Donaghmoyne made it a sweet double at reserve level when they produced a power-packed finish to edge past the challenge of Scotstown by 2-9 to 1-7 in a cracking Crawley Cup decider at Cremartin in mid-October. The winners hit the jackpot despite having to play three-quarters of the match with 14 players following the dismissal of the unfortunate Glen McGarrell in the 17th minute of the first half. The destination of the spoils remained in doubt right up until the final minutes in a game which saw the action swing from end to end in thrilling fashion. Donaghmoyne enjoyed the better start to the match with Raymond Fee firing home a penalty after just five minutes which catapulted the Farneysiders into a useful four point lead. That lead was later extended to five points after 11 minutes before the would-be winners were reduced to 14 men six minutes later. Donaghmoyne held firm though and they showed a great sense of ambition and will-to-win to extend their lead to six points, 1-7 to 0-4, by half-time. Three minutes after the restart, Donaghmoyne were rocked back on their heels when Scotstown plundered a goal which ignited a purple patch for the blues. Three points without reply between the 5th and 17th minutes by Scotstown increased the pressure on Donaghmoyne, big-time. Donaghmoyne were now just one point in front but they did brillantly to maintain the status quo until the final few minutes of normal time when James Connolly fielded a high centre from Niall Kelly before crashing the ball to the Scotstown net. Kelly's major was the straw that broke the camel's bar as far as the border side were concerned and there was simply no way back for them. For good measure, starlet Ciaran McConnell climaxed a great personal display by tagging on a point at the death to make sure of victory. The following is the Donaghmoyne team, and scorers, that featured against Scotstown in the Jack Crawley Cup decider last October: Patrick Caulfield; Paul Wynne, Noel Marron, Seamus Meehan; Thomas Marron, Peter Finnegan, Emmet Flanagan; John Kingham, Raymond Marron; Niall Kelly, Raymond Fee (1-0), Ciaran McConnell (0-6); Glen McGarrell (0-2), Colm Connolly, James Connolly (1-1). Subs - Eugene Finnegan, Gerard Meehan. Under 21s win thrilling decider Donaghmoyne's under 21 crew really made it a nightmare scenario for the club in 2005 by skipping to victory in the Division Two league final. Just how will the Fontenoys ever manage to bag another six cups next year! Allowing for the fact that their 2-8 to 1-8 win over Truagh at Cremartin was the result of a real good team effort, the fingers were firmly pointed at Francis Markey and Eamonn Lynch in particular after the game. Just what the hell were they thinking when they banged home those precious second half goals! But, in fairness, every player used in the final played their part in making it a half-dozen cup triumphs for Donaghmoyne in 2004. But the winners-elect sure did test their fans' patience as it wasn't until five minutes into the second half that their charges took the lead for the first time in the match. Trailing by 0-3 to 0-4 at the break, Donaghmoyne leapt into the lead thereafter with a goal by Francis Markey helping to steer them into a 1-5 to 0-4 lead after a Ciaran Daly effort two minutes after the restart had drawn the sides level. Donaghmoyne proceeded to dictate the pace of the second half exchanges and after Eamon Lynch rifled in the Fontenoys' second goal two minutes from the end of normal time, it was all over bar the shouting despite a gutsy rally at the death by the Gaels. Donaghmoyne's team, scorers, and subs that featured against Truagh Gaels in the Under 21 final was as follows; Thomas Deery; Seamus Meehan, John Cumiskey, Gerard Meehan; Adrian Keenan, Bernard Kelly (0-1), Ciaran Daly (0-4); Francis Markey (1-2), Niall Kelly, Joe Kelly (0-1); Eamon Lynch (1-0), Ciaran McConnell, John Kingham. Subs - Seamus Markey, Colm Connolly. Fontenoys' minors in major win A brillantly executed free from a difficult angle by Ciaran McConnell was the clinching point as Donaghmoyne secured the Minor Championship Division Two title with a pulsating 0-9 to 0-8 win over Ballybay in Cremartin on September 25th. In what was a very exciting contest, the Fontenoys had to come from 0-2 to 0-3 behind at the interval to snatch victory at the death. It could have been much worse for the winners-elect at the interval but for terrific defensive work by the Fontenoys' rearguard who kept their wind-backed opponents at bay for long periods. Brillantly drilled and