After enduring a couple of disappointing seasons during which the club slipped from senior footballto the junior ranks, Lannleire will reflect on the 2008 campaign with a considerable amount of satisfaction. Although the memorable championship challenge ended in disappointment with defeat in the Junior Final to St Nicholas, there are many reasons for the Dunleer club to look forward with optimism. All associated with Lannleire will be hoping that 2008 will be remembered as the turning point in their fortunes as they look forward to bringing the good times back to the town. Team selector, Frankie Clare, who along with John O'Connor, helped guide the team this year, admits that although they were disappointed in the end, he hopes the performances this year will inspire the players to go one better next season. After the poor run in league and championship in 2007 it took a big effort from players, management team and committee to turn things around, and with a similar effort next year, he is confident the club will be in the shake-up for honours once again. "When you consider that we had a bad time in 2007, morale and confidence was low so at the beginning of this season we decided as a club to make a big effort to get back on track. "It really was a combined effort of committee, players and selectors, and the tone was set from the AGM. The players responded as we had hoped with a big turn out at training, but our aim from the start was to make steady progress over the year by improving our league position and having a decent run in the championship. "We stressed to the players that the squad was very much a work in progress and our aim was to get the club back on track after a few barren years and the response was as good as we could have expected. "John O'Connor was the real driving force as he was both selector and team trainer and the results illustrate the effort he put into the job. I came in to give him a hand and when he overcame a bad knee injury to get back into the team near the end of the season, I was happy to look after things on the sideline," explained Frankie. Lannleire's hopes of making an impression this year suffered a bit of a setback when they championship draw placed them in what was termed "The Group of Death" with some of the leading contenders. Although little was expected from Lannleire, a promising start saw them grow in confidence over the season and they matched the best teams in the grade, as Frankie recalls. "We got a tough draw in the opening game as we faced Naomh Fionnbarra who were considered one of the favourites, but we played well and beat them which gave us great confidence for the rest of the year. "The players seemed to take it on from there, and although we lost to St Mochtas in the next game, when bounced back to beat St Fechins and then came from behind to draw with Glen Emmets." As a result, Lannleire were on five points going into the least game, level with three other teams, so it really was all to play for. Once again the Dunleer men showed great character to come from behind and a last minute point secured a draw to secure a place in the knock-out stages. The reward was a meeting with local rivals, St Kevins, in the quarter-final where Lannleire showed great determination to win by five points. Unbeaten Dowdallshill provided the opposition in the semi-final and after two entertaining games, Lannleire came from behind to win through in extra-time and Frankie feels a place in the final was just reward for the efforts of the players. "We showed great team spirit to hit back in those two games and in terms of commitment alone, they deserved great credit." Unfortunately, Frankie also feels that such effort over the course of the season took its toll and it was difficult for the players to reach those heights when it came to the final. "It was great to see the players showing such spirit to come back from the dead a number of times, such as a against Stabannon, Glen Emmets and twice in the semi-final, but when it came to the final I think the effects of such a long season were beginning to tell. "It was always going to be difficult against a quality side like St Nicholas and the fact that it was our ninth game in the championship made it hard for the players to reach the top level again. "We were in a very hard group which meant that we had to be at our best in all games. That takes its toll and I felt that the team were mentally under pressure and that showed. Although we came back in the first game to draw, I believe that after that game we were nearly spent as a team. "That's the way it worked out as we would have to concede that in the replay the best team won despite the fact that we gave it everything right up to the end." While there was bitter disappointment within the squad after the final, Frankie points out that they were quick to realise what progress had been made. He reveals that while everyone is determined to go one better next year, he knows it will take an even bigger effort in 2009. "Apart from the few lads who were involved back in 1994, we have a lot of young lads who had never been beyond a championship quarter-final before. The experience of this year will stand to us all and the players now know that they are as good as any team in Junior football. "One thing we have to be careful about is the fact that expectations are going to be higher next season, so we will all need to put in an even bigger effort. However, with a lot of young players coming through we feel we have the right ingredients to succeed but it is a matter of getting the mix right." One of the most pleasing aspects of the season for Lannleire is the fact that the Junior 2 team reached the semi-final of the championship, which Frankie feels was a remarkable achievement given the success of the Junior 1 side. "Usually a team only does well in Junior 2 when the first team goes out of the championship early, but that fact that we got to the last four having lost so many players says a lot for the quality of the young players in the club. Unfortunately we were beaten by Wolfe Tones who went on to win the final but overall it was a tremendous achievement and I don't think people realised just how well they performed. "There are six or seven lads on that team around the 17/18 age who were on the verge of the first team but we expect them to come through strongly next year," he explained. Apart from the form on the field of play, Frankie points out that one of the most pleasing aspects of the season was the incredible support the team received throughout the year. "I really have to mention the support this year as it was tremendous. At the start of the season you wouldn't blame anybody for not coming to games, but from the start it was obvious that the supporters were getting behind us. As the campaign went on, the crowds got bigger all the time and most people will acknowledge that the crowd at the Junior final replay was the biggest in quite some time. There is no doubt that the majority were from Dunleer and everyone involved appreciates the support given throughout the year." Frankie is grateful to all who helped out including the hard working committee and in particular, Chairman Padraig Bolger, Secretary Declan Dowd, and Treasurer Sean Hand, who have worked very hard to keep the club going. He also expressed his thanks to former Louth and Lannleire player, Bartle Faulkner who came down from Dublin to give a number of coaching sessions in the build-up to the final. Tweet

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