For a while there, Moylagh's junior footballers looked like contenders in 2005. Genuine contenders. But somewhere along the way the wheels came off. By Gordon Manning. Moylagh's junior A football championship aspirations ultimately unravelled in early August with a 1-17 to 0-11 defeat to Longwood. But in truth the damage had been done in earlier rounds when they had lost to Kilmainham and Navan O'Mahony's. Their form in Division 4A of the All County Leagues was extremely impressive in the early rounds and after a lengthy unbeaten spell they looked like a good bet for promotion. But their erratic performances in the championship coincided with a dip in form in the league and they finished outside the promotion places. It had started well but essentially, it was a frustrating year for the north Meath club. Next year will be better though. It certainly has the potential to be anyway. Moylagh were hit by the loss of former Meath minor footballer and hurler Joe Melia for most of the championship after he opted to spend the summer in America following their first round win over Meath Hill. Melia's absence was huge, as was the loss of Carl O'Reilly who did his cruciate this year. Cormac O'Reilly was also injured and for a club like Moylagh losing three players is a momentous blow. It's a well worn phrase - but ultimately it's a numbers game in clubs like Moylagh. For the versatile Shane Brody, who has played with the club all of his life, it was a year in which aspirations went unfulfilled. "When you look back at the league and championship it was a disappointing year, it's that simple. We had set out at the start of the year to make it to the knockout stages of the championship at least and then take it from there," says Brody. "But we didn't achieve that, and we didn't get promotion in the league either. The thing that makes it all the more disappointing is the fact that we are better than what we showed this year. "Every club reckons they can be better than they actually are and Moylagh are no different. There's absolutely no question that the talent is in the club but for whatever reason it didn't come out in the championship this year." Apart from pulling on the Moylagh jersey, 25-year-old Brody is also heavily involved with the administrative running of the club. He is currently the club PRO and a county board delegate and he is also a former Moylagh secretary as well. He has recently started up his own plumbing business, but on the field with Moylagh remains his biggest passion. "It's probably time now over the winter that lads stood back and had a good look at themselves. We all need to ask ourselves if we want to remain as we are - a middle of the road club or if we want to take the club forward to the intermediate grade. "We are certainly good enough for it. The team received quite a bit of criticism locally this year, some of it justifiably so, but the injuries and so on didn't help us. "The loss of Joe Melia and other lads was huge but if we can get a full squad back next year and everybody is pushing in the right direction then I think we could surprise a few people who are maybe writing us off." But it had all started off so well for Moylagh this year. Under the management of local man Martin O'Reilly and his selectors Martin O'Growney and John Martin, Moylagh got the year off to a winning start in both the league and championship. They enjoyed victories over St Vincent's, St Pat's and Drumree in the early rounds of Division Four A while there was also a draw with Curraha. They entered the first round of the championship against Meath Hill in early April with boosted by their unbeaten run in the All-County League. They ran out easy victors in that match, 2-12 to 1-6, and the signs looked good for a crack at the knockout stages of the junior championship. However, a one point defeat to Kilmainham followed later in the month, 0-10 to 0-9, and it proved to be a defeat which started the downturn in Moylagh's fortunes for 2005. "We threw that game away really. That was an extremely disappointing defeat and looking back it really cost us dearly," recalls Shane. "We were three points up coming into the closing stages but we let Kilmainham back into the game and they beat us by one point in the end. We didn't kill them off when we had the chance and that's what really annoyed us. "We let Kilmainham off the hook and everybody was extremely disappointed afterwards. We tried to pick it up for the next game against Navan O'Mahony's but that was even worse. "We kicked a lot of wides against Navan but we were never really in the game and we were well beaten in the end. That was two successive defeats in the championship so we knew then that we were in trouble if we didn't get back on track." They did just that with a morale boosting 3-11 to 1-6 win over Summerhill next time out before a complete annihilation of Gaeil Colmcille on a sunny Saturday evening in Moynalty, 5-19 to 1-6. "They were two good wins because it got the confidence back in the dressing room. We realised that we still had a chance of making the knockout stages if we could win our last two games." However, Moylagh just didn't turn up for their tussle with Longwood and a 1-17 to 0-11 defeat followed. They lost to Moynalvey in their last group game but the result was incidental at that stage. "The Longwood defeat put us out of the championship. We couldn't make the play-offs after losing that game. We thought we were back in good form after beating Summerhill and Kells but Longwood were far stronger on the day. "The Moynalvey game effectively didn't matter because we were gone at that stage." After a brief midseason slump in the league, where they suffered defeats to the likes of Meath Hill, Rathkenny and Kilbride, Moylagh still pushed hard late on to finish just outside the promotion places. "We have been in Division Four for a few years now. We got off to a very good start this year but unfortunately we lost our way a little in the middle of the campaign. "Still, although the top two finished well ahead of everybody else on points, we know we weren't that far away so hopefully we can make a good push for promotion next year as well." The club's hurlers also endured a tough season in the junior hurling championship - finishing well down the reckoning in Group One against the likes of Kiltale, Kilmessan and St Pat's. The junior D footballers made it to the championship semi-final for the second year in a row, while the ladies enjoyed an encouraging year which saw them advance to their decider. Both the junior footballers and hurlers will be looking to turn things around in 2006. The footballers are still a very young team and Shane believes they can only get better