Toome chasing that championship prize
December 30, 2010Unfortunately for the club, the season didn't work out as planned but despite failing to land any major silverware all at this forward-thinking outfit are optimistic of a bright future ahead.
Over the past number of years, Toome GFC have been regarded as one of the most progressive in the county in terms of their work both on and off the field. Like many clubs of their size, the St Victors Park outfit embody the spirit of the GAA by being at the heart of the community by not only serving the sporting needs of the area, but providing excellent facilities that are available to a wide variety of groups and individuals.
In 2009 the two sides of the club were illustrated perfectly as impressive displays on the field of play combined with the opening of their new astro-turf training facility helped them earn the coveted Club of the Year Award at the Monaghan convention in December of last year.
Club Chairman, Declan Lambe, acknowledged that it was a great boost for the club and a reward for all the hard work put in over recent years.
"I suppose the fact that we got to the Junior Championship Final and only lost out narrowly to Emyvale showed that we were making good progress on the field, while off the field we continued to developed our facilities when we opened the astro-turf pitch. I think the fact that we are a relatively small club and have done a lot of work, we were selected for the award.
"There is no doubt we were very proud to receive the accolade and it proves that we are doing something right. It is a nice compliment for everyone involved and I suppose like a lot of clubs there is a great deal of effort put in by many people and it is nice to get the reward," explained Declan.
While the club was delighted to be honoured by the County Board, they went into the new campaign with high hopes of landing a trophy on the field of play and they began the season determined to make up for losing the championship final.
However, despite a great deal of effort from the management team of Oisin McConville and Padraig O'Neill, along with the commitment of the players, Declan reveals that the season fell short of what they had hoped for.
"At the beginning of the year we set out with the expectation of moving on from last year but unfortunately it didn't work out too well as we finished fifth in the league and failed to make an impression on the championship.
"However, it certainly wasn't for the lack of commitment of the players or the management team as they put in a huge effort over the year, but things just didn't go our way.
"At the start of the year we were no different to any team as we wanted to win the championship. You have to go into it believing that you can win the title, otherwise there is not much point in being there."
The draw saw Toome given a tricky task against a Sean McDermotts side that was flying high in the league, but following from last year's experience, the St Victor's Park side went into the game confident that they could progress.
However, the game in Ballybay saw Toome fail to reproduce the form of 2009 and they lost out by six points. A blistering opening ten minutes which yielded five unanswered points was the foundation which saw the Seans take control of the game.
Although Toome did get into their stride and reduce the gap to a single point at one stage, the only goal of the game proved crucial as the McDermotts went on to win by 1-12 to 0-9.
That result was a great disappointment for Toome but they were hoping to make amends when they were drawn against Oram in the 'back door' and that game in Drumhowan saw them show great character to get back on track.
In an entertaining encounter, Toome battled well throughout at took the lead for the first time 12 minutes from time when Stephen Lambe found the net. Despite being reduced to 14 men for the closing minutes, Toome held out for a 1-11 to 1-8 win in a dramatic finale.
That resulted in a meeting with another side showing good league form, Clones, but nonetheless Toome were optimistic about their chances. Unfortunately it didn't work out as anticipated as Clones won by a comfortable margin at Gavan Duffy Park on their way to a place in the championship final.
"It was very disappointing to lose to Clones as although they had beaten us twice in the league, we did feel we had a chance against them. After last year we had hope to build on those championship performances but unfortunately we just didn't managed to do it,, explained Declan who remains optimistic that the team can respond next season.
"We are looking forward to giving it another go next year and if we have everyone available and putting in the effort then we will be optimistic that we can compete for honours.
"There is no doubt that it will be a big challenge as the Junior grade is very competitive at the minute and it will be very tight again next year because there are two strong teams in Aghabog and Emyvale coming down.
The good thing is that we have a relatively young panel with the average age about 23. There are a few more experienced players still there also so we have a good mix and the prospect of improving.
"The team has also been boosted by the inclusion of Gavin Flanagan on the county panel again this year and hopefully he will get a run this season. He is a very committed player who works hard and it is a great boost for the club to have him involved," added the chairman.
The club is also encouraged by the fact that they also had a good run in the B Championship where they lost to Rockcorry, and also the League final where they were beeten by Truagh. Although disappointed not to lift any silverware, Declan believes the form of this team represents a good sign for the future.
There were plenty of positives in terms of the years ahead as Declan revealed the Toome are already reaping the rewards of some great work being done at underage level.
"There are a number of people involved in the juvenile section and have done tremendous work in recent times. As a result we now have very good teams at all levels from the nursery section all the way up, and we are heading in the right direction. Proof of this is that fact that Sean McMahon has been selected as part of the U-14 Development Squad, while Mark Connolly was called up to the U-15 set-up," added Declan. Tweet
