Castlerahan is racing up along the rails as teams jockey for pole position among their peers at senior level. The club's 2006 Under 21 Division One championship success hints at bigger things to come from the maroon and whites. Weeks on and Tony Brady still delights in recalling how the west was won by Castlerahan's vaunted under 21 side. Sheriff Brady is wont to praise his posse to the hilt in reflecting on how they downed the best gunslingers from around the county in 2006 to bag the bounty. The Castlerahan boss is unequivocal in his assessment of the battles won which led ultimately to the winning of the war. He insists his charges got their due reward after a tough campaign which culminated in a closely-fought shoot-out in the final. Castlerahan's first foray in the under 21 championship last year had them standing toe-to-toe with old adversaries Gowna in tandem with 2005 championship title winners Lacken Celtic. It was a potent opposition and given the bit of 'history' between Gowna and Castlerahan - carried over from the controversy of '05 - there was always going to be a lot riding on the encounter; not least the prize of advancement to the quarter-final of the competition. "They were a very good combination and the lads needed to go into the game in the right frame of mind," team-manager Brady explains. "Needless to say, there was no need to get them up for the game - they were motivated enough because of what had happened last year." A workmanlike, sleeves-rolled-up win over the amalgam catapulted Castlerahan into a quarter-final meeting with dark horses, Kingscourt Stars - another tricky assignment. "The game against Kingscourt was probably our toughest game in the competition, to be honest with you," the former county ace says. "Some of their lads had played the day before when they won the Junior 'B' final so they were obviously going to be well primed, confident and fighting fit. "It turned out to be a real punishing game for both teams. "There was no quarter given or taken and it was very hard to to create anything going forward; the score at half-time was just two points apiece. "Fortunately we turned it on after half-time and put together our best second half of the whole year." It was a case of deja vu then when Castlerahan crossed swords with a fancied Lurgan side in the penultimate round of the competition. The game always looked destined to go to the wire and, again, Castlerahan left their best wine 'till the last to leave their opponents punch drunk and out of the running to capture the glittering prize. The squad showed a lot of character over the course of the year, Tony explains, and in the semi-final against Lurgan, the team really showed their mettle when the chips were down. "Over the years this bunch of fellas have adopted a real will-to-win and a never-say-die attitude which held them in good stead against Lurgan. "The match had almost gone away from us in the semi-final but then Sean Fitzpatrick popped up to score a great goal. "Sean had been in the US all summer and for him to come in and score that goal was a big thing for him and us." "Overall though, the great thing for us all year was that we had several lads who could win the match for us on any given day." The final against yet another amalgamation, Parnells (Cornafean/Killeshandra), at Kingspan/Breffni Park in the final in early December saw the would-be winners having to field without the services of Caolan McBreen, Paul Brady and Fiachra Cork. You wouldn't have guessed Castlerahan were understrength though in light of their first half showing though as Parnells were left reeling on the ropes and in danger of taking a standing count. The match favourites reaped a rich dividend on the back of an opening six minute period which went a long way towards deciding the outcome of the game. Castlerahan were simply outstanding as they romped their way into a commanding 1-3 to 0-0 lead with barely six minutes on the clock. Playing towards the town end of the pitch on a bitterly cold but otherwise perfect day for football, Castlerahan could hardly have expected to get off to such a quick-fire start. Significantly, Tony conceded Castlerahan's first half display laid the foundations for victory. "I thought a lot of our moves in the first half worked really well and it was a big help to get such a great start," Tony said of his side's 1-8 to 0-8 triumph. "We were hoping to get a quick goal and it was good to get it because it helped us to go on and totally dominate the first half." After top-scorer Enda Mulvey popped over an opening point in less than 45 seconds for Castlerahan, they hit their opponents with a real sucker punch. Attacking ace Cian Mackey stroked home a penalty in the 3rd minute after he himself was fouled in racing in on goal after a long delivery forward caught the Parnells full-back line in an advanced position. Things got even better for the leaders three minutes later when