After suffering four county final defeats in eight years, Drung's patience was wearing very thin. And then along came October 12th last and at last a JFC title. It's ten years now (1997) since the club won the division two league and we badly need another bit of success to get the momentum going again. "The supporters as well as the players could do with a lift because they've gone to finals and come home very disappointed and disillusioned, especially after such high expectations. "We've been the bridesmaids too often but I wouldn't be surprised if the lads put things right next summer and got us back to where we really should be." Patsy Fitzpatrick's words strike a prophetic tone now. In last year's yearbook, Drung's outgoing chairman called it as he saw it and, boy, did he hit the nail on the head! Drung's success in winning the JFC last September hoisted an increasingly hefty monkey off the backs of all belonging to the Dalcassians. The club's glorious campaign kicked-off in Ballyhaise last August when they overcame Butlersbridge by 1-8 to 1-5 in a feisty opening round contest. In a game in which the result was all-important, Drung led for most of the encounter but showed a few teething problems which allowed their opponents remain in the hunt of the spoils. Drung's counter-attacking style had the 'bridge under pressure for most of the first half but by the break, the winners-elect were in front by just 0-4 to 0-2. Powered forward by the in-form Barry Watters, Drung hit the ground running with Michael McEntee's brace easing his side onto the frontfoot. In an archetypal nip and tuck encounter, Drung were rocked after the restart by a goal from the 'bridge which left the Dalcassians pegged back on level terms, 0-5 to 1-2. Shane O'Rourke restored Drung's lead moments later before taking advantage of some good work to hit the net with aplomb with just over 13 minutes left to play. Butlersbridge stuck to their task thereafter and reduced their deficit to just two points with three minutes left on the clock. However Drung held their nerve to finish in front at the death. Drung locked horns thereafter in the quarter-final with Munterconnacht at Lavey. However the outcome of the game was never in doubt as Drung eased home 0-18 to 0-10 winners. Drung made their point(s) in impressive fashion, arguably playing their best football of 2008 in notching an emphatic, if slightly flattering, eight points win. Drung led from pillar to post and, in truth, never looked like spoiling their bib on a day borrowed from Summer evenings from times past. The winners-elect were 0-4 to 0-1 to the good after 13 minutes with a 6th minute point Munterconnacht's sole repost at that juncture. A point apiece by Philip Monaghan and Martin Reilly in the run-up to the interval ensured that the mid-table division two side went in at the break 0-7 to 0-3 in front. The Division Three side continued in a sleeves-rolled-up vein but Drung sensed the need to kill off the game and they did just that either side of the three-quarter hour mark. With clinical efficiency over the course of six minutes, Martin Reilly (0-3) and Barry Watters catapulted the spoils all but beyond their opponents. Like true champions, Drung kept their feet to the pedal to the final whistle and a point apiece by Ciaran Galligan and Fergal Heuston polished off a confident and morale-boosting display by the Dalcassians. The script held good in late September with Drung chiselling out a gritty semi-final victory over Shercock at Kingspan/Breffni Park when the word 'collective' was the operative word. While it was not an evening for pretty football, the team's penultimate round triumph showed that a great division of labour existed within the squad, something that shone through. Drung were full value for their 1-9 to 1-4 victory against a side who had posted notice from a long way of their intentions to beat the Dalcassians to the punch. Goalkeeper James Reilly was succinct in his comments sometime after the semi-final; his words must have struck fear into the hearts and of would-be co-finalists Mountnugent: "We played well only in patches in the semi-final," Reilly commented. "We haven't played to our full potential yet," he added of the Joe Fitzpatrick-managed crew. Surprisingly relegated in 2007, Drung duly bounced back in great style with a 1-12 to 0-8 victory over Mountnugent in a slightly lop-sided county final at Kingspan/Breffni Park. In truth, Drung had far too much in their locker for their opponents and once Martin O'Reilly collected Barry Watters' pass and rifled his shot in off the underside of the Mountnugent bar just ten minutes into the game, the writing was well and clearly on the wall. Drung had eased themselves in front before O'Reilly's goal with points from Noel Heuston and Ciaran Galligan and when Watters curled over a sweet point in the 14th minute, Drung were looking pretty on the back of a 1-3 to 0-1 lead. Each and every time Mountnugent hit back, Drung were able to upp the ante with another Martin O'Reilly point followed by a huge point from McEntee easing Drung further in front. The lights remained stuck on green for the red and whites up to the half-time whistle by which stage Mountnugent had fallen into arrears by 0-5 to 1-7. It was a similar story after the restart with a lovely point from Heuston adding to Mountnugent's woes. With Watters constantly running at the Mountnugent defence, the chasing team has scarcely the energy or the imagination to launch counter-attacks as the second half gathered pace. A stirring charge by Watters eventually saw the ball richochet off the Mountnugent bar in the 34th minute but, still, by the three-quarter hour mark, Drung were on easy street, leading by 1-12 to 0-7. From there to the climax of the game, a huge air of inevitability hung over proceedings. Almost three decades of championship frustration were at an end. Drung could celebrate like seldom before. The Drung players who did duty against Mountnugent in the 2008 JFC final were as follows: James Reilly; Finbar O'Reilly, Karl O'Rourke, Brendan Brady; Ronan Crowe, Alan Curran (0-1), Sean Fay; Aidan McCaul, Ciaran Galligan (0-2); Philip Monaghan, Barry Watters (0-1), Noel Heuston (0-3); Martin O'Reilly (1-3), Shane O'Rourke (0-1), Michael McEntee (0-1). Subs; Killian Monaghan; Paul Slowey; Fergal Heuston; Ronan Slowey. Sadly there was to be no joy for the club in their subsequent Ulster JFC club campaign as they lost (0-8 to 1-11) out to Derry side Lissan at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Drung were downed by a 50th minute goal as the Derry champions Lissan advanced to the next round of the provincial championship. The Derry team's major firmly underpinned Lissan's ressurrection after Drung had earlier threatened to make Kingspan/Breffni Park a citadel of celebration. The Dalcassians were all vim and vigour in the opening quarter at the end of which they had engineered a none-too flattering 0-4 to 0-1 lead with a 4th minute point Lissan's solitary rebuttal to Drung's feisty opening. At that juncture things looked oh so promising for Drung as all of their four first points emanated from the boots of different players with Cavan senior Barry Watters rifling over a gem in particular. However Martin O'Reilly's converted free for Drung in the 13th minute was to be his team's final score 'till the second minute of the second half when team-mate Shane O'Rourke notched a fine point from play. In between times, Lissan could afford to slip into an almost lanquid mode as they chipped away at Drung's lead before going ahead (0-5 to 0-4) for the first time in the 26th minute courtesy of a converted free. The second half made for sad viewing from a Cavan perspective as Drung laboured to eat into Lissan's 0-7 to 0-4 cushioned half-time lead. Aidan McCaul offered a glimmer of hope for the hosts by chipping over a neat point to cut Lissan's advantage to four points, 0-10 to 0-6, at the three-quarter hour mark. But once Lissan pounced to find the net ten minutes from time, Drung found themselves on the slippery slope. To their credit, Drung posted another couple of points in the remaining minutes but, in truth, they had the word consolation stamped all over them. Even so, 2008 will go down in the annals of the club as a hugely successful one and perhaps a launching pad to even greater things. Tweet

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