Castledaly's failure to qualify for the knock-out stages of last year's senior football championship was due largely to the absence of so many key players, according to PRO Kieran Galvin. After their historic county final appearance in 2002, Castledaly had hoped to at least emulate that feat last year. But despite making an encouraging start to the championship, the south county outfit lost their way in the second half of the group stages and their fate was finally sealed when The Downs inflicted a third straight defeat on them in a dour contest at Cusack Park. Had Castledaly managed to beat The Downs, they would have qualified for the quarter-finals at the expense of Tubberclair. But while The Downs were greatly flattered by their 0-13 to 0-6 victory, no one could have doubted their superiority. "I don't think we could have any complaints," admits Castledaly PRO Kieran Galvin. "We were in with a shout at half-time, but The Downs found an extra gear in the second half to pull away for a comfortable win. It was a very disappointing way to end the year because our target had been to build on what we had achieved the previous year when we reached the county final. But sadly, that never looked likely." Galvin puts Castledaly's disappointing season down to the absence of a raft of key players, including county stars JP Casey, Derek Heavin and Kenny Larkin. He also feels the club's championship hopes were badly hit by the decision of Brendan Clarke to step down as manager midway through the campaign. "We had a horrendous year with regard to injuries," he says. "Kenny Larkin played in our first championship match against St. Mary's, but missed the rest of the season after breaking his jaw while playing in a challenge match for Westmeath against Down. "Derek Heavin was also injured playing for Westmeath and although he made it back for our last game against The Downs, I don't think he was his usual self. Russell Casey also missed a few games through injury, while our leading scorer JP Casey spent most of the summer in the US. "To compound matters, Brendan Clarke resigned as manager at a crucial stage of the season and we were always going to be facing an uphill task after that," he adds. Galvin, who is well known through his role as GAA Correspondent for the Westmeath Independent, feels that Castledaly could have won last year's championship had they been at full strength. "Had everyone been available to us, we could have taken advantage of the other sides' problems," he opines. "A lot of clubs suffered badly with the mass exodus of players to America last summer. We lost JP Casey, but other clubs were hit even harder. There was a big opportunity there, but unfortunately we weren't in a position to avail of it." Castledaly opened their championship campaign with a 1-13 to 1-10 victory over St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge on May 18. A Damien Doyle goal ensured the green and golds of a dream start, but St. Mary's hit back almost immediately with a goal from Ian Cunningham and went on to lead by 1-6 to 1-2 at the interval. Castledaly improved on the restart, but St. Mary's still held a 1-10 to 1-8 advantage with 10 minutes remaining. However, Castledaly were far from finished and a late rally which yielded five unanswered points gave them a dramatic win. The south county side made it two wins from two when another late surge saw them pip 14-man St. Malachy's on a 1-12 to 0-13 scoreline. Brendan Clarke's charges were slow to settle and found themselves 0-1 to 0-6 in arrears after 17 minutes. However, a goal from corner forward Alan Kelly threw Castledaly a lifeline and they trailed by just four points, 1-2 to 0-9, at the break. Within six minutes of the restart, Castledaly had restored parity courtesy of points from Niall Duffy, Sean Connell, Niall Kelly and JP Casey. But despite having midfielder Paddy Corcoran sent off, St. Malachy's had regained a two-point lead with time almost up. However, Castledaly refused to accept defeat and after Casey had pointed twice to level matters, the same player edged them in front before Niall Duffy sealed an unlikely victory in the sixth minute of injury-time. Less than a week later, the tables were turned when Castledaly were undone by a late rally from Mullingar Shamrocks. After being on level terms at half-time, Castledaly had edged into a 0-6 to 0-5 lead with 11 minutes of normal time remaining. But Shamrocks finished powerfully, with goals from Declan Cassidy and Mickey Reilly breaking Castledaly's resistance. The Offaly-border outfit suffered another setback when they succumbed to newly-promoted Tubberclair in their fourth outing. Everything appeared to be going smoothly for Castledaly when they led by 1-5 to 0-5 at the interval, but the awarding of a contentious penalty to Tubberclair midway through the second half marked a major turning point. James Martin dispatched the spot-kick and before Castledaly could recover, Francis Spollen grabbed a second goal to put Tubberclair on the road to a 2-11 to 1-12 victory. A quarter-final spot was still within Castledaly's reach, but a most disappointing second half performance against The Downs saw them exit the championship with a whimper. Trailing by just two points at the break and by the minimum early in the second half, Castledaly looked to be in a strong position. But they failed to score in the final 18 minutes, during which The Downs tagged on a string of points to emerge as handsome winners. The year was by no means a barren one for Castledaly. A hugely promising minor team, managed by Eugene Costello and Michael Kelly, captured the club '2' championship in November following a 2-7 to 1-7 victory over a St. Mary's/Milltownpass combination. After recording wins over Maryland/Tang, Tubberclair, Millmore Gaels and Caulry in a round-robin series, Castledaly defeated St. Malachy's/Ballinagore by a goal in the semi-final. They also had a goal to spare over St. Mary's/Milltownpass in the final, with Paul Kelly's late strike proving all-important. In what was a rip-roaring decider played at Kilbeggan, Paul Kelly scored an early goal to help Castledaly to a 1-6 to 1-2 interval lead. Castledaly were still four points to the good, 1-7 to 1-3, after 14 minutes of the second half, but the combination side then proceeded to reel off four unanswered points to level matters with time almost up. A replay looked to be on the cards until Kelly ended Castledaly's scoring drought with his second goal in the third minute of injury-time which gave them a dramatic 2-7 to 1-7 victory. "We were delighted with the minor success. The players put in a huge effort all year and got their just reward in the end. The team contained a number of exciting prospects, including the Kelly cousins, Paul and Adrian," Galvin explains. Looking ahead to the coming season, Galvin is confident that Castledaly can put last year's disappointment behind them at senior level. "Assuming we have better luck on the injury front, I think we'll be there or thereabouts in the championship. We're capable of beating anyone as we proved last year when we were the only team to beat Garrycastle in the league. We'll be aiming for a place in the knock-out stages and who knows what might happen after that," he concludes. The Castledaly team which landed the minor club '1' championship title was: David Troy; John Holloway, James Larkin, Kieran O'Brien; Paddy Costello, Tommy Warburton, Conor Gavin; Paul Larkin, Adrian Kelly; Brendan Kelly, Michael Gavin, Andrew Kenny; Anthony Costello, Paul Kelly, David Doyle. Sub used: Darren Costello. Tweet

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