When looking back on their 2008 season Ballyhaise should try not to fall into the trap of negativity having lost out on retaining their place in Division 1. A much wider view of the club's achievement must be aligned alongside the downturn of having to compete in the Division 2 league next season. Overall the club contested finals at intermediate, junior, U21 and at underage level. It is a pretty respectable list of achievements according to the club's long serving secretary, Mark O'Rourke, who saw it as a sign that the club is making progress. "When you take a view of the bigger picture of what the club achieved throughout the 2008 both at senior and underage level there is no doubt that we have made good progress. I know that we lost our position in the top flight of Cavan football but we have the players, belief, and commitment to see us steer our way through the choppy waters of Division 2. When you look at teams like Killygarry, who like ourselves got relegated to Division 2 two years ago, they bounced straight back the following year, and I have no doubt we too can emulate their achievements. They were quite like us with a strong group of young players and some experienced heads. We too have a group of very talented young players and in our 'veterans' we have both experience and players with the ability to help bring along and gel the younger players as they battle in Division 2." The senior panel made progress by reaching the Intermediate Championship Final, while the U21s made it to the Division 2 final and the junior team won the Junior D Championship. Over 60 players competed at adult level. "At underage, all our teams competed at the highest level for the first time in the club's history. While no silverware was won, all teams competed very well. Our U15s won the Og sport 7 a side tournament and the U10s won the Denis O'Keeffe Memorial Shield played in Drumalee with U12s and Minors also winning shields. Feile proved to be a great success. So in spite of being relegated the overall performance of the club has indeed been positive," stated the club Secretary. "Our league campaign got off to the perfect start with a seven point victory over the once kingpins of Cavan football, Gowna. However, while we gave a very solid display against the Gaels in the second round we came out on the losing end." A run of three further defeats was beginning to put the club in the precarious position of 'having' to win. A good win over Drumalee and Denn seemed to set them back on course but a downturn in fortunes came about just as they approached the championship. With the championship looming they were now firmly in trouble in the league and would need to be well focused to try and regain control of their fortunes. "We played Ballinagh who were facing possible suspension for the remainder of the league. A disputed point was given and resulted in the game finishing level. This score subsequently proved to be enough to keep Ballinagh up and relegate us. I think this method of suspension which hands points to teams is unfair on teams who have already played the suspended team. Had we played Ballinagh in Round 11 instead of Round 10 we would have been handed two points. At this stage we needed three points from two games to stay up. After the Championship we played Belturbet at home who had benefited from Ballinagh's suspension, having received two points without having to play them. We had to play Belturbet coming off the back of the disappointment of having lost the Intermediate final and found ourselves under-performing in what was arguably our poorest performance of the season. We were now relegated and the Mullahoran game wasn't played. Over the season there were many little incidents and decisions which could have made a difference. Luck plays a role but I suppose over a year, things balance out," stated a stoic club secretary. Championship run "Preparations for the Championship went very well. The U21 championship started early so this got a number of players out who mightn't otherwise be training. This helped all our teams in the championships. At this point players were putting in a huge effort and we were getting great attendances. We were drawn against near neighbours and rivals Drumalee in what many expected to be a tough close affair. We won this which brought us into a quarter-final where we played Cootehill," explained Mark. This proved to be a very competitive game as Cootehill had come through the back door and had three competitive wins to their credit while Ballyhaise had not played since the Drumalee game. They could count ourselves lucky to salvage a draw. The replay proved to be a tense championship affair in which they managed to emerge victorious by the narrowest of margins 10 points to 11. The semi-final opponents were Lavey who had been the bookies favourites to win out the competition. Lavey had lost out narrowly to Ballinagh the previous year in the final and posed a formidable threat to making it to the final. In a tight first half, Lavey got a few lucky breaks to help them keep their noses in front but a much more spirited and determined second half saw Ballyhaise run out deserving winners by three points. The club had reached the first intermediate final in thirty years. "We met neighbours Redhills in the final who had looked impressive throughout the Championship. The build-up was exciting creating a buzz in the local area. The omens looked good as we approached final day with our junior D team defeating Arva in the semi-finals. Confidence was high as we approached match day. We got off to a fantastic start when Eamonn Costello finished a sweeping move to the back of the Redhills net to give us 1-1 to 0-0 lead. Credit to Redhills they never panicked and gradually worked their way into the game. In a second-half where both sides had opportunities to put the game out of reach but failed to take leaving the outcome in the balance right up to the final few minutes. It was not to be our day as Redhills eventually emerged victorious by 1-8 to 0-14. We certainly had the chances. Losing John Donohoe and Fergal Slowey