St Mochtas gave the JFC another decent rattle in 2008, but once more they came up marginally short. Having contested the third-tier county final the previous year, the Louth villagers topped their group this time around and advanced to the semi-final stage, only to lose narrowly to the Nicks. Despite that setback, young attacker Liam McGranaghan is confident that the club is moving in the right direction. The Mochtas set out in 2008 determined to go one step further than they had in '07, when they were beaten in the all-county junior football championship decider. They made a brave fist of things but were edged out by 1-9 to 0-10 in their JFC semi-final at Drogheda on Sunday September 7th. Brendan Byrne's charges led on four occasions during the first half but the concession of an injury-time goal saw them 1-5 to 0-5 adrift at the interval. They closed within the minimum shortly after the restart but St Nicholas got on top to book their place in the junior decider. It was a disappointing end to the Mochtas' campaign, particularly as they had topped Group One to secure an automatic semi-final place. Having lost their opener to Glen Emmets at Ardee on Saturday June 14 (0-12 to 0-10), they bounded back with victories over Lannleire (0-11 to 0-7) at Stabannon 15 days later and Naomh Fionnbarra (3-14 to 0-7) on Thursday July 10. A draw with Stabannon in Dunleer on Saturday July 19 was enough to confirm a top-place finish in the section. But they had to wait a long time to play their next game The Mochtas boasted a massive points difference of +27, which was vastly superior to that of second-place Lannleire (+2). With 7 points from a possible 10, they advanced to the Last Four, confident of booking back-to-back all-county JFC final appearances. But it wasn't to be. Reflecting on the campaign, half forward Liam McGranaghan notes: "At the start of the year, we had two main objectives. The first was to stay in the intermediate league (Division Two) and to establish ourselves there and not get relegated. That was a real priority and we're delighted that we achieved it. But we were also looking at the junior championship. Losing the 2007 final was a big blow and we hoped to come back and win it, but it just didn't happen for us" As mentioned earlier, Brendan Byrne was over the team, with Ollie Martin and Tony McArdle as selectors and Anthony Rooney putting the players through their paces. The backroom team put in a big effort - as did everybody on the panel - but for some reason the team never quite found top gear at any stage during the year. "We never really got going," Liam Jnr. admits. "We had a lot of players out injured at various stages and we never quite managed to get the full complement out on the field at once." It's a long and disjointed year, though, and it's difficult for a team to peak at the right time. How hard is it to try to hold form from June through to September - or from one championship game in mid-July to the next in early September? "We started off in the intermediate league at the beginning of the year and you just get used to playing games every week. A lot of people did think we should do well in the championship because we were playing in Division Two. We were down as one of the favourites and we were very confident ourselves, but there are no easy games in any championship in Louth. The Glen Emmets match was a wake-up call and it made us realise just how tough it was going to be to win a junior championship. If we didn't already know it, we knew then that none of the teams could be underestimated." Three unbeaten group matches propelled the Mochtas into the semi-finals. But the two teams who topped the respective groups - St Mochtas and Dowdallshill - both failed to make the final, as the Nicks and Lannleire negotiated the longer route. In hindsight, was it a disadvantage to top the group and suffer such a long spell of inactivity? "We had a few good results and we were happy to be into the Last Four," says Liam. "I suppose the more games you play, the sharper you'll be and the teams who played quarter-finals were able to keep their sharpness. But we can't have any complaints. That's just the way it goes and we accept that the two best teams got to the final. The Nicks and Lannleire may have finished below ourselves and Dowdallshill in the group stage, but they found their form when it mattered most. "We possibly lost our edge because we had to wait around. When we played the Nicks, they were flying. But, if you are good enough to win the junior championship, then you have to win your semi-final. Those are the games you simply have to win. Fair play to the Nicks and Lannleire, they deserved to reach the final and we have no complaints whatsoever. We didn't do enough." Two-thousand-and-eight was Liam McGranaghan's fifth year on the St Mochtas first team. In his first full campaign - 2004 - the Mochtas won the JFC. In 2005, with momentum behind them, they blazed right through to the semi-final stage of the IFC and were just two hours away from a place in senior football. Then followed a forgettable year after club football in the county was restructured and a number of lower intermediate sides got a raw deal with demotion to junior ranks. "Apart from 2006, which was a poor year, we have progressed steadily," Liam insists. "A lot of good young players have come through and there is no shortage of talent in the club. It's a great honour to be part of this team and to play alongside these lads. In 2005, the momentum from winning the junior championship carried us into the intermediate semi-final and we also won the [St Judes] All-Ireland Sevens up in Dublin. "The restructuring set us back a bit but we had a brilliant year in 2007 when we won Division Three and reached the final of the junior championship. We had a great opportunity to win the JFC but unfortunately we didn't perform to our full potential on the day of the final. We held our own in '08 and there's no doubt that this group of players is good enough to push on." The heroics of the Mochtas/Brides/Annaghminnon three-way amalgamation in the 2008 Louth MFC add more fuel to the fire. There is plenty of young talent in and around Louth village these days, and the future looks bright. Liam's father, Liam McGranaghan Snr., is club secretary and a former County Board referee. He has held a variety of different roles in the club and is very much a driving force behind St Mochtas GFC. Liam Jnr. is the youngest in the family and the only one playing football. In 2000, he starred on the same Louth Development Squad U14 team as current county seniors Colm Judge, Derek Crilly, Hugh McGinn and Jimmy Murray - but a knee injury sustained at 16 set him back a couple of years. Of late, however, Liam has been one of the Mochtas' most prominent players and is very much back to his best. His hopes for the Louth village club in 2009? "If we start off the same as we did in '08, then we should have a good year. I think we'll be even more revved up for the junior championship this time. We feel that we could have won it in either of the past two seasons and we'd like to set the record straight. The break is nice to recharge your batteries but when the new season starts we'll be raring to go." Tweet

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