tutored by Vincent McConnell, Frank Markey, Noel Marron and Thomas Deery, Donaghmoyne's youngsters strugged a bit on the restart to reap the benefit of the elements at their backs and Ballybay profited by rifling over four unanswered points. However Donaghmoyne responded to the challenge in tremendous fashion and their fitness and skill levels were such that they managed to go on and out-score their opponents by 0-7 to 0-1 and so deservedly secure the spoils. Donaghmoyne's minor heroes were as follows: Thomas Deery; Anthony Meehan, Martin McEneaney, Martin Finnegan; Ciaran McConnell (0-7 five frees), Stephen Martin, John Kingham (0-1); Seamus Markey, Rory Woods (0-1), James Ward; Patrick Finnegan, Stephen Duffy, Joe Kelly. Subs; Ciaran Winters, Paul Corrigan. Juniors make McKeown Cup theirs Club insiders reckoned that after beating Toome by 2-12 to 3-5 in the club's opening McKeown Cup, Reserve Football League Division Three, encounter that Martin Donaghy and Finbar Finnegan had the makings of a good squad of players. But title winners? One wondered. However as the season went on, it was obvious that Donaghmoyne were the team all others had to beat to lift the cup. Donaghy and Finnegan's charges powered through the season unbeaten in both the McKeown and Crawley Cup campaigns. What an achievement! And when the players beat Blackhill in the semi-final of the former compeitition, only Clones stood in the was of the club's division three squad from fulfilling their destiny in 2004. And, predictably, the border club was simply no match for Donaghmoyne as the latter triumphed by 2-11 to 1-5 in Drumhowan on July 21st. Donaghmoyne led from pillar to post in the final with a 5th minute point by Peter Finnegan getting the team up and running. Further points by Raymond Fee and Ciaran McConnell firmly established the team as the front runners. Donaghmoyne proceeded to retain their cushioned lead with quite considerable ease and although the would-be winners conceded a rather freakish goal in the 20th minute, they hit back with four unanswered points to go into the break, 0-9 to 1-1 to the good. Chances went abegging for Donaghmoyne and Clones in the early stages of the second half before the champions-elect hit a purple patch that yielded two goals, via the boots of Glen McGarrell and John Kingham, and a point in the space of five minutes to virtually seal the issue. "Although a lot of these lads have only come up from minor level in 2003, we're hopeful that the team can hold its own in division two. They've enthusiasm and pace on their side and the young fellas have the likes of Pat Caulfield, Noel, Thomas and Raymond Marron to call upon for experience so there should be a good mix in the team," enthuses club Secretary Derek Callan. Under 15s make it five-up It was a case of five-up for Donaghmoyne in early November as the club's fabulous Under 15 side careered to the Division Two title with a splendid 2-5 to 0-7 victory over Sean McDermotts at Gavan Duffy Park, Monaghan. A campaign which began with much hope in September ended in dream-like fashion with the whole panel contributing handsomely towards securing the club's fifth cup of the year. The squad got their division two campaign up and running with an away win over Clones and subsequent big wins over Inniskeen, Oram, Corduff and Clontibret helped to post notice that the lads were destined to go the distance in the competition. And so it proved. However the final proved to be the closest shave of the year for Donaghmoyne's starlets after a tremendous three point win in the semi-final over Oram set them up nicely for the decider. As things transpired early goals by Christopher Deery and John Farrell put Donaghmoyne into the driving seat on the back of a 2-4 to 0-4 lead at the interval. Although things were much tighter in the second half and only one further point was added on by Donaghmoyne, the team never looked like relinquishing their cushioned lead. "We were confident of winning the cup right from the start of the season," team-mentor Fergal McMahon comments. We lost the under 14 final last year and the lads were determined to make amends this year. And with five of the team county standard, we knew it would take a very good team to beat us," adds Fergal who was joined along the sideline by fellow mentors Gerry Winters and Dermot Boylan plus unused subs Owen McGeough, Patrick McCabe, Jason Keenan, John Clarke. The squad of players that featured against Seans in the Under 15 Division Two decider was as follows: Conor Phelan; Damien