also impacted. However it is important to look at the positives. Progress was made and it is important to carry this into 2009," stated Mark. "There were large numbers turning out to training so we entered three teams in the Championships. The Junior C team (2nd) had a good win over Laragh in the first round on a scoreline on 1-13 to 2-4. The next day our 3rd team (Junior D) travelled to Bawnboy to take on fancied Templeport." This was a tough physical game but Ballyhaise came out victories by five points. The Junior Cs got a walkover against Kildallan in the quarter final who couldn't field. They faced Bailieboro in the semi-final. Played in very poor wet conditions in Ramor, a stronger Bailieboro team adapted better to the conditions and ran out winners 1-8 to 0-4. The Junior Ds had an easy win against Kill and faced Arva in the semi-final who had beaten the previous year's winners Cavan Gaels in the first round. The Arva game was played in Ballyhaise after a toss for home venue. This was a good sporting tough game with a second half performance that grinded out enough scores to win by the narrowest of margins 0-11 to 0-10. The final against Crosserlough was somewhat easier but would have been closer had our opponents been able to convert more of their chances. After another good team performance Ballyhaise ran out winners by 2-8 to 0-6 to give them the first and subsequently only silverware of the season. There were some superb performances during this campaign with the team having a good blend of youth and experience. There are many good young players coming through and there is no doubt some will break through to senior team in the coming season. U21s make it to the final Some superb performances earned the Ballyhaise U21 team a place in the Division 2 championship final. Right from the off this young Ballyhaise side showed some great enterprising football with an impressive victory over rivals and neighbours Redhills by seven points. With a walk-over in the quarter-finals Ballyhaise took on Drumlane in the semi-final where they recorded a comprehensive victory 2-14 to 1-9 to give them a final date against favourites, Lavey. Lavey proved much stronger and held the edge after a blistering start where they registered eight points in twenty minutes. Ballyhaise fought back manfully but Lavey held a six point half time lead of 0-9 to 0-3. As a contest the second-half was more evenly contested but Lavey's early blitz was enough to see them run out winners on a scoreline of 0-12 to 0-6. New manager With Gerry O'Rourke standing down as team manager, Ballyhaise have acquired the services of county minor manager, and former Cavan Gaels player, Mickey Graham. No doubt with Mickey's track record of having won the Intermediate championship with Drumalee the Ballyhaise club will be hoping that he can reproduce the formula for them. Underage "We played a number of challenge games Redhills, Butlersbridge, Drumalee, Laragh and Belturbet. We played in Drung festival, Drung blitz and the Co. Board organised a U11 blitz in November. These blitzes place emphasis on skills where players get scores for pick-ups, catches, blocks etc and winning isn't the focus. Our U-10s also won the Denis O'Keefe shield in Drumalee," said Mark. The U12s competed well in the Roinn A League. Unfortunately, they were narrowly beaten in all four league games against Cavan Gaels, Lavey, Laragh and Mullahoran. However they did win the shield beating Castlerahan. Castletara lost out to Templeport in the U13 Roinn B championship final by 1-7 to 3-8 in a pulsating game that kept the large crowd literally sitting on the edge of their seats as both sides through themselves into the fray in search of glory. The winners got their feel of glory early in the second half when they hit two vital goals to put distance between themselves and Castletara but a spirited reply with points from D. Brady (3) and C. Vijegie helped keep the game close as a contest. However, the winners finished with a flurry of points which the spirited Castletara could not reply to. Castletara: E. O'Connell, A. McDonald, M. Conaty, R. Guilfoyle, K. Cahill, R. McKiernan, A. Masterson, F. McGoldrick, C. Smith, D. Reilly, M. Rooney (0-2), C. Duggan, S. Conaty, (1-0), D. Brady (0-4), J. Donohue Sub used: C. Vijegie (0-1). The Under 14s again competed well in Roinn A. They qualified for the quarter final after great wins against Lavey and Laragh. They then lost out to a stronger Ramor United side. In the championship they contested the Roinn B grade and were optimistic about their chances. Ballyhaise played Killeshandra but lost out by four points at the end after a good tough game. At U16 they made it to the semi-final of the championship where they met the might of Cavan Gaels. In an entertaining encounter, they could deem ourselves unlucky to narrowly lose out. The U15s won the 7 a side Og sport title. They then competed in the Ulster competition in Cookestown and reached the semi-final. They also had an enjoyable experience winning a tournament in Monaghan. The minor league which ran over ten games saw Ballyhaise miss out in the play offs while they lost to Castlerahan in the championship. However there was some consolation when they won the minor Shield when Laragh failed to field a team. Ladies Football Ballyhaise ladies football squad reached both the semi-finals of the Division 3 League and the semi-final of the intermediate Championship. While success eluded the senior team the U-14s were victorious in winning the B Championship beating Mullahoran in the final. Camogie The camogie club had a quieter year by their own standards. They reached the final of the League but were beaten by old rivals, Lacken, who also beat them in the Championship. Hopefully, in 2009 they will once again bring success. Developments Work on a new stand is set to commence sometime early in the 2009 while work is expected to proceed with the development of a new second playing pitch, possible running track and additional dressing-rooms to cater for over 300 players. Tweet

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