In 2005, Damien Freeman had the honour of becoming the first man in 20 years to captain Monaghan to a major national football title as the Division Two Football League crown was scooped amid chaotic scenes in Croke Park on Sunday May 1. The spectacular 3-13 to 3-12 May Day defeat of Meath was the high point of a brilliantly busy twelve-month period for the reliable Magheracloone man, writes Gerry Robinson. May 1 is Beltane, the Celtic 'Day of Fire' - sparks certainly flew at GAA HQ as Monaghan mugged Meath to lay claim to the 2005 national football league Division Two title. The final whistle sounded within seconds of the winning score and the pitch became a sea of white. Thus it remained as the Monaghan captain shook the cup at his people. Damien Freeman has just been through as hectic a year as any footballer could wish for. Lining out at full forward, he played a leading role in Magheracloone's breakthrough SFC final victory over Scotstown in Clones on September 19 2004. It was a day that will never be forgotten by anyone involved. Unbelievably, things got even better in '05. The Magheracloone man was named captain of the county team for the new year and demonstrated his great versatility by switching with customary ease from his normal attacking role to a less familiar wing back berth. Freeman's selfless performances in the half back line were a revelation as the Oriel County enjoyed an extraordinary first year under the management of Seamus 'Banty' McEneaney. Promotion to Division One was secured and the NFL Division Two title was famously scooped for good measure. Monaghan then went on a dizzy run in the Qualifiers, reaching the fourth round before losing to eventual All-Ireland champions Tyrone in a high-octane Croker encounter. There was certainly no shame in losing that one! Meanwhile, at club level, Magheracloone never quite reproduced the form of the previous year but still their class was enough to see them through to yet another county SFC final. Unfortunately, herein they were unable to reproduce the heroics of the previous year as Latton came out on top. In light of the highs that had gone before, this defeat brought Damien and his colleagues back to earth with a thud. But it's all part of football and nothing will ever erase the memories of those incredible highs that ran for twelve months from September 2004. And the really exciting thing is that there are many more good times in prospect: Magheracloone are good enough to regroup and reclaim the county championship, while Monaghan are in the top flight now and appear on the cusp of greater glories. It's not going to be easy, but that knowledge has never bothered Damien Freeman before. Reflecting on the events of 2005, Damien admits that it was fairly frantic: "It was a good year, with a lot of football. There were ups and downs. We had great success with the county but Magheracloone didn't perform at all this year, which was a big disappointment." What went wrong? The Mitchells were practically untouchable in '04, winning the county final against Scotstown by eight points and looking like a team on the verge of a period of dominance: "It was hard to get the same level of commitment again, and maybe some of the hunger was gone. We had five involved with the county as well and that didn't help as we weren't able to get the whole squad together as often as we'd have liked. "We were lucky in 2004 in that we went through the campaign without any injuries, but we had a lot this year. Without playing well all year, we still could have won the championship. If we'd put together a spell in the second half of the final, we'd have probably won it." Damien doesn't begrudge Latton their famous victory, however. To the contrary, he is exceedingly generous in his appraisal of the 2005 Monaghan champions: "The best team definitely won the championship this year. They beat us twice and they beat Clontibret and Castleblayney, so you can't take anything away from them. "We could have stolen it, but we wouldn't have deserved it. Teams have won championships that they didn't deserve in the past, but you simply can't beat the hungrier team and Latton were good value for their win." The hungrier team - like Monaghan in the Division Two football league final when they pipped Meath with that dramatic injury-time goal? "When Seamus and the lads took over the team, they held a meeting and laid it on the line what they wanted. They didn't set any unrealistic targets. The aim was to get to a league semi-final and earn promotion - winning the league was a nice bonus. To get to the fourth round of the qualifiers after that was a brilliant run and we're hoping to build on that now. "We'll be up against top teams in the league this year and that's going to prove more difficult, but it's a challenge you really look forward to." Monaghan put in a stirring performance against Tyrone but were out on their feet in the final quarter. The team captain stresses: "That Tyrone team has been together four or five years and they have a great level of fitness built up. Having said that, we got a chance of a second goal early on and could have gone nine or ten points in front. Instead, we only led by a point or two at the break. At that stage, against a quality