Well-known Corlough underage mentor Michael McGovern helped steer his club's Under 13 charges to double success in 2002. Michael McGovern cuts the figure of a proud gael as he receives his Foundation Coaching Course certificate from Armagh All-Star Enda McNulty. The presentation last December was, in truth, just one of several proud moments Michael had over the course of his GAA involvement in 2002. Overseeing the annexation by his club of two underage titles earlier in the year was equally just as sweet no doubt. Part of the GAA landscape in Corlough for longer than the average Cavan gael can rightly remember, Michael reflects on the club's success in the Under 14 Roinn D League decider and the Under 14 Roinn C Championship final with a mixture of cool analysis liberally mixed by undiluted satisfaction at a job(s) well done. "We had a good bunch of players at under 14 level in 2002 and we had a sneaking feeling that they were good enough to win something during the year because of not only their footballing ability but also because of their commitment and their enthusiasm," Michael confesses. It seems Michael et al weren't best pleased with how things transpired the previous year with the same group. The feeling abroad in the Corlough camp when the dust settled on the 2001 season was that the would-be all-conquering under 14 players had been beaten by a better team at under 13 level. Losing out in the Under 13 Roinn D decider to Cuchullains was a disappointment. So there was unfinished business to take care of, so to speak, in 2002. "The fact that Cuchullains had since been promoted up a division and we weren't going to be facing them wasn't lost on our players. It was a good boost to us even though we knew winning Roinn D wasn't going to be that easy." Morale at underage level in Corlough has been good in recent years though. County title wins at Under 12 level in '97, Under 14 grade in 1999 and at Under 16 level (albeit combined with Swad) in 2000 had instilled a great degree of self-belief in both the Corlough youngsters and their mentors. And with the addition of Teresa Moore and Tara Feehan to the Under 14 panel in 2002 certainly helped add to the feeling of optimism which lifted hearts among the green and whites as the 2002 season gathered pace. The month of March saw the Corlough Under 14 assault on two county competitions begin in earnest. The basics of Gaelic football were drilled into the players, time and time again by team-manager Michael and his assistant Hugh McGovern. Michael has great praise for Hugh and all the underage mentors in the club. In addition to the rigorous training, Corlough also took part in several challenge matches. These challenge games were, for the most part, against teams competing in higher grades of football. Such a policy may be considered a gamble in some quarters but for Corlough in 2002, the management's tactics fairly reaped dividends! "We had 26 games in 2002 and it would be true to say that the players learned something from everyone of them. They grew in confidence with each match played. Playing against the likes of Killeshandra, Drumlane, Belturbet and Gowna brought the players on a lot. "We even played against teams from Fermanagh and Leitrim. We didn't feel it was a gamble to play so often and against teams from other grades. "We felt it was the only way to go if we wanted the players to improve." Either way, it is said the proof of the pudding is in the eating and so it proved with the west Cavan terriers as they careered to league and championship successes. Incorporating a near-handful of players who could be considered born-leaders and embellished by others of supreme natural football ability, the Corlough Under 14 troupe first struck gold in 2002 in late July when they proved just too strong for the best of the rest in the league competition. In truth, Corlough proved a class apart in most of their games. Often the green and whites had the tie wrapped up by half-time such was their superiority in the lead-up to the penultimate stage of the competition. "I felt we got better and better as the year went on. The players were very consistent all year. The team won all of its eight games in the league in impressive fashion - you couldn't fault them," Michael contends. Indeed, for most of those observers au fait with the Under 14 Roinn D scene, it was patently obvious from a very early stage that Corlough were the team that all others had to beat if they wanted to get their hands on the glittering prizes. A quarter-final victory over Mountnugent was followed by a win in the semi-final over Ballymachugh. It was up to Munterconnacht to stop the Corlough juggernaut. In what turned out to be one of the best underage finals played at Kingspan/Breffni Park for many years, Corlough triumphed by 5-15 to 5-10. "We did it the hard way though," Michael explains. "We were five points down with just over five minutes to go in the game but played some great football to win out by five points in the end." Corlough fell behind in the early stages after conceding a shock goal but with the team's half-back line and midfield duo beginning to garner an increasing