Mullahoran will once again start the year as one of the favourites to reclaim the SFC title but has the club recovered its lustre of '98? Former Dreadnoughts chairman John Joe Plunkett believes so as Kevin Carney learns. Hardly seems like nearly four years ago since Mullahoran won their last senior football championship title. You'd better believe it though 'cause the natives are getting restless and as another blue riband campaign looms on the horizon, former Mullahoran chairman John Joe Plunkett is upbeat as he takes a peep into the proverbial crystal ball. Despite the fact that those who know the bold John Joe will tell you that he's a fella who is well known for having a penchant for seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, a chat with the personable Dreadnought does tend to have the effect of tempting a body to inquire as to the nearest local turf accountant. Our man Plunkett is nobody's fool though. He has done the circuit as a player, supporter, chief administrator and back again and he has seen almost as many false dawns around Mullahoran as good summers. John Joe believes that Mullahoran haven't been that far off the pace since the holy grail was last grabbed in '98. Furthermore, he is optimistic that the biggest prize sport in Cavan has to offer could return to Mullahoran this October: "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we at least reached the championship final this year even though I know there is an attitude within the club that we should be winning it nearly every year. "The fact that Ciaran Reilly has decided to stay with the team this year again is a great boost to the club and I know that his presence will go a long way to improving discipline among the players which is something I think most people in the club would agree needs to be tackled." Reilly, the man in charge when the Dreadnoughts beat Cavan Gaels in the county final of 1998 has proven that he can get the best out of the Mullahoran players and John Joe, for one, reckons that the players have still the ability to go the distance despite the clamour for the winners' enclosure which is expected to emerge this year. "The players have the ability and hopefully Ciaran will impose the necessary discipline and have them gelling together. "With the likes of Eddie Reilly back in place too to add strength to the midfield or forward sector and a few of the promising minors there to increase competition for places, I don't see why we can't reclaim the title this year," John Joe enthuses. Not that John Joe (of Pitstop distribution motor oil and tyres) can be accused of underestimating the challenges which lie ahead of his club colleagues in the months ahead. Indeed, he argues the title in 2002 could well be much more difficult to win than in '98. In this respect, the former chairman (John Joe was actually in the hot seat in '98) honestly talks up the talents inherent in the Cavan Gaels camp. He cites them as worthy and deserving champions and reckons that they will be all the more potent this coming year. "Cavan Gaels were almost destined to win the title at some stage because of all the success the club had at underage levels over the years and it wasn't that much of a surprise when they finally came good last year. "We had a good win over them in the '98 final but we were really determined on the day and for their part, they didn't really perform over the hour." "They (Cavan Gaels) did very well in closing what was definitely a bit of a gap in class which had opened up between Gowna and the rest of the clubs and their achievement in doing so will undoubtedly have given them an awful lot of confidence. "The defending champions will not want to hand over their title in their first defence and if they play as well again this year, they have the potential to go on the same kind of run of success that Gowna enjoyed and Kingscourt before them." Would another mini-monopoly of the county championship a la Gowna - in the nineties - be good for football in Cavan? "Obviously from a Mullahoran perspective, I wouldn't like to see Cavan Gaels begin a long run of consecutive championship wins but maybe such a development would help inspire and encourage more town teams to improve. Either way, you've got to hand it to the Gaels - they've set a very good example for the rest of the county to follow." And what of deadly rivals Gowna? "Of course it's hard not to see Gowna coming back strongly after losing their title last year. They'll probably come back twice as determined to win the championship again and with Eamon Coleman back in place they'll be very difficult to stop." Win, lose or draw in 2002, John Joe is pleased to say that the club is in fine