Drumalee will look on back on the 2008 season with some despondency as they ponder on how they lost their place in the higher stratosphere of Cavan football. The drop back down from Division 1 to Division 2, while not terminal, was a blow to a club who had worked hard in the past to secure their place among the elite of Cavan football. As a club, Drumalee is infused with a pride generated from its foundation from people who held the cause of the club dear to their hearts. This is something you can easily detect when you talk to their club secretary, Paul Sheridan, who like the founders of the club back in 1935 still burns with the pride of those founding fathers. Drumalee have been a constant presence at senior level since 1969 so their relegation down to Division 2 will be a matter of honour and concern for all those at the club. According to club secretary, Paul: "We were bitterly disappointed at being relegated in 2008. A number of circumstances contributed to our downfall but the fact is that we are down and must address this situation as a matter of urgency. We have the talent to make it back up in the one season but it will take a supreme effort from all involved to ensure that this will happen. "We have a very young squad and now have a number of talented minors who should be pushing for places on the team in 2009. We have no doubt as to task in hand in gaining promotion back to Division 1 in one season but we know it will be a hard struggle. The race for the two top promotion spots will be eagerly contested so it is imperative that we are well prepared and in a position to get the best out of our squad," stated a realistic Paul. "On the football front in 2008 we had an indifferent season. A number of factors contributed to our eventual downfall. We started the season in positive manner with two great victories but it was a dawn too soon, as for the remainder of the year we found ourselves fighting a rearguard action in the relegation zone. The absence of a number of key players through injury was a pivotal factor in some of our defeats throughout the year. We could surely have deemed ourselves unlucky on a number of occasions as we lost by the narrowest of margins in a couple of games. "I felt that the commitment was not what it should have been as some players who could have made the difference in our quest for league points were less than committed throughout the entire season. Unfortunately this was an attitude that will have to be rectified if we are to make the jump back into Division 1 at the end of 2009. The problem was further compounded with a number of regular senior players suffering from a plethora of long term injuries. While not any one of the above factors contributed to our relegation but if you are to take them in their entirety then you see how severe the problem was for us throughout the year," stated Paul. Championship "In the Intermediate championship we drew old rivals, Ballyhaise in the first round. The losers of this game were doomed to go into the relegation play-offs so the urgency of winning and progressing into the next round was imperative. We started brightly but seemed to lose our way as the game progressed and found ourselves facing a defeat and the dreaded back-door structure. In the play-offs we faced Ballymachugh a team we felt we could beat. We had a two point advantage going into the final minutes and looked like we had finally banished the debilitating string of defeats when Ballymachugh struck with a late, late goal to wrest victory from our grasp. "This shock defeat now put us in the position where we were now going to have to play for our very survival in intermediate championship football. To compound our situation a long drawn out objection at county board level surrounding whether the play-offs should be made up of four teams or three teams was finally settled when the board decided on the three team play-offs." The other teams in the play-off consisted of Laragh United and Swanlinbar. Drumalee had to await the outcome of the Laragh v Swanlinbar game to see who would finally play-off for the prize of remaining in the intermediate championship or dropping down the junior level. Laragh won the first game which put Swanlinbar in the mix for the final spot. They already had a competitive game under their belts but on a beautiful November Saturday afternoon in the magnificent grounds at Templeport, Drumalee produced one of their best displays of the year to run out convincing winners. This win guaranteed the club would again be playing their championship football at Intermediate level in 2009. "Our Division 4 team who had high hopes at the beginning of the season found themselves battling for their very survival. In a must win final game against Drumlane, credit must be accorded to the entire squad who turned up on that Sunday morning and secured the necessary win. Hopefully with a bit more luck in 2009 we can reach our top two objective. "In the Junior B championship we found ourselves facing Cuchullains who were riding high in the senior league and Mullahoran. We were realistic enough to know that we would need some kind of miracle to progress against such strong opposition and with just barely enough players to field a team the inevitable was always a forgone conclusion," stated the club secretary. U21s The inability of the U21 squad to get past Laragh United was down to the difficulty in getting the side together. "It was a struggle to get players out for this game and we paid the price. It was a pity that the players had not been more focused as we felt that we really did not do ourselves justice on the day," said Paul. Juvenile club The Club Secretary was fulsome in his praise for the juvenile board for their efforts and commitment throughout the entire season. "While success on the playing fields this year was not forthcoming, credit must be attributed to all the coaches at underage level. They have committed their time and experience in helping the young players at the club who will eventually represent us at senior level. The twin guiding forces of Chairman Sean Smith and Secretary, Mairead Smith was instrumental in creating a vibrant and healthy juvenile section. Like all other clubs, there is going to be lull at underage level every so often. "Our U13s made it to the semi-finals where we lost out to a much more physical Ballyhaise side. Many of the U13 squad will be eligible to play again next year so the outlook is promising. "Our U14s lost out to Laragh in the opening game but had victories over Ballyhaise and Cavan Gaels." The Gaels game proved to be a real test of character as Drumalee were trailing by ten points at half-time. However, a spirited second-half display saw them overturn this deficit and eventually run out winners by four points. They then drew Shercock in the quarter-finals but never reached the same heights as they did against the Gaels and as a result lost. The club had a poor run at U16 level in both league and championship. The minor team at the beginning of the season looked like they might be able to contest the final stages of the league but with such a long league of nine games they saw ourselves winning only three, drawing one and losing five. In the Shield final of the minor league we lost out to Sliabh Glabh Rangers by three points 1-13 to 1-10. In the championship they progressed to the semi-final where they had to give way to Laragh United. "While we may not have any silverware on show, we did have great commitment from a hard working juvenile committee and a backroom staff of excellent dedicated coaches," stated the club Secretary. Great worker The secretary said that it would be remiss of him not to mention the great work put in by the Chairman of the club during 2008. "In Tommy Lyons we have one of the best fund-raisers in the county. The club ran a very successful fundraising event which was spearheaded by Tommy. The former chairman threw all his energies into this venture to insure that it would be a resounding success." Paul went on to mention that as a club there is a great vibrancy in Drumalee. "While we may have indifferent success on the playing fields during 2008 we had many other areas of interest that provided great satisfaction to Drumalee. As a source of great pride to the club is the fact we have supplied three referees to the County Board in Mickey Lee, Damien Brady and Michael Lyons. Our Scor section which is headed up by John Mohan has always been active and over the years achieving many noteworthy successes. Our Ladies football club which was founded in 2005 saw the intervening years bringing much success but the 2008 season saw something of a decline. This is an area that as a club we will have to look at and rectify," said Paul. Outlook Paul is optimistic about the 2009 season. "Every club has a down year, so hopefully ours has come and gone. We have appointed former player, Mickey Lee as the club's new manager for 2009. Mickey worked with Cootehill for a number of years and is an experienced coach who is no stranger to the management game. Mickey has the respect of all the players and hopefully they will make that extra commitment and help take Drumalee back into the topflight of the Cavan league football and hopefully an Intermediate championship success," said Paul. Tweet

Most Read Stories