share of possession from open play, the tide soon began to turn. Significantly, Brendan McGovern found the Munterconnacht net in the 13th minute and suddenly Corlough were on a roll, notching four unanswered points in a ten minute patch. But back came Munterconnacht with a goal. Corlough held their nerve from there to the half-time break with the aforementioned McGovern striking gold again to leave the would-be winners ahead by 2-8 to 2-04 at the interval. In a game in which goals were all-important, Corlough proceeded to steal a march on their opponents when Patrick McCaffrey scored a great goal in the 40th minute to put the east Cavan side five points behind and under increasing pressure. However the tide turned once more and Corlough were rocked back on their heels over the next ten minutes as Munterconnacht notched 3-3 and conceded just a solitary point to Corlough. Munterconnacht very nearly grabbed a fifth goal but Shane McGovern made a terrific save to keep Corlough very much in the hunt and when Shane Dolan and Brendan McGovern each pointed, suddenly there was only three points between the sides. Both sides predictably threw everything forward in a bid to grab the spoils but it was Corlough who nicked a vital leg-up when Brendan McGovern goaled from the penalty spot after Patrick McCaffrey was fouled in the square. From the kick-out, Pauric O'Rourke made a vital block to set up Brendan McGovern for the lead point. Team captain Gary Dolan then led Corlough's final charge to the winning post with a neat point before Corlough stole in for their fifth goal just one minute from time to effectively seal a tremendously exciting win. "It was great to win the league after losing the final in 2001. Every single player played out of their skin but they were determined to make up for the loss to Cuchullains the year before. They deserved to get their revenge, a whole year after being left so disappointed," Michael opines. If Corlough's league title victory was a long, drawn-out affair, the team's championship success was no less dramatic and inspiring as Cuchullains were mastered in the decider after their initial encounter ended in a draw. Played at the end of October, the championship final was a real cracker fought out by two well-matched teams. For Corlough's part they had reached the final after securing impressive victories over Denn, Lavey and Kildallan (semi-final). "After the league win, the spirit and the camaraderie in the camp really helped a lot as the players tried to win the double. I think the team even found their best form of the year towards the end of the championship campaign," Michael remarks. As for the final itself, both sides had reason to think that they might have missed the boat for Cuchullains at one stage in the opening period held a six point lead whereas at the death it looked to be Corlough's day only for Cuchullains star Conor Smith to make his personal tally 2-11 with a converted kick with the last kick of the game. One again Corlough showed a penchant for scoring goals. This time around they secured a hat-trick of majors and added 13 points but that tally was countered by a 2-16 score by Cuchullains. Corlough always looked as if they could win the match even though trailed by 0-7 to 1-8 at the interval but one wonders did Smith's equaliser knock some of the stuffing out of the Corlough players? "Luckily enough it didn't and it wasn't very hard to lift them for the replay. I felt we had the measure of Cuchullains but after the drawn game we worked on sorting out some tactics and that helped for the replay, " Michael adds. And as things transpired matters worked out a treat for Corlough with the team winning out by 2-6 to 2-2 in the replay, again at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Two well-taken goals by scorer-in-chief Brendan McGovern in either half helped see Corlough through in very trying conditions. From the start, the west Cavan side held a firm grip of the midfield sector and even though they played against the elements in the first half still managed to lead by 1-3 to 1-2 at the interval. "I felt that we were in the driving seat at half-time and that if we played to our potential in the second half, Cuchullains weren't going to beat us." In the end, Corlough effectively sealed the double when the impressive Brendan McGovern fielded the ball some 30 yards from goal before firing an unstoppable shot to the back of the Cuchullains net. It was this type of form which saw McGovern and Gary Dolan claim places on the Cavan U14 squad. And that was that with Cuchullains only notching their only score of the second half two minutes from full-time when they found the Corlough net. "It was a great way to end a long but very satisfying year." And where to now for Class of 2002? "They'll be a bit too young for Under 16 in 2003 but with the help of Swanlinbar, they could surprise a few clubs again. I'd be confident that whatever happens they'll give a good account of themselves in the coming year and it will be of great benefit to be playing at a higher grade of football," Michael concludes. Tweet

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