Eoghan Doonan has been one of Corlough's most loyal and faithful footballers over the years. The 38-year old hopes to end his career with a bang in 2005 Corlough GAA has experienced real rollercoster times since it was reformed in 1963. More than forty years on, the west Cavan outfit is still making its presence felt on the Cavan football scene. In 2004, the white and green brigade celebrated another landmark episode in their history by playing their games on their brand new ground. It was a major step forward and one which greatly pleased long-serving player Eoghan Doonan. "It was a big boost to get back playing on your own ground. We were very thankful to all our neighbouring clubs for their help in allowing us to play our 'home' games on their pitches, but it wasn't the same. It was a great lift to be able to get back onto your own club pitch and hopefully we'll be able to officially open the pitch and the dressing-rooms later on in the year," the veteran defender enthuses. Eoghan's enthusiasm fairly reflects the current feel-good factor in his part of west Cavan. However at a club that produced such notable Cavan county footballers such as John McAvitty, Pat McGovern, John McGee and T.P Feehan, such enthusiasm is common coinage. Without that innate sense of optimism, Corlough gaels would have found themselves with little else to sustain them over the years such has been their struggle to survive at times. Thankfully though it's been quite a while since mere survival was the name of the game for the Corlough die-hards. In fact, Corlough's finest are more likely to want to discuss their chances of bagging some silverware than stearing clear of extinction. Eoghan Doonan's genuine disappointment at Corlough's 2004 season at junior level speaks volumes for the level of ambition modern-day ambition. "We expected to do much better in the championship than we did. Expectations were high enough at the start of the year. "Although there wasn't a huge depression about the club when we went out of the championship, there was still the notion there that we could have made more of an inroad into the competition," Eoghan confesses. And yet, those looking at the Corlough club from a distance can scarcely believes that the footballing outpost is blossoming, rather than just staying static, with its slender resources. "You're right. A major part of the problem which holds us back at adult level especially is our small panel. "We don't have the numbers to be able to have competition for places on the team. "The commitment from the players in 2004 was top class but there was no one on the team really under pressure to hold his place. "More often than not we played in the league, for instance, with just a couple of subs. "If one or two players got injured, we had no comeback. Numbers is still a big problem in Corlough. "The population of the area hasn't increased and it'll be another few years before most of the best of the young underage players come through to join the junior team," Eoghan surmises. Club mentors will doubtless be glad to know that the team's senior citizen has committed himself to at least another year at the coalface as part of the club's premier team. The 38-year old recognises that the club, right now, can ill-afford to place an even greater burden on its young junior squad as it seeks to punch above its weight against much more seasoned and experienced opponents. Eoghan says the club is well positioned to make for a more concerted push for honours at junior level this coming season. "The average age of the junior team is only around the mid-twenties mark and the players will have benefited from the experienced of lining out in the past year. "The squad will get better as they younger lads mature and get stronger. It's understandable that younger fellas are inclined to be tentative and lacking a bit of self-belief but that will disappear as they gain more experience. "That extra experience is especially needed in the championship when the big challenges come around. "A lot of times, young fellas with plenty of talent don't do themselves justice because they're not experienced enough. "We have a couple of especially young forwards and it might be another couple of years before we see the best of them because they're a bit young for senior football. 2004 brought them on another bit though." Interestingly Eoghan describes the past year as a "good/bad" year. But Corlough has enough going for itself to make it a much more consistently fruitful year in 2005. "There's as much commitment from the Corlough players as you'd find at any other club. "We've always got good backing from the club committee and our team-management of Patsy Prior and Aidan Cassidy got on well from the players and the talent nurtured over the years by the likes of Michael McGovern is beginning to make an impression at junior level. The club's success at underage level in 2004, along with Swad, showed that there's some good young footballers coming up through the ranks and some of them will probably be able to feature at adult level this year." In any event, Eoghan is pleased to confirm that "things are far better now than they were a few years ago". Has the game itself changed? "Definitely. Things were a bit hap-hazard years ago and the players weren't always geared up right for the training and it wasn't a very professional set-up. "Now everyone knows that they have to be fit and that speed and mobility are crucial, especially where the half-backs and half-forwards are concerned. Tactics are part and parcel of football now too and discipline has improved a lot in recent times which has stood to the team at different times." Involved in helping coach teams during 2004, Eoghan is a prize asset to the Corlough club but he's at pains to point out that the club has many stalwarts to rely upon and many gaels who give unstinting service to the club. All concerned in Corlough can look forward to seeing the junior team make a renewed effort at cracking the nut in 2005, Eoghan maintains. "There's not a lot of difference between any of the junior teams. A lot of the time, it boils down to what happens on the day. " I don't see why we can't beat the likes of Redhills or Shercock on our day." So what were the missing pieces of the jigsaw in '04? "I know the team-management found it difficult to put their finger on it and I'm the same. "We were able to get a lot of possession around the middle of the field but maybe in other areas of the field, we hadn't the physical strength to win the ball from the breaks." Eoghan acknowledges that the absence of former key men Fintan McGovern, Tony McGovern and Noel McGovern for varying spells during the year didn't help Corlough's lot in 2004. He doesn't things will be that much easier for the club in the coming year. "I'd say division three is the hardest league of them all. It's the hardest league to get out of because nearly every team is on a par. "Even the best teams can be beaten on any given day. I remember a few years back when Mountnugent lost almost every match in the league but won the junior championship. "In other divisions it's a lot easier to predict who's going to win a match." In terms of likely 2005 JFC winners, Eoghan cites neighbours Kildallan as a team to watch. "They've been knocking on the door for the last four years or so and if they had a bit more self-belief, they'd probably have the championship by this stage." That said, Eoghan says that Corlough's display against the aforementioned First Ulsters outfit during the past year helped convince him that his own beloved club isn't that far off the pace. "They went five points up against us just before half-time but we came back and scored 1-3 but then the half-time break came at just the wrong time and it went a bit pear-shaped for us after that." Looking ahead to the coming season though, Eoghan is hopeful and optimistic though that the white and greens will have a peach of a year in 2005! Tweet

Most Read Stories