team, when you know you should be further ahead, a few doubts start to creep in…" In contrast to the O'Neill men, Monaghan were only at the start of their learning curve. "It was all new to us, but this coming year will be a big help as we're playing teams like Cork, Mayo, Kerry, Tyrone and Dublin in the league before we face Armagh in the Ulster championship." What was it like to be catapulted into the limelight in early summer 2005? To be standing in Croke Park waving a trophy to a trusty band of mesmerised Monaghan supporters? Was it time to pinch oneself? "When I joined the Monaghan panel I just wanted to get a game, but as the years went by I always hoped I'd get a chance to captain the team. Seamus gave me that chance and I feel privileged to have captained the county and to have accepted a national trophy on the team's behalf. The reaction of the supporters to that win was incredible and it was a great achievement for the county as a whole." Hot on the heels of a maiden SFC triumph, it was the stuff of dreamland for the Magheracloone player. "It was a great twelve months and I suppose another senior championship would have been the icing on the cake, but we weren't good enough. Hopefully we'll get our second championship in the next twelve months, though. If we knuckle down, 2006 could be another special year for club and county…" Magheracloone will be determined to show their true form in the spring and summer months of '06. As Damien vows: "Next year you will see a different Magheracloone. It was a reality check not to win anything, and it was very disappointing considering the side we have. "Since we won the SFC, a lot of teams believe they can break through. Latton have done it too and that will increase the belief levels throughout the county. But Latton and Magheracloone have been there or thereabouts for three or four years now and we'll be up there again in 2006. Castleblayney, Clontibret and Scotstown will be strong as well and the winner will probably come from those five. But other clubs will want to have a say, too, and there'll be no easy games." There never are at the top. With Monaghan in Division One and Magheracloone intent on proving a point, the man who led the county to NFL glory in 2005 wouldn't have it any other way! Dynamic Doogan Francie Doogan has enjoyed/endured the last two years. Mixed fortunes on the club and county fronts in 2004/2005 seasons made for a real topsy-turvy kind of career of late for the ace midfielder Francie Doogan readily concurs with the suggestion that football is a real rollercoaster ride but it's not one he's ready to jump off just yet. Despite experiencing his fair quota of 'downs' over the last couple of years, the Magheracloone dynamo says he's prepared to hang in there and fight the good fight, at least, that is, on the club front. A question mark remains over his capacity to give the inter-county scene the sort of commitment required. These days training and playing at the highest level is akin to taking on another job but when you're having to work overtime to fulfill your obligations as a self-employed carpenter, such an extra workload is sometimes neither practicable nor feasible. And yet Francie could never be accused of walking away from a challenge. His inter-county career may go on the back-burner but Monaghan fans will hope that if the two parties go their separate way in 2006, one suspects it'll be a case of au revoir than goodbye. In the meantime, the personable Magheracloone midfielder will keep his nose to the grindstone and beaver away in the interests of his beloved Mitchells. Winning senior championship medals and senior county Player of the Year awards can help sustain a body away down the road, especially when the road travelled is a damn well testing course. Getting both gongs in 2004 (by dint of being off stiff opposition on both spheres, including the challenge of clubmates Damien and Thomas Freeman for the player of the year award) has helped beef up Francie's morale and confidence over the past couple of years. Although modest to the last he's not one to scoff at achieving such personal and collective success. "There's no doubt about it 2004 was my best year to date. "To win a senior championship medal, the club's first ever senior championship, and collect a player of the year award was a dream come through," Francie reflects. But after the feast of 2004 came the scraps presented by 2005. All the tasty morcels were gifted from the inter-county table. On the domestic front there wasn't even crumbs to sate his appetite in '05.In a nutshell, Francie's innings on the club front in '05 were as poor as the inter-county harvest was rich. "Things on the club side of things went the opposite way as things went with Monaghan this year. "Losing the county final to Latton was very, very disappointing but the omens weren't good all year as we had a lot of injury problems, missing seven or eight players at different stages, including big players for us like James Ward and Fintan Kindlon when it mattered most." Did a degree of complacency waft its way into the squad after the club's historic 2004 title success? "I don't know if it was complacency but I'd have to agree and say that a bit of the edge went off