a juvenile section was established within the club for the first time at the beginning of 2000. Incidentally, Ronan Curran is the fledgling committee's secretary. "It was decided at the start of the year that an extraordinary effort has to be invested into the underage within the club and it was for this reason that an underage committee was set-up. We want to try and put a structure in place which will ensure we get the best out of all our young players. "Getting relegated from Intermediate was a major disappointment for the club but, in one sense, it may not do any harm in the long run. I say that because when you're losing consistently people tend to get fed up and disinterested. "The junior championship won't be easily won, no championship in Meath is easily won, but if we can string a few wins together people may get interested in the club again and that can only be good for the future." The junior and intermediate championship medalist adds that no finger of blame for the Michael's slide down the rankings can be pointed in the direction of the club's executive committee. "The boys at the top table are doing tremendous work. The majority of them have been there for a long time now but they still retain a great interest in the club." Luckily for St Michael's, there's no sign of Jimmy Farrelly's interest waning either. The St Michaels U16 team which was on final duty was as follows - J Carpenter; B Carolan, B Ryan; P Dowdall, D Flood, A Lynch; JB O'Reilly (0-3), P Clinton (0-2); J Carolan, A Rogers (1-1), M Flanagan; B Farrell (0-6), C Monaghan. Sub - S Prunty Tweet

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