These days, Drumalee are seldom out of the silverware and 2004 was no exception. Always a club with pretensions on lifting at least one trophy per year, victory in the ACFL Division 2A league saw that goal duly achieved. The Drumalee club is well renowned for the spirit within its camp and the campaign which saw the club's Division 2A footballers career to league title success fairly reflected the bonhomie and ambition among the players. In a year in which 58 players were 'used' at under 21, junior and senior levels, the title win also reflected the strength in depth at the club right now. Like any league, the 2004 Division 2A campaign was a testing one with the survival of the fittest being the name of the game. The season was a long one, only culminating in December. But anything that is worthwhile is worthwhile waiting and to finish the year on a high note suited Drumalee just dandy! True to form, the would-be winners met Ballinagh in the decider. The Saffrons have, traditionally, been very resourceful at reserve team level and as final day in O'Reilly Park, Cornafean approached, even the local turf accountants were finding it difficult to call it. Unsurprisingly, the decider went to a replay. Not surprisingly, Drumalee made good their second bite of the cherry to nick the spoils in the end. It needed a late Kevin Downey point though to give Drumalee a lifeline after a dogged first encounter with their near-neighbours. In what was a tough, competitive encounter, Drumalee looked destined to be heading home empty handed as they fell behind by seven points at one stage. They still trailed by 0-7 to 1-7 with nine minutes of normal time left to play. However with the dismissal of a Ballinagh defender, the would-be winners seem to get a new lease of life and they poured forward to try and pull the fat from the fire. In a tremendously exciting climax to the game, Drumalee's liberal sprinkling of minor and under 21 players, in tandem with their more experienced team-mates, gradually reduced the deficit with fine points by Brian Dolan, Trevor Molloy and Michael Goldrick. Things still looked very precarious for the chasing team though until second half sub Downey popped up to rescue his side with the equaliser some five minutes into additional time. "We didn't play well in the drawn game and when we went seven points down with about fifteen minutes to go, it didn't look good for us," team-selector Michael Lyons recalls. "But we took a gamble and moved Kevin Donohoe from full-back to centre-back and that ended up being the turning point for us. "We started to get a lot more breaks around the midfield area and Kevin Downey's long-range effort was as good an equaliser as you'd wish to see," Michael adds. The bit of luck all champions need? "Probably but the lads showed great character and deserved another chance after the way they came back from the dead almost. "The first half was particularly poor from our point of view. "We got it hard to tie down Declan Beard and Colin Gumley but, overall, Ballinagh showed why they were favourites going into the match. "We hadn't got Gary Ferncombe or Damien Donohoe the first time around so to get that equaliser and a replay was a great psychological lift for the team." Having won the the same title back in 2002 and also the Division Three league, Drumalee boasted the sort of pedigree at reserve team level which suggested that the self-same players knew the course, knew what needed to be done. "About half of the fellas had won similar medals before so they had the experience and know-how even though two of the team were over 21 with six minors and seven players between the ages of 18-21. "Competition for places was very keen and with a high of 42 at training one particularly evening, there was a good buzz in the camp," explains Michael who was joined in the Drumalee think-tank by Vinny Connell and Martin Sexton. And following on from the opening of their Prunty pitch in August - Michael offers thanks to Ballyhaise, Cavan Gaels, Killygarry and Cavan RFC - for use of their grounds at various stages - the end-of-season triumph really put the tin hat on the year for the adult gaels at Drumalee. Of course, Michael wasn't to know it but the replay saw his charges turn their form upside down over the course of engineering a splendid 1-11 to 1-7 victory at Annalee Park, Ballyhaise. Drumalee played much better in the first half and points by Gary Ferncombe and Kevin Donohoe helped them gain parity at 0-2 apiece by the end of the first quarter. From there to the break however, Ballinagh found themselves almost totally on the backfoot. Drumalee maintained the pressure and by the 18th minute had eased their way into the lead courtesy of a Trevor Molloy point. A hat-trick of chances were squandered thereafter though before Gary Ferncombe put his side 0-4 to 0-2 in front after a fine counter attack. Drumalee remained on the forefoot right up to the interval and Ballinagh nearly fell further behind but Shane Downey's shot ricocheted off the upright. However Drumalee subsequently did manage to extend their lead at half-time to three points after Damien Donohoe ended a good move with a neat effort. However the Drumalee team-management weren't a bit happy at that juncture. "We weren't a bit happy because our three point lead at half-time didn't at all reflect the amount of possession we had in the first half. "The lads got a real talking to at half-time but, at first, it didn't seem to have the desired effect because we went ahead and conceded 1-3 inside the first ten minutes. "We genuinely couldn't believe what we were looking at," Michael explains. Still, the Cavan parish side did begin the second half in rolled-up-sleeves mode, maintaining their three point lead with five minutes played. Two minutes later, Drumalee were rocked back on their heels when, in a two minute spell, either side of the seventh minute Ballinagh recorded a 1-1 tally without reply to suddenly leave Drumalee trailing by a single point. Drumalee's think-tank acted fast. Gary Ferncombe was relocated to the half-back line and his ability to notch points thereafter was to prove crucial. The tempo of the game remained unremittingly high and when a player from either side was dismissed, the tension became almost palpable. Drumalee seemed to be more adversely effected by going down to 14 men and by the 12th minute, the would-be champions found themselves three points adrift. From there to the climax of the game, it became increasingly obvious that Drumalee just weren't going to be beaten. Two points by Barry Downey served to level the scores with nine minutes left to play. Then Shane Downey seemed to set to break through the Ballinagh defence but his effort was cleared. Ballinagh struggled to get out of their own half at this juncture and when a Drumalee '45 wasn't cleared by the Saffrons, Timmy Looney showed great opportunism to bang the ball to the net. Ahead now by three points with just over four minutes left to play, Drumalee proceeded to go for the jugular. Sure enough the white and blacks hit the right notes with Brian Dolan and Timmy Looney recording a point apiece. The final few minutes saw Ballinagh attempt to turn the tide with some last, desperate forays forward. The losers-elect did manage to convert a free two minutes into injury time but that was that. Drumalee would not be denied. One can only guess at the degree of competition for places that'll exist at Drumalee in the coming year. Tweet

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