Leave it to the gaels of Maghera to put their best foot forward. And as club secretary Martin O'Reilly suggests, that policy might just reap a rich dividend in the coming year It's not true that there's only one way Maghera can go in 2006. That might have been the case 15-20 years ago when they propped up everything in sight but not these days. Maghera continue to make ground on the others at junior level and shrewd observers of the bottom tier of the Cavan football ladder believe that there'll be more units of the Association propping the Meath-border crew up than positioned north of them in the rankings. Maghera is a vibrant club these days and while it could, potentially, drift into a state of stagnancy or nosedive its way back to its hitherto basement bottom position in Cavan football circles, gaels with an ounze of an insight into football in the county won't be betting on that happening. It's quite a while now since Maghera's strict adherence to a long-term underage policy was cemented with its liaison with Ramor Utd and the Lurgan faction has proven itself to be a win-win arrangement for both the town team and its country cousin. In plain language, Maghera MacFinns are an up-and-coming bunch and over the last number of years their level of progression on the field of play and the ambition they've shown off it compares more than favourably with any other club in the county. The club boasts a lot of footsoldiers and with just the requisite number of generals to keep the Good Ship Maghera on a B-line to more prosperous and more rewarding pastures. One of those aforementioned footsoldiers is outgoing club secretary Martin O'Reilly. Martin is a self-confessed rookie in club administration and that's wholly understandable given that he's just 23 and still a card-carrying member of the players' union. But even though 2005 represented his maiden voyage as a member of the club's executive, he feels that the 12 months in the hot seat provide him with a real "eye-opener." "The job (secretary) was tough and probably tougher than I had imagined it was going to be but I got great help from the rest of the committee and I enjoyed the experience. "It's great to see all the work that goes on behind the scenes at the club at first hand and you definitely get a better idea of all that it takes to run a football club." A carpenter by profession, Martin doesn't impress one as being the type who would easily baulk at being handed a challenge and that's a real bonus for the MacFinns. For the hard-working club official intends to both tog out for the club and doing all the necessary correspondence work etc that goes with his typically demanding position. He's hopeful that erstwhile knee trouble that hampered his career as a footballer of late has been rendered benign thanks to physiotherapy and it's all systems go for 2006. And while living in Athy wasn't conducive to leading the life of a committed club footballer, his relocation back to Maghera now should help him in a big way on that score. But as someone who obviously prefers to call a spade a spade, Martin sincerely believes that things will want to go a bit better in 2006 than they did in '05 for the club. "2005 was disappointing and wasn't one of our best years for various different reasons but we're hopeful that things will turn around for us in the coming months," he says. "We lost a few players at the start of the year which didn't help and otherwise I think we would have been there or thereabouts in the league and the championship. "There's nothing between any of the teams in junior although it's hard to put your finger on what exact pieces of the jigsaw we were missing last year," Martin opines. Pointedly, Martin is confident that Maghera's finest can come together and put things right in the coming months, especially if a few ingredients can be added to the mix: "We could do with a bit more of a winning mentality and a bit more confidence but, definitely, the confidence would come if we could get a couple of wins under our belt. "Some people might think that the team lacks self-belief but I'm not sure because I think the players feel that they're as any other group of players in the division. "We've come on a lot over the past 12 months and you only have to look back at the way Kildallan wiped the floor with us in 2004 and how things changed last year. "They (Kildallan) came to us in the league last year and had to work very hard to go away with a one point win which shows the progress the lads made in the 12 months." Maghera is a club which has been renowned over the years for its ability to make the most of its resources in every shape and form and it remains a very resourceful club. Thankfully, with regard to the numbers game, matters have improved a lot and today's headcount bears no resemblance to the very small numbers around years ago. The junior panel was 20-23 strong during 2005 and even without key men in the full-back line, midfield and forwards, the blue and black brigade was full of vim and vigour. 2005 team-manager Jim McHugh had a committed bunch of players to work with, most of them between the ages of 21-26 and they gave it their best shot over the season. A first round championship clash with Mountnugent personified the players' commitment to the cause and gave a snapshot of the quality of the panel on hand right now. Mountnugent, sadly, flew off the blocks and dominated the proceedings in the first half and for the first ten minutes of the second half before Maghera ignited the fuse. "We took up the baton and ran with it and produced the sort of football that we knew we were capable of and which was missing from the start," Martin declares. "And only for a free for us in the last minute that came off the inside of their post just at the final whistle, we'd have gotten a draw that we'd have deserved," he remembers. In the second round of the JFC, Maghera had to give way to neighbours Munterconnacht in a game which Martin says "neither team deserved to win it was that poor." Munterconnacht had to work overtime to chisel out their eventual slender victory; a victory which paled into insignificance later on as they celebrated division three success. Predictably, Martin says Maghera's achievement in running the would-be league title winners close in the championship is no consolation, even with the benefit of hindsight. "The only thing is that we can at least say that if Munterconnacht can go on and win the league after their poor showing in the championship then so can we. "Our goal in 2006 must be to do as well as we can and to go as far in the championship as we can and if we can finish in a mid-table position in the league all the better." And yet, in Martin's mind, he remains convinced that it is possible that Maghera could pull off the mother and father of shocks and go the distance in the blue riband. "The lads can go as far as they want to go because there isn't much between any of the teams at junior level and we wouldn't be afraid of any of the opposition. "Sure there'll be good enough teams around, like Shannon Gaels but if Eamon Reilly is caught up in county matters they might just suffer." Martin feels it will be very important that Maghera hit the ground running this coming season but he's hopeful that new team-manager John McEnroe will work the oracle. "The team won't lack for backing from the committee or the community as a whole and all over the years the supporters have stuck by us through thick and thin. "There's a lot of good young lads who've come up through the ranks with Lurgan and they've enough skills to compete with the best around. "We're looking forward to the new season and we expect the club to continue to make progress," Martin concludes. Tweet

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