with experience. "Carl Clinton is the oldest on the team and he is only 26 so hopefully this is a coming Moylagh team. There are plenty of young players who have got a lot of experience in the last few years," he says. "When you look at a lot of the other junior clubs in the county, the most successful seem to be those with an average age of around the mid twenties and we are approaching that bracket. "We weren't good enough this year and we know that. Things just didn't go right but if we can keep everybody injury free then we'll have a chance. "Realistically, you'd be looking at winning a junior championship in maybe two or three years but there's certainly nothing to stop us giving it a blast next year either. "It's all about taking it a step at a time. We want to get promotion in the league because the higher the grade of football you are playing the better it is for the players. "We'll be hoping to achieve that next year. We'll also be targeting the knockout stages of the championship and if we get that far then who knows. We haven't had any luck in the last few years either so we're probably due some at this stage." For now the Moylagh Gaels must lick their wounds and start working on getting the wheels back on track before the 2006 season commences. It's certainly within their capabilities. And remember, for a while there this year Moylagh looked like genuine contenders. From that at least, they can take heart! Underage hurling round up Moylagh U16 winners • Indoor training started in January/Moylagh Community Centre • Outdoor training stared in March, 2 nights per week • Indoor trainers were Emmet Grall and Eamon Boyle • Outdoor trainers were Emmet Grall, John O'Farrell and at a later stage Noel Briody • Sunday 3/4/05 - First round game was away to Clan na nGael. Final score 3-7 to 6-7. • Sunday 10/4/05 - Walk over against Drumconrath • Sunday 24/4/05 - Away to Longwood. Final score 2-2 to 6-4 • Sunday 8/5/05 - Home game against Boardsmill. Final score 5-4 to 2-4 • 15/5/05 - Home game v Rathmolyon, 4-10 to 3-7 • 27/6/05 - Semi-final v Navan O'Mahonys Final v Kilmessan 2-8 to 2-7 • Selectors - M Nolan, Paul Foley, Emmet Grall, E Boyle We would like to take E Grall, John O'Farrell and Noel Briody who added fire/determination and the will to win to this team. • Our U15 team managed by Michael Geraghty, Kevin Reilly, M Nolan, Emmet Grall and Paul Foley won a very entertaining tournament final against Wolfe Tones. This team took part in last years Division 6 All Ireland Feile final and comprises of boys from Kilskyre/Moylagh and Oldcastle. • Our junior team won there first game against Trim and squandered chances in there next two game's against Kiltale/St Pat's. They then seemed to lose interest. • Our minor team was beaten in a quarter final by eventual finalists Blackhall Gaels. • Our under 12 team again managed by Michael Geraghty helped by Kevin Reilly, Paul Foley and M Nolan have reached the final having beaten Boardsmill, Wolfe Tones and Donaghmore/Ashbourne. They paid a very tough Killyon team in the final. • Our under 13 team were defeated in a play off for a semi-final spot by Boardsmill. Hurlers make breakthrough The 2005 campaign has now drawn to a close with all championships in the county completed. Moylagh under-16 hurlers annexed the 'B' title at the expense of renowned hurling club Kilmessan. The win over the kingpins of Meath hurling was the club's reward for years of effort placed on their underage structure. For the best part of a decade, Moylagh hurling club have placed a huge emphasis on teaching their kids the basic skills of the game. The North Meath side would not be known for their hurling poweress in the past, as their adult side continues to languish in the junior ranks but there is a great confidence in the community that the small ball game will soon see the club emerge from the doldrums. Football has always been the main sport in the locality but hurling is now growing in importance. Long serving clubmen Matty Nolan, Paul Foley, Emmett Grail and Eamonn Boyle all lent their time and expertise to help develop the youngsters' game, while John Farrell and former Westmeath and Lough Lene Gaels goalkeeper Noel Briody helped give the team the belief and determination that they could defy the odds and become champions. Moylagh have adopted the approach that the skills of the game must be taught at a very young age and the fruits of their labour paid dividends with the historic win over Kilmessan. Training began last January in the Moylagh Community Centre and when the weather improved, the squad was put through their paces, two nights-a-week on the pitch. The under-16 'B' championship is ran on a 13-a-side basis and Kilmessan's inclusion in the competition was a surprising factor, given their status as Meath's top side. However, that did not deter the Moylagh youngsters, who made it to the final in style. In all, Moylagh were supposed to play seven matches, but received a walkover against Drumconrath in their second outing. Having already defeated Clann na nGael in the first round by 6-7 to 3-7, confidence was growing amongst the team. Another high score was recorded when the North Meath side travelled to Longwood and defeated the home side by 6-4 to 2-2. Having scored 12 goals in their opening two matches, Moylagh went to score five against Boardsmill when they had 9 points to spare (5-4 to 2-4). Ratoath gave Moylagh their toughest test in the quarterfinal, but the old saying that goals win matches was once again evident as a 4-10 to 3-7 scoreline suggests and when Navan O'Mahony's were defeated in the semi-final, there was a real belief in the squad that they could win the title. However, Kilmessan were the opponents in the decider and as all true hurling Gaels know, the blue and whites have produced many a great team down through the years. Kilmessan looked to be cruising to victory, but late goals from Eanna Brody and Shane Nolan ensured a sensational victory for the North Meath side. Kilmessan lead by 2-4 to 0-5 at the interval and were still in front by five points with four minutes remaining before the late double. Best for Moylagh were Philip Grall, Vincent Cadden, Barry Curran and Paddy Gilsenan, while every player played their part during the year. The winning team was: T Grall, Philip Grall, N McNelis, S Connell, S Nolan (1-1), V Cadden, B Curran (0-3), T O'Reilly, Paddy Grall, P Rahill (0-1), K Foley (0-1) D Hawdon (0-1), P Gilsenan (0-2). Sub: E Brody (1-0), C Caffrey. It was an amazing result for the club and with all their other underage teams performing admirably, the future for Moylagh hurling looks very bright indeed. Tweet

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