Ray McMullen was a member of the triumvirate that helped deliver promotion from ACFL Division Three for Cootehill last year. He's hopeful that the hoops can embellish their work in 2006 over the coming months. Cootehill Celtic senior team selector Ray McMullen insists 2006 will be rated as a year in which the club's premier team made definite progress. Despite the fact that the team had a horrendous run-in to the end of the season in losing five key matches in succession, McMullen believes there were a lot more positives to be gleaned from the past season than negatives. "We had a meeting at the start of 2006 with the players and agreed that our objectives would be to win promotion from division three and get a good run in the championship. "We achieved both goals and so you'd have to be pleased with that." Reflecting on the less than inspirational displays of the team over the final few weeks when the race for the league title fell flat, Ray reckons that the team's poor form at season's-end was no great surprise. "There wasn't the same buzz in training once the team went out of the championship but that's always the way it goes for any team. "It was the same after we beat Cavan Gaels to clinch promotion - the players sort of took their feet off the pedal after that. "It was as if they felt they had done enough for the year and you'd have to say things did fall away a bit in training after that," says team-manager Mickey Lee's assistant. Ray confesses that everyone associated with the senior team was disappointed to have lost out on the race for the division three title but says the team can have no complaints. "We lost out to Cornafean (in the quarter-finals) because they were the fitter team and the better team on the day. "I don't think our fellas had the same appetite for the league once they'd got promoted. "The buzz that was there in training during the league promotion run and the championship died a death in the last few weeks of the season. "Training went to just one day a week because of the drop-off in interest generally and the fact that so many of our players were back in college didn't help either. "You could see in the Cornafean game that there wasn't the same heart and enthusiasm in the team. "We were leading by two points at half-time and I thought things were going well enough for us but things went downhill after that." And what of the championship encounter against Ballyhaise? "That was a game we could have won as well but the lads just weren't consistent enough. "Five minutes into the second half we had pulled them back to three points but they moved up a gear and went away from us. "Our team was lighter, younger and hadn't the same level of experience as Ballyhaise and it showed on the day, especially in the second half when we were poor. "In fairness missing Neil Kelly, Barry Dempsey and David Reilly didn't help us at that time." Ray believes that the Celts are more than capable of holding their own in division two next year and it'll be all to play for in the intermediate championship. "Cootehill are as good as any of the other teams in division two and our aim would be to retain our division two position and who knows what will happen in the championship. "I'd be disappointed though if we didn't at least reach the semi-final." Senior club selector McMullen is keen to heap praise on the Cootehill's premier players ahead of their bid to plot their way back up to the county's top flight. He maintains the players responded to all the exhortations of the 2006 think-tank and, for the most part, they got their just deserts. "They gave great commitment and showed a lot of ambition throughout the season," says Ray. "We had between 22-28 out at training for most sessions for most of the year and there was a really good buzz about the place for most of 2006," adds Ray who was joined along the sideline by the aforementioned Lee and fellow selector JP Reilly. By mid-June the hoops were sitting proudly on top of division three of the All County Football League, with just four games remaining to be played and looking like strong favourites to clinch promotion. Cootehill's continuing good form came as a welcome panacea to McMullen and Co. in the wake of Cavan's summarily exit from the county's Ulster MFC race; a race he was more than just a spectator of. The Cootehill selector was part of the county side's backroom team and was as astonished and as disappointed as anyone in the Breffni County at the manner in which Cavan's young guns imploded in the provincial semi-final against Donegal. Thankfully around the same time of year, there were better days closer to home for Ray and the gaels in Cootehill. The local Celts were positively flying in mid-June and had firmly put behind them a disastrous 2005 season which saw them limp tamely out of the intermediate championship and suffer relegation from division two of the ACFL. After getting the better of title rivals Shercock by 0-13 to 0-6 in an entertaining clash in early June at Hugh O'Reilly Park under a blistering sun, the Celts found themselvese looking down on the chasing pack of 11 teams. Playing arguably their best football of the year, the home team had the look of winners from early on in the match and once in the driving seat never looked like being pegged back. "It was an important win for us but we were always in control and never looked like letting them into the game," Ray opined. "The players did well in every area of the field but our midfield and defence were especially good." Convinced that the current squad possesses just the right balance between experience and youth to make a decided impression in the coming year in division two of the league and in the intermediate championship, Ray reckons that quite a bit of improvement will be needed in the camp though. "It's going to be a lot tougher in division two and I'd say the lads need to improve anything up to 50% on what they showed in division three because of the higher standard of football in the second division. "There's a lot of good potential though in the panel but they need to have that bit more self-belief if they're going to challenge for honours in 2007. "The players have to go out believing that they're good enough to play and compete against any team in division two." With local derby