Mackey converted a free and suddenly Parnells were five points adrift and threading deep water. With centre-back Ronan Flanagan the spring of a raft of forward movements and Mackey and Mulvey continuously threatening up front, Castlerahan posed a lot of danger as they garnered a majority of the possession. And, in the face of a swarm of incoming Castlerahan tackles, there seemed little indication that Parnells had the wherewithal to chisel a way back into the match. However the balance of play after the opening five minutes changed radically over the course of the next five minutes with the amalgamation side edging possession. But marksmanship at both ends of the field left something to be desired and Castlerahan, especially, ought to have amassed a greater tally of scores by the end of the first quarter. Castlerahan remained very dangerous on the counter-attack and when a Parnells' attack was intercepted, Pauric Smith fed Enda Mulvey for a quick-fire point with three minutes left to play in the first half. But Parnells gave a significant hint of their rejuvenated selves from the second half onwards when they launched a brace of dangerous attacks. Sadly for the Cornafean/Killeshandra lads, Mark Johnston's delivery was cut out by Castlerahan rock Paudie Reilly and two minutes later Damien Higgins had his teasing pass intercepted by Shane Cusack in the Castlerahan goal. "Not taking anything away from Parnells, but I was disappointed we weren't awarded the man-of-the match award. "Paudie Reilly was out on his own; Shane Cusack had a super game as had Ronan Flanagan who found his man time after time while Cian Mackey gave them a lot of trouble and was fouled almost every time he got the ball," Tony reflects. Castlerahan dug deep when they needed to and, despite increased Parnells' pressure towards the end of the first half, showed a lot of resolve to march into a lead of 1-5 to 0-2 at the interval. Tony acknowledges though that the Cornafean/Killeshandra axis proved worthy finalists and he said nobody in the Castlerahan dressing-room felt the contest was over at half-time even though the leaders were sitting pretty on the back of a six points advantage. "It was difficult for us to stay focussed at half-time because we had the six points lead and we were fairly comfortable," Tony adds. "But I knew it wasn't beyond Parnells to come back at us because they were a good team. "But we tried to concentrate on our own game and build on that lead and get the ball into Enda (Mulvey) and Cian (Mackey) as much as we could." Castlerahan came under renewed pressure when, by the 36th minute their lead was cut to just three points, 1-5 to 0-5. Parnells' deficit very nearly was wiped out three minutes later when Adrian Martin passed to the in-running Rory Braiden but the number 15's low shot from four metres was well saved by the advancing Shane Cusack in the Castlerahan goal. Claims by Parnells for a penalty in the 57th minute - after Liam Duignan was fouled - were ignored and a free awarded instead. Team-manager Brady is adamant that Parnells ought not to have gotten a penalty late on. "The lads showed a lot of grit to keep Parnells at bay, especially when they got to within a couple of points of us near the end. "There was a penalty appeal in the last few minutes but I thought it was clearly outside the square." The all-conquering under 21 Castlerahan side that featured in the final against Parnells was as follows; Shane Cusack; Pauric Cunningham, Paudie Reilly, Shane Boylan; Michael Smith, Ronan Flanagan, Barry Cusack; Pauric Smith, Fiachra Sweeney; Brian Coleman, Ciaran Lynch, Ronan Brady; Daniel Lynch, Enda Mulvey (0-6), Cian Mackey (1-2). Subs; Stephen Coleman for Michael Smith (blood sub); Michael Smith for Stephen Coleman; Stephen Coleman for Brian Coleman; Brian Coleman for Barry Cusack; Paul Cusack for Michael Smith. One wonders what this squad will achieve in the near-future? "It depends on how they respond to the training regime that will be laid out for them next year and after that," Tony maintains. "These fellas have no winning pedigree as a panel; the under 21 title was the first medal for at least a half-a-dozen of them so we'll have to see what ambition they have. "Luck plays a big part in shaping a team's future though because you need all your players available." But can we expect big things from these fellas and the club's more seasoned campaigners at senior level in 2007? "We're ready to win something at senior level if we can keep the lads together," Tony insists. "I would be disappointed if we didn't win something in 2007." And having scooped the division three league title in 2003, the intermediate championship in 2001, the minor championship in 2005 and now the under 21 blue riband title, who would bet against Castlerahan's bluechip footballers making waves at the highest level in Cavan in the next few months? Tweet

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