shape even if he does acknowledge that the club "may have been in trouble too many times with the county board over disciplinary issues in recent times." Still a member of the club's parent committee, John Joe says that although the likes of 1998 stalwarts Seamus Gannon, Damien O'Reilly and Gerry Sheridan are unlikely to figure in the forthcoming league or championship campaigns the estimated quota of experienced heads will be in place when push comes to shove in 2002. "I imagine Ciaran Brady will give it at least another year and a lot of the lads who have under 21 championship medals to their names from the past three years will have found their feet at senior ranks by now so they should know what's required to go the distance. "The interestingly thing is that it doesn't always work out that things come right for you once you have a lot of players of vast experience. At one time we had seven or eight countymen on the team yet didn't win the championship whereas we went ahead and won it in '98 when we hadn't that many countymen. "I think sometimes players can gel better when you haven't a situation where a few fellas are half-expected to carry a lot of the responsibility on the field." Anything that John Joe - chairman for a three year period in times past - would like to see amended about the GAA scene this year? "I'd like to see the county board have a re-think about playing matches during the middle of the week. That system was a disaster last year as far as we were concerned. "Having to play junior league matches in mid-week is no good for a club like ours. We went through an eight week period without having any junior matches and then when we had to play them during the week, we found ourselves up against clubs who weren't senior clubs but who fielded practically their first team. "I'd like to see the county board bringing back in the system whereby the senior and junior league matches were played on the same day. Having to bring fellas home from Dublin and elsewhere is far from ideal for clubs although Mullahoran are probably in the minority within the county in not wanting these mid-week matches. "Similarily we were in a minority in wanting to see our junior team compete in division three of the league. I personally felt that it was help our lads a lot if we were able to play a higher standard of football." In most respects, it has to be said, John Joe is very happy with the way football is panning out in Cavan. He reckons that the standard of football in Breffni land compares favourably with that in the neighbouring counties. "The amount of coaching that has gone on in the county over the last 15 years or so has improved the quality of football a lot in Cavan and you only have to look at the talent that was on show at county minor level over the last two or three years to see that there is a lot of good potential within the county." And Cavan's chances of regaining the Anglo-Celt Cup in 2002? "It will be very difficult. With a new manager in place, he may need more than just one year to put his own personal stamp on things. The bones of the team that won the title in '97 is still in place so I wouldn't rule them out but it will be a surprise to many if they do manage to go the whole way. Who knows, stranger things have happened in football." Words to the wise. Youngsters show the way Mullahoran's travails at senior level may continue to frustrate and stymie the ambitions of the die-hards among the Dreadnoughts but a cursory glance at the football annals in 2001 offers great hope and optimism for the club's prospects at adult level in the years ahead. Seldom out of the winners' enclosure in any given year - whether that be at adult level or underage - the famed blue and yellows certainly made their mark at under 12 and under 14 levels during the past year with silverware being scooped in both grades . . .and in some style! The Dreadnoughts Bord na nOg brigade entered the limelight when the club's under 12s reached the county decider where they met and conquered a fancied Killeshandra crew by 4-12 to 0-7. Given the pattern and direction of the game on the day, it was, ironically, the Leaguers who were first off the mark when Thomas Reilly sent the ball over the bar after just three minutes. It wasn't long though before Mullahoran settled down and began to play the type of football which marked them out as potential champions from early on in the season. A great shot from Mullahoran's Mandy Matthews seemed to be heading into the Killeshandra net only for the Leaguers' goalkeeper to bring off a fine save. Mullahoran continued to press forward and when Eda Reilly was fouled on the edge of the square, he duly picked himself up and