matches against neighbours Drung and Drumgoon just around the corner, Ray knows that Cootehill will have to fight for every league point going and that "there's going to be no easy games." A players/management meeting in the first week of January was swiftly followed by the commencement of the pre-season work and it's a case of all systems go for the Celts. "Weight training went well last year and hopefully we'll get a lot of good work done in the opening few weeks of the new year. "We'll have the lads doing ten or twelve sessions of circuit training and that should stand to them in building them up and getting them strong enough for the matches." Ray is under no illusions as to the challenges which will face the Celts' senior side in the forthcoming year but he professes to be confident that the Hugh O'Reilly Park-based crew will be up to the task. "It'll be a big step up for the team but I don't see why they can't go the distance either in the league, the championship or, who knows, in both. "There'll be no easy games but I'm sure the lads will be up for it - there'll be a lot of pride at stake against a lot of our neighbours so it should be an interesting year." And the good news ahead of the new season is that Cootehill's squad may well be bolstered by the return of three key players who will add experience and additional quality to the panel. With erstwhile Australian-based Brendan McCrudden expected to be back on board and both Brian Sherlock and Ciaran McBreen all set to be available following sojourns in England, Cootehill ought to be a much more potent side over the course of the next twelve months. "They should be like three new signings," Ray surmises. "You can't beat having good competition for places and all three of those lads will not want to be sitting in the dug-out." So who does he expect to pose the most serious of opposition in the coming year? "You'd have to say that Ballinagh will be there or thereabouts like the way they've been for years now in the intermediate championship. "They won the division one league title and most people will be putting them down as strong favourites for the championship next autumn." Ray says he's looking forward to the new season and believes that the players will enjoy the drills in training and morale will be restored to 2006 pre-championship time when the 2007 league competition gets underway. He's certain all the support structures and back-up will be provided by his native club to addressing the needs of a team gunning for glory. "The club did a great job with the drainage of the pitch last spring and it was great to go down and train on it on a bad winter's evening and get the full benefit of it. "The training pitch that's now up on the hill will be a big help too. "The players can't have any complaints because everything will be in place for them this year. "It's in their own hands at the end of the day. "There's really nothing between any of the teams in the intermediate grade but if the lads put their minds to it, they can go a long way." Hurlers win county title The game of hurling in the local parish received its biggest boost for many years last May when Cootehill Celtic's under 14 squad secured the county title with a dramatic victory over Kingscourt Stars in the Division Two Shield final at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Two goals by Simon Boyle in the dying minutes reflected a never-say-die attitude as the team swept to a pulsating 3-1 to 2-2 win. Playing fast, ground hurling, Cootehill stormed into the lead with a good goal by Barry Smith in the 5th minute but a resurgent, wind-aided Kingscourt team hit back with interest to chisel out a 1-2 to 1-0 lead. However with Corrie Smith in brillant form in goal for Cootehill, the Celts forced the pace on the restart but were again stunned seven minutes into the second half when Kingscourt scored a second goal. But the parish lads never gave up and Conor O'Hea's clever puck outs to the wings soon had Kingscourt on the backfoot. In the 17th minute, a fine point from Jason Taylor cut Kingscourt's lead to four points. Then two minutes later the hoops hit the jackpot when great work from Christopher Keenan was added to by Caoimhin Carney before the sliotar was finished to the net by Simon Boyle. With Kingscourt leading by just one point, 2-2 to 2-1, Cootehill went for broke with great determination. And they duly broke Kingscourt's hearts with the heroic Boyle netting in injury time leaving team captain Barry Cooney to prepare his victory speech. The victorious squad was as follows; Corrie Smith; Joseph Kelly; Conor O'Hea, Christopher Keenan, Darren Lavery; Barry Cooney, John Carney, David Corrigan; Jason Taylor (0-1), Barry Smith (1-0), Simon Boyle (2-0); Cormac Brazil. Subs; Caoimhin Carney for Darren Lavery (inj); Fintan Roche for Cormac Brazil. Meanwhile on February 3rd last, the under 11 indoor team of Jason Halton, James McKitterick, Dermie Connolly, Fiachra Hughes, Ronan O'Hea and Caoimhin Carney came tantalisingly close to winning the Ulster division three title. Having successfully advanced from the county stage, the squad progressed to the provincial final with victories over the Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone champions. Sadly in the final in Cookstown Leisure Centre, the Celtics fell short despite having led at half-time by 3-1. Cootehill's Antrim opponents came back to level matters at 3-3 at the death before edging home 4-3 on penalties. Still, 2006/07 will go down as a hugely progressive one for Cootehill hurling club which is now in the fourth year of its existence. On January 23rd last the club held its Annual General Meeting and a full review of the year was recorded. The highlights of 2006 for the club were the winning of the Under 14 Division Two Shield and a trip to the Kilkenny SHC final in Kilkenny city which incorporated a challenge match the previous evening with a local team. The following people were elected to serve on the committee for the coming year: Chairman - Kevin Carney; Vice-Chairman Philip McDonald; Treasurer - Michael O'Hea; Secretary - Jimmy McBride; Equipment Officer - Michael Roche; Lotto Officers Tricia Clarke and Irene Halton; mentors Aidan Brazil and Seamus Hughes. Tweet

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