Ballinagh's profile at minor level continues to rise unabated. Last August, they scooped their second minor title in as many years. A suitably smiling Anthony Gaynor takes delivery of the Division Two Minor Football League cup and the Ballinagh club takes one more significant step towards building a forceful future at senior level. It's August 2002 and the saffrons are after out-classing a gutsy Templeport side in a fascinating county decider at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Young Gaynor and his team-mates can undoubtedly look forward to making their acquaintances with many more pieces of silverware down the line. There's no doubt but that the Longford-Road based outfit is building up a winning pedigree at underage level. Significantly, the success reaped at minor level, for instance, in 2002 followed on from the club's division two minor championship triumph the previous year. "We were only missing about three or four from the 2001 team," the team-captain points out. And sure enough all the 'big names' were on hand last August with county minors Damien McInerney, Colin Gumley and our man Gaynor forming a solid backbone. "It was more of a team effort all year. Everyone played their part and with no injuries or suspensions, everything went to plan thankfully," Anthony is quick to explain. From the seeds sewn at under ten level at the club by Paddy Smith some nine years ago, Ballinagh continue to harvest some rich pickings and in steamrolling its way to the league title in 2002, the club one again demonstrated its strength in depth right now. But did Anthony feel at the start of the season that the club had the talent to make it back-to-back minor titles or was it asking a bit much? "No, I think most people around the club felt that we had a good enough squad to do very well again in 2002. The players were optimistic and there was a good spirit in the camp from the time we began stamina training under lights in February. "We felt that if we escaped injuries and suspensions we had enough talent in the panel to put it up to the rest of the teams in the competition." And so the saffrons began their assault on two fronts, league and championship. Attendances at training were as good as hoped-for, captain Gaynor led by example and team-mentors Declan Beard, John Farrell and John McDermott left no stone unturned in fine tuning their charges as the season progressed. With solid seasons at under 13, under 14 and under 16 under their belts plus the minor run in 2001, the Class of 2002 didn't lack for self-belief or ambition or football nous. "A lot of effort has gone into the underage side of things at the club for the last ten years or more and so the players who have come up through the ranks have all been very well tutored and looked after. "I live just beside the football pitch in the town and you'd often see anything up to 40 kids being put through their paces on a Saturday morning. And as for the minors' success in 2002, Anthony says that winning the cup was ample compensation for the sense of disappointment the squad felt at not getting their place in division one. "Having won the division two championship in 2001, we were sure that we'd be playing the top teams in 2002. We would have loved to have shown just what we were capable of doing against the county's best." So how would Ballinagh have fared in the top flight at minor level in 2002? "I think we'd have done very well; we wouldn't have been afraid of any of them. The panel might have lacked a bit of strength in depth but I still think we would have held our own. "The fact that we had to make do with playing in division two helped us though because it increased our confidence and our belief that we were at least as good as the rest of the teams in the competition." And as things transpired, Ballinagh's minors did indeed prove their mettle by putting together a tremendous run in the league which ultimately culminated in the team securing the glittering prize in mid-August. It was an arduous campaign though with the winners-elect having a particularly torrid encounter with the Drung/Kill combination which made up St. Finbarrs. "They were physically very strong and we had to pull out all the stops to get by them," Anthony recalls. But, in time, all obstacles were overcome and a place in the final was duly secured with dark horses Templeport also harbouring genuine hopes of success. "Templeport were an unknown quantity as far as we were concerned. "We had never played them before but I went to see them play against Kingscourt in Ballyhaise and I thought they were very strong in the tackle and had some big men in key positions. " I went to Ballyhaise thinking that Kingscourt were going to win but Templeport deserved to go through on the day." Did Templeport frighten, impress or concern him? "I don't think I was frightened by what I saw but I felt that they had made the final on merit and that if they got off to a good start in the final, we'd have every reason to be concerned then." The final panned out not the way the underdogs from the west of the county would have wanted though. Significantly, it was the odds-on favourites who got the better start - something which more often than not spells the deathknell for a team hell-bent on effecting a shock result. The town team led from pillar to post and looked winners all-up right throughout the hour. It was fitting that the team's Captain Fantastic should open the scoring, Anthony's converted '45 in the second minute immediately putting the west Cavan side under pressure. The winners-elect were kept on their toes though as Templeport countered from the kick-out and after a swift counter-attack, Damian McCaffrey was unlucky to see his shot crash off the Ballinagh post before being cleared by the saffrons' defence. Ballinagh took their warning to heart and like true champions responded with interest. First Ciaran Brady fried a line ball from all of 35 yards high and over the bar and then three minutes, the leaders crashed home their opening goal. The move leading to the goal started with Alan Dunne gaining possession and finding Gary Kane on his inside. The 'forty yards man then found Ciaran Brady whose pass was met by the fist of Colin Gumley and in a flash the Templeport net rattled. Gumley's major was just the score Ballinagh needed to help them settle down and another point by Ciaran Brady served to add to their sense of comfort as they eased into a 1-3 to 0-0 lead with 16 minutes gone on the clock. "We got the start that Templeport would have wanted. Colin's (Gumley) goal gave us a bit of a cushion and although they hit back with a couple of points midway through the half, our first goal kept our noses in front and left them always playing catch-up which was just what we wanted," Anthony recalls. Ahead by 1-4 to 0-4 at the break, there was always the sense that Ballinagh only had to step up a gear or two to keep their opponents at bay. Ballinagh's inspirational captain doesn't begin to disagree with such a notion: "I felt we were always in control, especially the longer the game went on and they seemed to focus in on trying to get through for goals instead of picking off their points. If Templeport had taken some of their points, things would have been a lot tighter for us towards the end of the game." In the event, Ballinagh weren't unduly pressurised by the best that Templeport could engineer. With Ballinagh 'keeper Shay Beard in fine fettle and his defenders in uncompromising form in front of him, Templeport never really managed to chisel out any clearcut chances in front of goal. And so it was left to the saffrons to bag the game's only other goal. Once again it was county minor star Gumley who did the necessary when, after he was pulled down in the square, he picked himself up, dusted himself down and promptly dispatched the spot-kick past the Templeport net-minder. "After we got our second goal, we knew that we could only kick the game away ourselves. But I never felt we were going to let things slip," Anthony admits. Young Gumley's strike catapulted his side into a comfortable 2-5 to 0-5 lead and when the goalscorer himself and Damien McInerney added a point apiece, it was all over bar the shouting. Ballinagh were full value for their 2-7 to 0-6 victory. And although Ballinagh were later to be ousted from the championship by the would-be winners Cormore Gaels, there was no denying the saffrons the satisfaction of another season of immense progress. "Winning our second minor title in two years was great and hopefully in a couple of years we'll be challenging for honours at under 21 level. The main thing is that the current group of players stick together. "We all work for each other on the pitch and the camaraderie is great. It would be a disaster if the group broke up over the next few years because with the talent that's there, we could be looking at having a really strong senior team in the next five years or so with the current seniors that are around." Bet the whole of Ballinagh can't wait for 2007 to come along! Meanwhile the following are the players who did the needful against Templeport in the 2002 Minor League Division Two League decider; S. Beard; P. Reilly, A. Gaynor (0-1), E. Gavin; M. McBride, C. McDermott, S. Galligan; B. McEvoy, R. Brennan; M. Higgins, G. Kane, K. McBride; C. Brady (0-2), C. Gumley (2-2), A. Dunne (0-1). Subs; D. McInerney (0-1) and N. Smith. Tweet

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