Ballyhaise's underage pedigree was suitably embellished in 2002 when the club's under 16s beat the best of the rest in Division Two. Team-manager John Farrelly reflects with Kevin Carney on how the cup was won. The vista down Ballyhaise way just seems to be getting brighter and brighter as each year passes. So bright, in fact, staff at the local merchants are full time replenishing their stock of shades! Flush with underage talent, blessed with mentors willing and able to lend a guiding hand and replete with enough shiny silverware to give even a lorry-load of pop stars a migraine each, the tricolour-clad outfit continues to flag its determination to make waves at the very highest level in the coming years. For more years than the average GAA afficionado in Cavan can rightly remember, the hard-working folk at Bord na nOg level in Ballyhaise have been busy putting the umph into triumph and the silver into the lining. And with each season that passes, Ballyhaise's winning streak at underage level continues to conjure up a picture-postcard scene of a well of talent with simply no bottom. In 2002, the club's fascination for finals, it's predilection for pole position and its delight in downing more fancied opponents once more came to the fore. In all respects the past year saw the rollercoaster momentum built up by successive cup-winning Ballyhaise underage squads well and truly maintained. Ballyhaise Under 16 Division Two squad, take a bow! The Class of 2002 excelled themselves, nothing more, nothing less. In skipping their way to the championship title last October, the latest crop of Ballyhaise starlets proved themselves a class apart among their peers. A season that seemed to come a mite too early appeared destined to conclude with a fanfare and post-mortems of the glorious kind. A rash of injuries proved more than an irritant as the league got underway. The portents weren't good and league aspirations were duly sacrificed on the altar of a run in the championship. "Injuries did hamper our preparation. Two or three key players were out of action at that time. We still managed though to reach the league semi-final. Losing out to Killygarry was obviously disappointing especially because we felt the lads were capable of going through to the final. Most people would have had us down as favourites to beat them (Killygarry) and on paper we looked the stronger side but unfortunately, our lads just didn't perform on the day. The team lacked conviction and, surprisingly, confidence and so I think everyone was reminded that the panel wasn't the finished product by any stretch of the imagination," team-manager John Farrelly informs us. Ultimately though, Farrelly and his co-workers, Michael Moran, Adrian Delaney and Pat Fitzpatrick would be given cause to remember 2002 with no little fondness. Preparations began for the year in February with a mix of fitness training and ball work keeping the panel both interested and in fine fettle as the league season approached. And then came a programme of warm-up exercises, some stamina work and more ball work to help work the oracle as the season gathered pace, post-league. Bolstered by a pedigree which saw them triumph at under 12 (league) and under 13 (championship) grades and with a bevy of them also part of the winning act at under 16 level in 2001, the Class of 2002 weren't going to lack for confidence or self-belief either. "Practically all of the players had some medal or other under their belt. They were in the habit of winning and playing in finals held no fear for them. They liked playing in Breffni Park and wanted to get back playing there," John explains. Thus the scene was set for Ballyhaise to embark on a really big run in the blue riband competition. John admits though that after the defeat to Killygarry, the team-management had to work on reminding the players of their potential, of their capabilities and their mission for the year. Verbal coaching rather than the physical was the order of the day(s) as the Ballyhaise boys prepared to meet Belturbet on September 7th in their opening match of the championship. Played at Rory O'Moore Park, the match was a mis-match in all respects with the would-be champions waltzing to a facile 5-12 to 0-6 win. In effect, the issue was done and dusted after the first eight minutes after the first brace of goals were slotted home. "Every sector of the team played well against Belturbet. We had played them in previous years and they always made us work hard. They were tight matches and we honestly didn't expect to have such a comfortable ride in the championship last year against them, especially away from home. The lads had put in the work in training and really played as a team on the day though with great movement up in the forwards a particularly pleasing aspect of that performance. Cock-a-hoop and by now operating in top gear, Ballyhaise's morale was also sky-high but a semi-final clash with amalgamation side Dernacreive Gaels threatened to test the team to the full. After a thrilling contest, the Gaels were edged out on foot of a 3-9 to 3-13 scoreline. Ballyhaise approached the game knowing that they had beaten the same opponents earlier in the league. In a very high-scoring first half, Ballyhaise leapt into a sizeable lead but the Swanlinbar/Corlough amalgam came storming back to get within a point of their eventual conquerors. "In the end, we were lucky to win. We got the sort of luck that day that all champions need. Looking back on it, maybe the lads thought by half-time that they had done enough to cruise home. We led by something like eight or nine points at that stage. We had to fight a rearguard action though in the final minutes otherwise we'd have been out of the competition," John remembers. And so to the final on October 12th. Drumlane was all that now stood between Ballyhaise and back-to-back Under 16 county titles. The championship final at Kingspan/Breffni Park represented a re-match of sorts as the two teams had earlier met in the league. On that occasion, Ballyhaise had little problem in careering to an emphatic 0-19 to 1-5 lead. The championship decider was to prove a tad more difficult for the village-based crew. "Drumlane had beaten Killygarry in the quarter-final of the championship and that result gave us a bit of a warning that they were going to be no pushovers. Thankfully we scored a lot of great long-range points in the final which seemed to break their hearts at vital stages of the game," John remarks. Traditionally out of the blocks in double-quick time, Ballyhaise were true to form and seemed to be heading for a comfortable win with points by Ali Pickett, Paul Conaty, Barry Leonard and Ciaran McGowan on target as the favourites romped into a 0-8 to 0-1 lead by the 16th minute. But six points without reply thereafter by Drumlane kept Ballyhaise on their toes to cut Ballyhaise's lead at the interval to one point, 0-8 to 0-7. Once again, Ballyhaise began brightly with a goal within 30 seconds of the restart from Barry Leonard changing the tide, big-time. "Barry's goal was crucial too. It was very important, psychologically. We had felt at half-time that we had let things slip a bit in the run-up to half-time but Barry's goal meant we regained the initiative and gave the lads a confidence boost," John explains. And when the outstanding Ali Pickett struck for a second goal six minutes into the second half, the writing was well and truly on the wall for the west Cavan side. Ballyhaise were now leading by 2-9 to 0-8 and never truly looked like being pegged back thereafter. The Ballyhaise defence was rock-solid, the midfield contingent composed and collected and the forwards in opportunist form. The cup was theirs. More silverware, more optimism for the future. More of the same in 2003? Don't bet against it! The all-conquering Ballyhaise team and sub was as follows; Paul Prior; Hugh Fitzpatrick, Brian Boylan, Sean McCormack; John Rehill, Fergal Slowey, Hugh Murphy; Donal Farrelly, Ray Cullivan; Kieran McGowan (0-3), Ali Pickett (1-4), Barry Leonard (1-3); Niall Watters (0-1), Paul Conaty (0-1), Jarlath Moran (0-1). Sub used; Gene Fay for Sean McCormack Tweet

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