fired over the free in clinical fashion to level the scores. Killeshandra tried manfully to defend their lines but Mullahoran kept coming forward in droves. Eventually, the Leaguers walled defence was breached with J.J. Matthews pointing after a tremendous move upfield. Killeshandra were now desperately trying to lift the siege but to now avail as their opponents pressed forward in relentless fashion. Needless to say, the writing was on the wall for Killeshandra from the moment Mullahoran notched their first major, courtesy of a fine finish by Barry McArdle in the sixth minute. Mullahoran were already eyeing the winning posts at this juncture and as Killeshandra backpeddled furiously, they bravely hit Mullahoran on the counter-attack with Declan McKiernan pointing to give his defensive colleagues a little bit of respite. However Mullahoran hit back almost immediately with a point from Daniel King to make sure Killeshandra remained in rearguard action mode. The winners-elect continued to enjoy much more possession as the half progressed but failed to reap any sort of dividend on the scoreboard as Killeshandra's stout defending and Mullahoran's tendency to over-elaborate meant there was no further score for the next ten minutes. The stalemate was ended though in explosive style with Mullahoran firing over a brace of points in quick succession courtesy of the unerring accuracy of Hugh Briody and Barry McArdle who were constant thorns in the Killeshandra defence over the course of the hour. The aforementioned Briody then proceeded to deliver a real body blow to Killeshandra's hopes when the hard-working midfielder intercepted a free-kick for Killeshandra before going on a 40 yards solo before burying the ball into the back of the Leaguers net for a wonder goal. Credit to Killeshandra though for fighting back and Cyril Reilly lofted over a point for his side to leave Mullahoran 2-6 to 0-4 to the good at the interval. The second half was almost a carbon-copy of the first half with, curiously, Mullahoran managing to add a further 2-6 to their tally. Once again Killeshandra opened the scoring with a point but points in quick succession from Enda Reilly, J.J. Matthews, Hugh Briody and Daniel King left the Dreadnoughts on easy street and within touching distance of the winning posts. A goal shortly afterwards by Hugh Briody - after good work by J.J. Matthews - put the icing on the cake for the young Mullahoran lads as they swept into a 3-11 to 0-6 lead. Thereafter a goal by sub. Raymond Fagan for Mullahoran had Hugh Briody planning his winning smile as captain. Roll on Roinn A! The under 12 Roinn B winning Mullahoran team, scorers and subs, was as follows: Julieanne Brady, Paul Donohue, Thomas Lynch, Michael Brady, Killian Brady, Noel Brady, Conor Harten, Hugh Briody (2-4), Thomas Reilly, Raymond Lynch, Barry McArdle (1-1), Mandy Matthews, Enda Reilly (0-3), Daniel King (0-2), J.J. Matthews (0-3). Subs; Michael Reilly, Raymond Fagan (1-0), Dominic Cadden, Shane Brady, Michael Donohue. Ballinagh beaten Meanwhile two weeks earlier Mullahoran's under 14s carved out a fiercely determined 3-8 to 2-10 win in mid-July over near-neighbours Ballinagh in the Roinn B Under 14 county decider. Despite getting off to a reasonably shaky start, Mullahoran stuck to their task and ran out deserving winners following a typically see-saw encounter in which no quarter was asked and no quarter was given. Ballinagh went two points in front before Anthony Sheridan got the young Dreadnoughts up and running with a point. Ballinagh continued to enjoy the best part of the exchanges and were later to go 0-4 to 0-1 in front. Mullahoran dug in in admirable fashion and an Anthony Sheridan goal was due reward for their efforts but Ballinagh also cracked in a goal to leave Mullahoran 1-1 to 1-5 adrift with 20 minutes played. Mullahoran began the second half in fine fashion and a point by Hugh Briody levelled the scores (2-3 to 1-6) and put Ballinagh under instant pressure. Moments later a point by Anthony Sheridan had Mullahoran in front for the first time in the match. It was nip and tuck from there to the finish with a Peadar Harten point and a point from Patrick Brady keeping the pressure on Ballinagh as the game entered the final quarter. Ballinagh rose to the occasion in splendid fashion and a goal by Paul Urbanski left Mullahoran trailing to 2-7 to 2-9. Like true champions though, Mullahoran came roaring back and a point by Hugh Briody had Mullahoran eyeing up the winning post. Both sides pressed for the winner but it was the Dreadnoughts who got the winning point in injury time to the delight of their supporters. Tweet

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