Not every club in Cavan can claim to have captured three major pieces of County Board silverware in 2006, but the Green and Yellow of Mountnugent achieved precisely such a feat. The lakesiders put themselves well and truly on the map with outright victories in the U16 Division 4B league, Division Four minor football league and Division 3A senior football league. Not quite a JFC - but they're getting there... The dream for Mountnugent is to book a return to intermediate fare by reclaiming the county junior football championship won in such splendid fashion in 1988 and '92. A quarter-final replay defeat to Shercock put paid to any such aspirations for 2006 but the Meath border outfit can draw plenty of positives from the events of the year just ended. The club scooped county gold on the treble, with Graham Patterson, Jonathan Givney and Enda McEnroe all captaining the Green & Yellow to glory. Outright success at U16, minor and Division 3A level marks '06 out as a year to remember in a positive light, providing a solid platform upon which greater successes can hopefully be built. That's the plan, at least. Mountnugent have threatened a breakthrough for a few years, enjoying modest success at U13 Roinn D and Division Four MFC grades in 2002 and 2004 respectively, with a junior football championship final appearance against Lavey sandwiched in between, as if to remind supporters of the long-term objectives of those formulating club strategy. The floodgates really opened last term, however, and there are plenty of high-profile clubs in the Breffni County who would love to be able to say they won three titles in 2006. Gradually, a winning habit is being nurtured. With a gush o.f young talent coming through to supplement the more seasoned campaigners who've been giving the junior championship their all in recent seasons, not to mention the passionate parish pride for which Mountnugent are renowned, there could be interesting years ahead. In seasons to come, when historians and GAA buffs look back at the Mountnugent story, 2006 could well be identified as a landmark year. A turning point, if you wish. Mountnugent defeated Laragh by 1-6 to 1-3 in the 2006 Cavan Division Four minor football league decider at St Matthew's Park, Crosskeys on Saturday April 9. The final of this eleven-a-side competition was a tense, frenetic match, full of exciting and gritty football. The winners led by a point, 0-3 to 0-2, at the end of a titanic first half and managed to maintain a very slight edge throughout the ensuing moiety. After the long whistle, Cavan Minor Board chairman John Duffy - himself a Mountnugent clubman - was on hand to present the cup to the worthy winners. The reasons for a close final were manifold. The wintry conditions certainly didn't help, but the teams' familiarity with one another was probably the main contributory factor. Mountnugent had already beaten the Stradone lads earlier in the competition, so it was naturally going to be doubly difficult to repeat the dose. But they got there. The decider was all about character, with both physical and mental strength tested to the max. Underfoot conditions were heavy at best and the fact that both sides had four players less than the conventional fifteen meant that muscle and sinew were overworked on a gladiatorial day. Both sides responded and the match was an enthralling spectacle, but there could only be one winner. Mountnugent deserved to take a trophy home with them on April 9 2006. Their side was well balanced and demonstrated a knack of 11-a-side that was more than a mere carry-over from their Division Four minor championship triumph of the previous September. There was tactical awareness and exemplary discipline in their play. They had the better of possession, displayed an organised unity of purpose and played the team game. The approach work was arguably better than the conversion but wayward shooting is understandable when late spring is trampled into the ground by a spiteful onslaught of winter hostility. The weather really was muck but it all made for a more interesting game as Laragh hung in longer than they otherwise might have. The losers were forced to give way in the crucial diamond sector of the field, which is so often critical in the winning or otherwise of any match. Mountnugent started brightly with a sixth-minute David Gibney point and captain Graham Patterson put them back ahead in the tenth minute after Laragh had levelled in between. Though missing a couple of regulars, the Stradone side, attacking the dressing-room goals in the first half, played with conviction, and it required a wonderful Keith Smith point in the 23rd minute to give the pre-match favourites a narrow interval cushion. As the second half took shape, it was clear that neither side was going to run away with it. Patterson landed a good point three minutes after the re-stat but the score was quickly cancelled out. There was a five-minute hiatus while Phelim Farrelly received treatment following an accidental collision. Farrelly was eventually replaced by Joe Tuite and we got a glimpse of Mountnugent's strength in depth as the substitute bagged the game's decisive score. He found the net on 40 minutes to give the Meath border crew a 1-4 to 0-3 lead. Laragh came in search of their own major but met with some heroic Mountnugent defending. When Patterson and Keith Smith tagged on two more points, the winners-elect held a commanding 1-6 to 0-3 advantage with less than 60 seconds left. A converted penalty in injury time altered the scoreboard but had no effect on the outcome - Mountnugent were crowned winners of the 2006 Cavan Division Four minor football league. The following side was on county final duty: Killian Gaffney; Jonathan Gibney, Ciaran Caffrey, Sean Plunkett, Declan Brady, Graham Patterson (0-3), Damien Lee, Kenny Quinn, David Gibney (0-1), Keith Smith (0-2), Phelim Farrelly. Sub: Joe Tuite (1-0). On Tuesday June 7, Mountnugent added the county U16 Division 4B league title, beating Butlersbridge in the final at PJ Duke Park in Stradone. The 2006 trophy treble was completed in late November when Denn were defeated in the Division 3A (reserve) football league. Mountnugent gained some measure of revenge for their JFC quarter-final replay drubbing at the hands of Shercock when they ousted the town side by a point (0-13 to 1-9) at the semi-final stage and they followed up with a superb 2-6 to 0-5 victory over Denn in the decider. The Division 3A senior football league final was played at Fay Park in Ballyjamesduff and Mountnugent held the edge throughout to run out comfortable seven-point victors in the end. Thus, three big trophies wintered in the Mountnugent clubhouse. Perhaps the wonderful treble will give them the confidence to go out and annex the one they want most of all in 2006… Tweet

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