Having won the Junior Championship on each of their previous two seasons in the grade, Dowdallshill were hoping to make it a hat-trick of Christy Bellew titles when they started their preparations for the 2007 season. Those hopes were boosted by the return of Hugh McParland as manager after a two year absence. The man who led the club to the Junior title in 2003 after a gap of 33 years was optimistic that the club would he in the shake-up for honours once again, but after a season disrupted by injury his side failed to land any silverware. "We began the season with hopes of winning something and of course the championship was the big one that we had our eye on. "We felt that we had as good a chance as any team in the grade but unfortunately, for different reasons, it didn't work out for us." The confidence in the club appeared to be justified in the early part of the season with promising wins in the shield, league and championship. However, they were unable to maintain that momentum and failed to match that consistent form for the remainder of the season. "Things started pretty well for us," stated Hugh, as we had good wins in the league and followed up with an impressive victory over Glen Emmets in the opening game of the championship. It was looking promising at that stage but unfortunately the injuries started to mount up at that stage and after losing a number of players we found it hard to get going again. "The problem was that we were forced to make a series of changes and we found ourselves in the position that we couldn't field the same team in consecutive matches for the rest of the season. "Although we did have some good young players coming it, the lack of a settled team made it difficult for us to get into any real rhythm. "When there are two or three changes forced on you every game it makes it hard for everyone to prepare for games. "It was difficult for players who were out because we were short numbers they didn't really get a chance to get back to proper fitness as we had to put them straight back in to the team," said Hugh. This contributed to the fact that Dowdallshill were unable recapture their early season form but despite this, they still managed to reach the semi-final of the championship and also the Kevin Mullen Shield Final. Despite the overall disappointment of not picking up any silverware, this proved that the team has plenty of potential and will be hoping to build on that next year and make a real challenge for honours. In terms of the championship, Dowdallshill got off to a great start when a whirlwind start saw them score a 5-10 to 1-8 win over Glen Emmets in what was the first game of the championship season on April 12th at Stabannon. However, the St Brigid's Park outfit were unable to repeat that performance when they faced Naomh Fionnbarra and suffered a 0-14 to 0-3 defeat. However, they were back in contention when a late goal saw them score a dramatic 2-7 to 1-8 win over Young Irelands in an entertaining Dundalk derby. They championship took a break until August when Dowdallshill faced St Mochtas and again it was a very entertaining game that saw the Hill come back to level late on and grab a 2-9 each draw and keep themselves very much in the hunt. That left them needing a least a draw from their final group game against St Nicholas to secure a place in the knock-out stages. However, in what was one of the most disappointing displays of the season, they went down by 1-14 to 4-3. Despite this disappointment Dowdallshill showed great character to bounce back a week later and beat the same opposition, which was something that pleased the manager. "We had a chance against the Nicks to qualify in the final game of the group but lost out which meant that we had to face them in a play-off a week later. It was a big test for us especially as we had more injury problems but a few lads came in and did well as we turned in a very good performance to win by 0-7 to 0-5." That meant that the Hill were into a championship quarter-final but faced a difficult task against Lannleire. The game in Ballybailie looked to be going away from the Dundalk men in the second half but they showed their battling qualities once again to come out with a 2-10 to 2-8 win. As a result St Mochtas were next up in the semi-final but despite growing confidence, Hugh admits his side were second best. "We had played well against Lannleire but didn't get going in the semi-final and St Mochtas deserved to win. We lost Noel Mohan early in the second half and that was a blow to us but we were struggling to get scores throughout the game and it just didn't happen. "In the end I think the injuries caught up with us as a lot of the lads were not as fit as they might have been at that stage of the season and just couldn't get back up to the standards they had set for themselves earlier in the year," explained Hugh. Dowdallshill's best chance of silverware came in the Mullen Shield as their early season form ensured they would contest the final against Glen Emmets in Stabannon "Our good start to the season helped us qualify for the Shield final against Glen Emmets. Unfortunately we hadn't the same team that played them in the championship and you have to hand it to them because they learned from the championship match and came away with the victory. "The got a goal at a crucial time and held out for the win but it was very disappointing for us to lose a final." Looking back on the season Hugh feels that despite some positives it wasn't one to remember. "When you don't win any trophies you have to be disappointed so it wasn't a great season. We only reached the semi-final of the championship but nobody is going to remember you for that and that is the competition you are judged on," added Hugh. However, there are some positives to be taken from the season as Hugh feels the injury problems resulted in some of the younger players being given a chance to prove themselves. "We had players like Stephen McGinn and Anton Rogers who came in and took their chances to show that they have a lot to offer over the coming years. "I think the club has been plenty to look forward to because the team is relatively young with most still under the age of 30. With two or three looking to break into the team I think we have the ability to push anybody in this grade." Tweet

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