our play. "I suppose it's always the case that a bit of the hunger goes off a team that has made the breakthrough or that thinks maybe that they've done the business and don't have to improve any further. "We were in three county finals in four years and all good runs have to come to an end sometime. "But you'd still have to give Latton a lot of credit. They won the final fair and square." Deserving winners then? "I think so. They were the hungrier team and even though we missed a penalty in the last few minutes when there was only four points in it." Did Magheracloone deserve a replay? "It would have been a bit of a robbery if we had got a replay because they were the better team for most of the match." Francie agrees with the suggestion that the Latton lads had been knocking on the door nearly as often as the Mitchells. "A lot of people would have said that they were following in our footsteps because we won the Owen Ward cup and then won the senior championship and they won the Owen Ward cup and then the championship. "Definitely I wouldn't begrudge them their success. "For fifty years the county was looking at the likes of Scotstown, 'Blayney, Ballybay and Clontibret winning the county before ourselves and Latton come along." What's the odds on Monaghan's old firm plus Magheracloone et al being kept from the top of the medal rostrum in 2006? Will we continue to see a changing of the guard? "I always felt that Truagh, on their day, could give as good as they'd get against any team in the county. "If they got the rub of the green, they'll do well next year. "And then you have Inniskeen coming up and that's something for us to look forward to because of the local derby thing. "It was good to see them getting promoted and them being in the championship will make the winning of next year's title all the tougher for us and for every other team. We'll be hoping to be there or thereabouts too." Certainly with the influx of new, young blood in the persons of Peter Ward and Francie's own brother Gavin, nobody in their right mind could rule out the possibility of Magheracloone regaining their crown. A huge admirer of the talents of ace O'Raghaillaighs Hughie McElroy and Eoin Lennon ("one of the best midfielders in Ulster") to name but a few of Latton's finest, Francie is noted for his respect for opponents and his honest endeavours on the field of play. But the feeling is mutual. "Of all the Magheracloone players, he's probably the one you'd put money on that wouldn't lie down, especially when the going gets tough or they've their backs against the wall," a Latton opponent opines. And yet Francie himself admits to being genuinely surprised that he was selected as Monaghan's senior Player of the Year in 2004. It almost seems that he doesn't rate himself as highly as others do. "If he had a bit more self-belief and confidence he'd be far better fit for county duty," a clubmate suggests. But John Scully's phonecall confirming his '04 award was thoroughly welcome. Unfortunately he acknowledges that his form the following year (2005) was but a pale imitation of that which went before. "My form in 2004 was far better but I never got fully fit. "I broke my hand before Christmas in a challenge game against Sligo in Clones and had to get pins inserted into it. "In all, I was probably unfit for about four months. "By the time the semi-final of the championship against Scotstown came around, I was still only about 80% fit. "And then two weeks before the final I damaged ankle ligaments. " To cap it all, I was poor in the final." How much trouble did his injuries give him? "Even in the warm-up before the semi-final I was in a fair bit of pain and that was after taking pain-killers. "I was limping for a few days after the match too and still wasn't right when the final came up two weeks later." Francie is a big man, big of heart and a big game player. But he's the first to concede that he needs to be 'flying fit' to be able to hit the high notes. In 2005 he simply wasn't able to benefit from a sustained run of injury-free weeks to build up his personal stamina. In such frustrating circumstances, a player's confidence can be utterly fragile. By the end of the 2005 championship, Francie's confidence wasn't exactly broken but his heart was. He had sustained two of the worst injuries that have come his way in his career to date and lost the most important game of the year. "All the player of the year awards mean a lot less when you lose out in a championship final and it took a while to get over that, I can tell you". It's not difficult to understand just why Francie has mixed feelings when he reflects on the hand dealt him over the past 12 months. His club fortunes were the antithesis to what he garnered while an integral member of Seamus McEnaney's Monaghan panel. "I wasn't fully fit to give of my best for the club which was very frustrating and then when it came to pressing home my bid for a place on the county team I was injured at the wrong time too." Mention of the county team and training sessions in the dead of winter 20 minutes down the road in Stabannon comes sharply into focus. As things stand, for Francie at least, sin sceal eile. Tweet

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