Boylan, Tommy Carolan, Darren Ward; Paul Kingham, Conal Finnegan, Francis McBride; Gerard Lynch, Stephen Martin; Gerard Duffy (0-1), Paul Finnegan, John Farrell (1-0); Christopher Hall (0-1), Christopher Deery (1-3), Martin Rooney. Subs used - Patrick Martin, Conor O'Gorman, Enda Finnegan. Under 16s beat best of the rest Mid-May and a 2-9 to 2-2 victory over a vaunted Aghabog side is recorded and things are really starting to look up for Donaghmoyne's talented Under 16 football troupe as they set about winning the club's first cup of the year. Those early season performances smacked of silverware and even the most pessimistic gaels in Donaghmoyne were coming around to thinking that a celebration was in the offing. The fact that their starlets had exited the Under 16 championship by the narrowest of margins to Drumhowan seemed to be forgotten about the longer the league season went on. Why even the break for that other testing examination, the Leaving Certificate, couldn't break Donaghmoyne's momentum. In fact, the would-be title winners seemed even more energised with the return to action. It was plain that the team was utterly determined to reap an appropriate compensation for their championship disappointment. Perhaps it was only right and proper that Donaghmoyne should overcome their championship nemesis, Drumhowan, in the penultimate round of the competition. "The team just got better and better as the year went on. There was a settled team in place and all the lads worked very hard for one another and the spirit in the camp was spot on. I don't think any team was going to beat them," comments Donaghamoyne club secretary Derek Callan. The highly-efficient Donaghmoyne gael's instinct was on the button. Fellow Farneysiders Inniskeen were put to the sword in the final in Carrickmacross on October 2nd with two points separating the sides at the end of a torrid test played out in atrocious conditions of hail, wind and rain. "There was very little to separate the sides over the hour but our domination of the midfield sector went a long way to swinging it our way. It was a great team effort though and everyone of the players played their hearts out," says Derek, fulsome in his praise of team mentors Frank Markey, Vincent McConnell, Peter Finnegan, Brendan Finnegan and physio Finbar Finnegan. The Donaghmoyne success story 2004 turned out to be another fantastic year for the Donaghmoyne club as they retained the Senior Championship, U16 and U18 titles as well as taking the Ulster Senior Club championship for the very first time. By Alan Gunn. Just twelve months ago the Fontenoy's collected their first county senior title and now have made even more progress as they are 2004 Ulster Senior Champions. The club situated just outside Carrickmacross is thriving thanks to many talented footballers and a great management set up and committee behind them. They entered the year with a lot of pressure on them as they tried to retain all the county titles from U14 to Senior. However the Senior championship is every club's long term dream and that was the main achievement for Donaghmoyne girls. The draw set them up for a meeting with O'Neill Shamrocks in the opening fixtures, a game that was a keenly contested affair in the first half. A great second half from the holders saw them advance easily in the end and set up a semi-final with Monaghan Harps. It was one of their young talented stars that guided them though this tough assignment. 14-year-old Catriona McConnell struck seven points over the hour to help her side win by 2-13 to 2-09. Catherine Donohue and Anne Marie Burns struck for the two majors. The Final was a repeat of 2003 with Aghabog again the opposition. The game was played in Clontibret on a very wet Sunday evening in August. Donaghmoyne trailed at the interval but came back with a great second half performance to retain the crown as champions of Monaghan. With Aghabog leading at the break by 0-04 to 0-02, the holders had to call on all their talent to pull this one from the fire. A dream start after the break came when Majella Woods sent in a long range free straight to the net. Further points from Angela Lennon, Karen Hall and Woods all followed as they took control. The contest was completely wrapped up with a second goal for the winners, this time Anne Marie Burns finding the net. The Final score reading Donaghmoyne 2-07 Aghabog 0-06 and Donaghmoyne were heading on a voyage into Ulster. After disappointedly falling to St Eunan's in the opening round last year Donaghmoyne came in this year