Though he enjoyed an outstanding year from a personal point of view, John McCabe was ultimately disappointed that neither Munterconnacht nor the Cavan minor team he captained secured silverware in 2003. The new year is a critical one in the club's history and John is hopeful that the Blue & Whites can overcome the challenges lying ahead. Munterconnacht's John McCabe had the undoubted honour of captained his county at minor level in 2003, a distinction he bore with pride and determination. The Breffni boys gave a magnificent account of themselves and were desperately unlucky to bow out of Ulster championship contention at the semi-final stage, losing to Tyrone after a replay. On the club front, Munterconnacht blazed through to the knock-out stage of the JFC and fancied their chances of going all the way. They faced Kildallan in their quarter-final but - just like the county U18s - were pipped at the post, falling to a morale-shattering 0-11 to 1-7 defeat. While both teams acquitted themselves quite well in their respective campaigns, John is a winner first and foremost and can draw little by way of consolation from the smouldering ashes of defeat. Casting his mind back over an eventful, impressive but ultimately fruitless year with club and county, Cavan's '03 minor football captain isn't about to break into a jig: "At the end of the day, we were very disappointed," he confirms. "The aim is to win medals and we failed to achieve that. We [Munterconnacht] were hoping to go further, having reached the quarter-finals in 2002. We were determined to build on that performance but it wasn't to be." To an extent, matters were taken out of Munterconnacht's hands. Circumstances largely beyond the club's control conspired against the Blue & Whites, making their task a little more testing than might otherwise have been the case. Their young full forward explains: "We had players missing for the quarter-final and that didn't help our cause. Thomas Brady was suspended, Brendan McDonnell was on holidays, and so was Mark Flynn. It was frustrating because we only lost by a point with those three players missing, so we know we could have done even better." Thus, Munterconnacht were left to mull over what might have been. Surely, at full strength, they would've stood an excellent chance of beating Kildallan and progressing to a semi-final meeting with Lavey (who went on to win the JFC outright, beating Kildallan by a point after a replay and then Mountnugent in the final). Fact is, even without their full complement, Munterconnacht could STILL have won their quarter-final clash. John notes: "We still put in a decent performance and felt we could have won it. With a bit more fitness on the day, I think we'd have made it through. The championship was wide open and anyone could have won it, so it was disappointing to go out like that." After a slight pause and a rapid gathering of his thoughts, John adds an ominous afterthought: "But this year we're hoping to go much better." This outlook is typical of the ambition that permeates the lakeside club these days. There was a time when Munterconnacht were perceived as also-rans, but a brave new era beckons for the club and they have their gaze fixed intently on intermediate football. In '03, they weren't going out just to make up the numbers: Says John: "At the start of the year, the target we set ourselves was to reach the final of the junior championship and the quarter-final of the league. Once we went out of the championship, our heads went down and we lost our form completely. We ended up second from bottom in the league... "Losing the Kildallan game was a massive blow, and the bottom just fell out of our season. There was nothing really left to play for, so it was just a matter of fulfilling fixtures, with no chance of promotion in the league." It's been ten years now since Munterconnacht won the junior championship. John McCabe believes the time is nigh to add to the 1994 success and feels that 2004 could be the Blue & Whites' year. He explains: "We have a new management team in place and we should do well. Mickey Plunkett, who has managed most of us to success at underage level from U12 up to minor, is the new manager. Niall Lynch, who trains the county minors, is our trainer and Cian Mackin (from Dromad, Longford) and Eugene Sheridan (who has likewise been involved from U12 level up) are also on the backroom team. It's a strong management set-up and obviously we're aiming to go all the way. "We're hoping this will be our year. "We have a lot of young lads on the team but we've also convinced the older lads to stay on for another year and help us out, so things are looking up for 2004." Certainly, the bulk of the team know a thing or two about winning. They've become accustomed to picking up silverware coming through the ranks and are determined to translate this into adult success. John takes up the thread: "About ten of the team have come through together and we've enjoyed a lot of success along the way, We won an U12 league, an U13 league, an U14 championship, an U16 league and a minor league and championship double, so we're hoping to carry that through into the junior team." These players have already established themselves on the first team and it seems only a matter of time before they add to their amazing medal haul. Realistically, how far can they go in 2004? "I definitely think that if we stay injury-free and keep our discipline, then we can do it." The age profile of the team is such that Munterconnacht could be very strong in five or six years. This is a possibility that the players are acutely aware of but they realise they can't afford to lose the run of themselves either: "Ideally, we're hoping to be as strong as possible but there was a bit of a lull at underage up until last year, so we know we have to work hard and take every game as it comes. Our immediate priority is to win a junior championship and there's no point looking any further than that. We're going to put everything into winning the championship this year and then we'll see what happens… "Intermediate football is our prime objective. We're totally focused on the junior championship and we know this year is extremely important. It's a massive year for the club as there's a big threat hanging over our future. "If we don't do well, there's a danger that we might have to join with Castlerahan, and obviously we'd prefer to stay together as a separate club in our own right. "We have redeveloped out grounds, with a new all-weather pitch, and we're also hoping to build an extension on the clubhouse. There's great ambition in the club so we want to get up to intermediate and build from there. We want to stand on our own feet." Munterconnacht are confident of earning a reprieve: "After last year, we know we can do it. Ballyhaise won it in 2002 and we beat them once and drew with them once that year. Lavey won it in 2003 but it was wide open. We know the ability is there so it's a matter of applying ourselves and doing the business." Munterconnacht were in Section B of the 2003 JFC. They opened their campaign with a 0-10 to 0-8 defeat of Arva and advanced to the last eight despite losing their second and final group outing to Lavey (4-8 to 0-8). Unfortunately, Kildallan spoiled the party... Tyrone did something similar in the Ulster MFC. Cavan recorded an opening round victory over Antrim and took the fancied O'Neill County to a replay before experiencing an agonising exit. John McCabe captained the Breffni County U18s and admits he was shattered by the provincial semi-final replay defeat: "It was very, very disappointing to lose to Tyrone because the Ulster title was there for the taking and we even had our sights on an All-Ireland. We could have gone a lot further. Unfortunately we didn't take our chances in the replay and we were absolutely gutted. "The sad thing was that everybody in the county put us down all year, and they didn't give us any credit at all until after we were out of it. But that negative attitude never deterred us at all and we had the belief and conviction to go all the way. As a team, we all still feel very sorry about the whole thing, but we know that when this team comes to U21 level in three years, we'll be capable of doing it." John McCabe was greatly honoured to captain his county: "It was a massive honour," he concedes. "Captained the Cavan minors has been the highlight of my career to date, especially as it was the players themselves who picked me." Indeed, John captained the same crop at U16 level. They reached the Fr Manning Cup final before losing to Longford by a point … a familiar outcome! After having had four years with the county (two at U16, two at minor), John McCabe won't be involved with the Cavan U21s this year. This leaves him free - for the first time! - to concentrate 100% on his club (he's been a regular with the Munterconnacht first team for four years already). Looking forward to forthcoming challenges, he reveals: "This year, all the emphasis will be on the club. We had a meeting in January and we decided that we're going to go all out for the junior championship this year. We started training on January 31st and we're determined to make a massive push for junior honours this year." Reminder: Shortlist Munterconnacht as prospective 2004 Cavan JFC winners. Tweet

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