After their historic Junior Cup success in 2001, Loughnavalley were expected to mount a serious challenge for junior championship honours last year. But it never materialized, much to the disappointment of full forward Ken Daly. A club which has more to prove than most in the coming year is undoubtedly Loughnavalley. Arguably the most improved football team in the county in 2001, the 'Valley suffered a major dip in form last year, taking just one point from a possible 16 in the junior championship. Inevitably, this has led to suggestions that they were a flash in the pan and, unless there is a dramatic improvement this year, it is a tag they are unlikely to shake off. "We have a lot to prove this year," concedes full forward Ken Daly. "After making so much progress in 2001, we had expected to reach the junior championship semi-finals at the very least last year. But we never really got going and just one draw from seven games was a very disappointing return." The Mullingar native, who has been a Loughnavalley player for the past 11 years, attributes last year's slump to a loss of form and a change in management. "There is no doubt that fellas who had played out of their skins in 2001 failed to reproduce that sort of form last year. We needed everyone to be firing on all cylinders, but that unfortunately wasn't the case. Perhaps lads were expecting success to come to them - whatever the reason, the same effort wasn't put in. "In 2001, we were managed by John Rafferty and the late Joe Nicholson. As a partnership, they were terrific and things weren't the same after they stepped down. The same spirit wasn't there," he explains. Under Rafferty and Nicholson, Loughnavalley enjoyed their most successful year in half a century in 2001. After a championship run which yielded five wins (they only missed out on the semi-finals after losing to Milltown in a play-off), , the year culminated in a first ever Junior Cup success for the club. By contrast, last year was a major disappointment. The tone for the year was set when the green and golds were hammered by Caulry - the team they had beaten in the Junior Cup final five months earlier - in the opening round of the championship. Their next outing against St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham ended in a 2-9 to 1-12 draw, but after that, it was one setback after another with St. Loman's, Milltown, St. Joseph's, Ballycomoyle and St. Paul's all inflicting defeats on a hapless 'Valley. The lowpoint was a crushing 1-5 to 5-15 defeat to St. Joseph's, while the 0-6 to 3-10 reversal to St. Paul's wasn't much better. "It was very frustrating the way things went - losing to teams we had beaten well in 2001 was very hard to take. Our league campaign started off poorly and those results subsequently ran into the championship," Daly says. Despite last year's disappointments, the former Mullingar Town soccer player is brimming with optimism ahead of this year's championship. Much of this optimism is based on the fact that John Rafferty has returned as joint-manager along with Kilbeggan man Johnny Quinn. "To have John back is a big boost to everyone," he claims. "He was there in 2001 and he knows what it takes for Loughnavalley to be successful. We know ourselves that we are capable of beating any team in the junior ranks. Two years ago, we beat every junior club except for Bunbrosna and they were junior champions that year." Daly admits that a huge motivating factor for Loughnavalley this year will be to prove that 2001 wasn't a one-off year. "People are saying that we are one-season wonders and the only way to shut them up is by winning something this year. Our two main objectives for this year are to reach the knock-out stages of the championship and to achieve promotion from Division 6 of the All-County League. "For a small club such as ourselves, we need everyone available and pulling together. One of our best forwards, Darren Rigney, has emigrated to America, but on the plus side, Sean Ruane has just returned. Hopefully, we'll see a much-improved Loughnavalley this year and some silverware on the sideboard at the end of it all," he adds. The year has certainly opened brightly for Loughnavalley who have won their first three league outings and beaten Delvin in the opening round of the junior championship. Given Delvin's poor record in the championship in recent years, however, Loughnavalley are unlikely to get carried away with the result. The past year has also seen the formation of a ladies football club in Loughnavalley which operates under the name, St. Baothin's. Currently, the club is fielding teams at junior and under 14 level and it is hoped that it will be fielding teams at all levels before too long. Johnny Quinn and Conor Igoe have been taking the training sessions, while Ian Kinsella, JJ and Fiona Ruane are others who have played a major role in getting the club off the ground. Tweet

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