In comparison to other seasons, the 2006 campaign may not have been the most successful for Dundalk Gaels as they failed to secure promotion back to senior ranks, but The Ramparts club did managed to land both the Grogan Cup and the Division 2A title, so they have many reasons to look back on the year with satisfaction. Not surprisingly, the ultimate aim at the start of the season was championship glory, and although that ended in disappointing fashion with semi-final defeat, team manager Niall Lambert believes that there are many reasons to be happy with the progress the team has made this year. With the majority of the team now in their early 20s, Niall feels that the club could have a bright future if the players are willing to give the commitment necessary to bring success to the Dundalk club. "Due to the new structures being introduced next year, out first priority was to make sure that we didn't end up being relegated back to junior football. Thankfully, we made a good start and quickly made sure we would stay up…" Gaels went on to win the Toner Cup, the prize on offer for the Division 2A league. They confirmed their status as Division Two winners when they defeated town rivals Na Piarsaigh by 1-13 to 1-6 at The Ramparts on Sunday November 5. Frustratingly, though they won two of the three intermediate trophies on offer to them, the Gaels still missed out on promotion to senior ranks. "I thought our league form was fine, as were our performances in the Grogan Cup, but like every other club we really wanted to make an impression on the championship. At the outset, I felt it would be a big challenge especially with such a young team, and looking around I thought the likes of Na Piarsaigh, O Raghallaighs, Naomh Malachi, O'Connells and Hunterstown would be in the frame along with ourselves." The Gaels made a good start to Group A with a 3-7 to 0-7 win over neighbours, Dowdallshill, and despite losing to Naomh Fionnbarra on a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-10, they got back on track with a 1-11 to 0-9 win over Naomhh Malachi in the next outing. They followed up with a 1-13 to 0-10 victory Stabannon Parnells That meant a play-off against Naomhh Malachi to decide which side went through to the semi-final and it was The Ramparts men who came out with a 2-10 to 1-8 win after extra-time. "As the championship season progressed, I began to believe that we had a very good chance. It wasn't that we were over-confident but when you get to a semi-final, you have to believe that you can go all the way." The Gaels faced O'Connells in the semi-final and were fancied by many to advance, but despite dominating much of the game, Niall's side were guilty of missing a number of chances and it was the Bellingham side that advanced. "I felt we had no luck against O'Connells because we were on top for much of the game but couldn't score. I think we ended up with something like 14 wides and ended up losing by 0-12 to 0-9. "When we look back over the season we can take encouragement from the fact that we were able to compete with the top sides on a regular basis and that is something positive for us. Naomhh Malachi went on to win the Intermediate Championship but we played them five times this year and beat them five times, which makes you wonder what might have been. However, rather than reflecting on the past, the real challenge for us is to take confidence from those results going into next year. "Nevertheless, I really think we made progress over the course of the season and that was my aim at the outset. When you consider that we had ten U21s playing in the championship semi-final, I believe we are going in the right direction. "A lot of players from the successful teams of the 1990s and early 2000s have hung up their boots so we really are in the process of creating a new team. Some of the young players have come in and made their mark so we are looking at building a team around the likes of Jamie Faulkner, Eamonn Kenny, David Moley, Sean Martin, Gerard and Sean Fee, Kevin McArdle, Derek Crilly, David McComish, Sean McCann and Stephen Coleman." While Niall acknowledges that there is plenty of talent and potential around the club at the minute, there is no guarantee of success and that a lot of hard work will have to be done if they are to achieve their ambitions in the near future. "We know that success can never be guaranteed but there is little doubt that there is great potential. Most of these players have played under-age with Louth so the talent is there, but now it is a question of whether they have the desire or the interest to get their reward." This is Niall's second year as manager and is still undecided as to whether he will continue in the post next season. Whatever his decision, he insists that the best interests of the club will be uppermost in his mind when he makes up his mind. "It is not just a case of me wanting to do the job as I have to consider whether I can take these players on to the next stage. My aim is to guide the players and help them progress so the adult team is on a sound footing for the next few years, and if someone else needs to come in to make further progress I would be quite happy with that. "When you have a relatively young squad, a manager is looking to get players into good habits and fortunately the lads are generally in good habits. They are all very keen to succeed and many of them go to the gym regularly and train on their own as well as training with the club. Therefore there is a strong base to the team and I am optimistic that unless they are particularly unlucky, they will bring success to the club over the next few years. Aside from talent, Niall believes that one of the key elements of success is that the players stick together when things are not going well. "I think one of the more important things is that a team sticks together through difficult times. It is easy to keep going when you are winning but it is important to be able to handle defeat and to learn from that, as I believe a team with endurance is more likely to succeed." The players did get a taste of that success when they landed the Grogan Cup title with victory over holders Naomhh Malachi in June. The Dundalk men were in fine form in the league stages and qualified for the semi-final where they scored a 2-16 to 1-11 win over O'Connells. The final was played in Roche on June 10 and looked to be going against Gaels when a poor first half saw them trail by 0-7 to 0-1 at the interval. However, Gaels showed their real form in the second half and when Errol Boyle's line-ball was bundled over the line they were back in contention. Taking heart from that score, the Dundalk men controlled the remainder of the game and came out on top with a deserved victory and a taste of success that they club hopes will inspire the young players over the next few seasons. Tweet

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