hoping to prove a point and make a better impression on the Ulster campaign. First up was a trip to Moy in County Tyrone and a game with Glen of Derry. Things didn't look great at the interval as they trailed by two points but a total turn around after the restart saw them pull away for a very comfortable win. This took the bandwagon into the semi-finals and a home tie with reigning champions Knockbride of Cavan. McConnell, who had notched 0-08 against Glen, again proved the main scorer as she hit Knockbride for 1-07. Donaghmoyne gave an exibition of football in a convincing 2-17 to 0-08 win and booked their place in the Ulster decider. In that Ulster decider the opposition was to be Carrickmore, the well known Tyrone champions who had been defeated in the 2003 Final. Conditions were poor after heavy overnight rain had left a lot of surface water on the Clones field. Despite this both sides played out a very entertaining final that saw Donaghmoyne get off to a fine start with a point from young starlet McConnell inside the opening minute. McConnell added a further point soon after before Carrickmore opened their account. Some great defending from players like Michelle Grimes, Aine Gilsenan and midfielder Angela Lennon tracking back kept Donaghmoyne in the game as they were outplayed for long periods in the opening half. With their defence outstanding to keep them in touch Donaghmoyne got a lucky break just before the interval. Catriona McConnell coolly slotting home a penalty to leave her side ahead by 1-03 to 0-03 at the break. Only two points separated the sides as we entered the final ten minutes, a moment when Amanda Casey was sprung from the bench. What an immediate impact she had as within seconds she had fisted in a delivery from McConnell to the Carrickmore net and Donaghmoyne were on the verge of something very historical. A second penalty converted by McConnell sealed the issue in injury time as the Ulster Championship was on its way to Donaghmoyne on a score line of 3-05 to 0-07. Majella Woods lifted the Ulster title on behalf of a great side. Donaghmoyne (v Carrickmore): Linda Martin, Joanne Geoghan, Michelle Grimes, Niamh Lynch, Hazel Kingham, Aine Gilsenan, Sharon Courtney, Angela Lennon, Fiona Courtney, Karen Hall, Majella Woods (0-03), Joanne Courtney, Catriona McConnell (2-02), Anne Marie Burns, Catherine Donohue Subs Used: Amanda Casey (1-00), Lisa Kingham With the Ulster Senior title now claimed Donaghmoyne had won all three Ulster club titles inside four years, with the Junior claimed in 2000 and the Intermediate in 2001, a great honour for any club in such a short period of time. So after the highs of the Ulster campaign next up was a welcome to All Ireland champions Donoughmore from Cork to Donaghmoyne. They don't come much tougher then the reigning holders but Donaghmoyne were well prepared for the massive occasion. The dream however of an All-Ireland were to be shattered as the home side never really got going against a very good Cork club team. Despite not playing to their very best Donaghmoyne were still in touch up until the final quarter when the Cork girls pulled away. In the end the scoreboard read Donaghmoyne 0-06 Donoughmore 0-12. In the league Donaghmoyne went down to just one defeat before the semi-final meeting with Monaghan Harps. With the semi-final set for just one week prior to the All-Ireland semi-final it was always going to be tough and it proved so as the Harps piped them by a point. The U16 sides claimed the county title with a win over Truagh in the final and the U18 sides seen off the challenge of O'Neill Shamrocks in their final. Catriona McConnell Honoured With Ulster young Player of the Year Catriona McConnell may have only turned 15-years of age but her list of honours she has claimed are already a wonderful sight. This young starlet is such a talented star for her club and got rewarded with the Ulster Young Player Of the Year Award in the City West Hotel in November. She was part of her club's U16, U18 and senior success this year aswell has playing a major part for her school Inver College in their great year also. In the Senior championship Catriona notched 11 points in the county championship and an unbelievable 3-17 in the Ulster campaign. Her two coolly taken penalties in the Ulster final going along way to securing the title on the day Not only is she a key player for her club but has also donned the county jersey for the U14 and U16 sides and surely will be a regular on the senior side in future years. Tweet

Most Read Stories