Mountnugent's minors took pride of place in 2004 by capturing the Cavan Division Four championship, powering past Knockbride on a scoreline of 2-7 to 1-3 in the final at Breffni Park on Saturday September 18. Hopes are high that the victory can act as a catalyst for some success at junior level for the Meath border outfit. Due to wet and treacherous conditions, the 2004 minor D Division 4 (eleven-a-side) final was an entertaining affair. However, it was the young guns of Mountnugent who adapted best to the conditions to claim a deserved victory. The winners were more economical in possession, with their backs in particularly impressing, tackling and covering tenaciously to sow the seeds for a famous win. Knockbridge had the opening score but Mountnugent came more and more into the game thanks to great play from Thomas Brady, Gerard Barkey and Ronan Caffrey in the half back/midfield area. Phelim Farrelly delivered the winners' first score after eight minutes but they trailed by 0-3 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter. Goalkeeper Killian Gaffney covered himself in glory with three top-drawer saves inside the next five minutes to keep his team in the hunt. These saves were a real turning point as Mountnugent went on to take control with a brace of points from Jason Lee and Farrelly followed by a netbuster from full forward Lee. When the brilliant Lee added a point on 22 minutes, his side had done enough to earn a four-point interval cushion, 1-4 to 0-3. Points from Keith Smith and Barkey had effectively killed off Knockbride's resistance within six minutes of the resumption. Though they were reduced to ten men, the losers gave themselves hope with a goal from the penalty spot, reducing the gap to four points, 1-7 to 1-4, with five minutes left. But 'nugent used their extra man to telling effect to see out the game. Substitute Graham Patterson had a goal disallowed before Lee sealed the win with his second three-pointer. Appropriately, Cavan Youth Board secretary John Duffy - a Mountnugent clubman - presented the Cup to winning captain Thomas Brady. Club chairman Sean Reilly was over the winning team, in conjunction with fellow mentors Michael Caffrey, Dermot Brady (trainer) and Gerry Fitzpatrick. At the start of the year, there was little to suggest the glory that was to come, as Sean recalls: "We started off with the bare panel and we had a few disappointing results in the league, with myself, Gerry and Michael in charge. "For the championship, we decided to bring some of our stronger U16s through onto the panel and we thought it would be only fair to bring Dermie [Brady] in as well, as he was over the U16s. So Dermie came onto the management team and handled training and things started to take shape. He did a great job with the team and I'd like to congratulate him on that." The final against Knockbride gave an accurate indication of how much progress Mountnugent made during the year. They'd been well beaten by the east county side in the league but turned the tables in style. Says Sean: "We beat Butlersbridge in the semi-final at Crosskeys and had to fight hard to get to the final. There were no easy games. Knockbride had beaten us well in the league, but we improved a lot in the meantime. We were down to our bare bones for the league game - we only had one sub, which isn't enough for eleven-a-side football as players tire very quickly. But adding the U16s made us a lot stronger as a panel and we were a different proposition." Playing in the final at Breffni was a big occasion for the Mountnugent youngsters. What instructions were issued to the players as they took to the field? "We told them going out onto the field that it was eleven-a-side and that there was no need to do too much running. Better to let the ball do the work. We played Jason Lee in at full forward and played long ball in to him … it worked a treat as he got the goal that gave us a 1-4 to 0-3 half-time lead. We knew we had a great chance if we could stay with them for the first few minutes of the second half. "We had two players who were on the county minor panel - wing back Thomas Brady (captain) and midfielder Ronan Caffrey - and they played really well, as did our other half back Sean Plunkett and the two Bradys at corner back. The defence was very solid. In fact, everybody on the team was superb. They all played their hearts out and showed their salt that day in Breffni. Jason Lee was also with the county team earlier in the year. "Jonathan Gibney played really well for us all year and he was very unlucky to be ruled out for the final. We said in the dressing-room before the game that we were going to do it for Jonathan and that's what we did. We ran at them in the last ten minutes and won by seven points in the end. It was a great boost for the club and a great achievement for the young lads. I'd like to congratulate them on their success and I'd also like to pay tribute to Dermie Brady for the great job he did training the team." It was a notable success for a small parish, half of which is lost to County Meath. The club got a huge boost from the success and there were over 30 lads out training with the junior A and junior B sides in January of 2005, indicating an upturn in fortunes and an all-round feelgood factor. Many of the 2004 minor team will play either junior A or junior B football this year. Indeed, most of them featured for one of other of these teams in 2004! Ronan Caffrey, Thomas Brady, Jason Lee and Gerard Barkey all played on the Mountnugent first team in '04. Did the team management realise early in the year that they had a crop of players at their disposal which was capable of going all the way? "It's very tough at eleven-a-side and you need to be able to bring players in. When we brought in the strong U16s they were a big help. We introduced two of them during the final and it made a big difference having that option. That was the difference between winning and losing. "This is a big win for Mountnugent considering that we haven't been fielding at minor level on our own for very long. We had been amalgamated with Crosserlough. But it's great that we can go out on our own and do it. You get a lot more satisfaction when you manage to do something by yourself. "I'm very hopeful for these lads because they're great players. They're very enthusiastic. They gave great commitment during the year and were easy to work with. We emphasised the need for discipline at the start of the year and, fair play to them, they did what was expected of them and it all worked out for them." As club chairman, Sean Reilly (who is also a former first-team manager) is happy with where Mountnugent GFC are at right now. He notes: "I'm very happy at the minute. We got to a junior A quarter-final and the final of the junior B last year. The year before, we got to the junior A final. James Cole did a great job as manager for two years and we were sorry to lose him to Ramor this year, though we understand his decision to take up the opportunity of managing his own club. I wish him every success with Ramor." Dubliner Jason Russell is the new manager of the senior team and is doing a wonderful job. Sean adds: "He's started well with the lads and I'd like to wish him every success in the year ahead. I have no doubt there's a junior championship in them. Our aim is to do well in the league and, if possible, win the championship "I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate our golf team - Michael Caffrey, Thomas Smith, and his son Stephen - who won the Cavan GAA golf championship and were only narrowly beaten in Ulster. I also want to thank the various committees that helped out with the club during the year, including our Scor committee as well as out lotto sellers and all our sponsors. We're looking forward to working with them all again in 2005. "I'd also like to thank my fellow committee members John Duffy and Peter Boylan, and I'd like to congratulate John on his reappointment to his position on Cumann na mBunscol. It was fitting that John was there in Breffni Park to present the cup to us on the day." And what a day it was! There could be more memorable occasions on the horizon for the gaels of Mountnugent too. Mountnugent, 2004 Cavan minor D Division Four champions: Killian Gaffney, Francis Brady, Declan Brady, Sean Plunkett, Thomas Brady, Ronan Caffrey (0-1), Gerard Barkey (0-1), Phelim Farrelly (0-2), Damien Lee, Jason Lee (2-2), Keith Smith (0-1). Subs: Graham Patterson, Kenny Quinn. Not used: Keith Green, David Gibney, Jonathan Gibney, Jonathan McCabe Tweet

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