After the promise demonstrated in 2007, Moylagh could justifiably have gone into this year's Junior Football Championship with hopes of winning the title, but instead they bowed out at the last eight stage against one of the most consistent teams in the grade, Dunsany. Dunsany are proving to be something of a bogey team for Moylagh at that stage of the competition because they beat them by all of nine points in a quarter-final at Martry in 2006. This time the victory margin was less at six points, but the disappointment was just as great for all concerned with the Moylagh side. They recovered well from that reversal in '06 to finish second behind champions to be Clann na nGael in their group last year and then defeated Dunboyne's second string at the quarter-final stage, before bowing out at the penultimate hurdle against Moynalvey who also went on to get the better of them in the A League Div. 4 decider later in the year. But at least Moylagh achieved promotion to the higher division. Exiting the championship so close to a big, big day at Pairc Tailteann undoubtedly represented a massive disappointment, but the dream goes on and when the 2008 championship draws were made early this year there was the usual interest in who they would have to meet in the divisional stages. Moylagh were drawn in group C and one match stood out like a beacon in the section - a meeting with neighbours St Brigid's which would be the highlight of the second round programme. Also in the section were Moynalvey, who went on to lose last year's final to Clann na nGael, Curraha, Meath Hill, who were also eliminated at the last eight stage in 2007, and the second string team from senior club Summerhill. It was a tricky looking section, but Moylagh's form in recent years suggested that they were more than capable of advancing from it to play knockout football once again. They were coached by Johnny Guirke, who returned home a couple of years ago after a lengthy stay in Boston, and the selectors were cousins Declan and Dara Flood. Moylagh could hardly have asked for a tougher test of their credentials when the championship got under way than a meeting with Moynalvey, the team that frustrated their title ambitions on two fronts last year. That game took place at Bohermeen and Moylagh made a great start to the campaign with a 1-10 to 1-8 victory which singled them out as definite title contenders. Moynalvey had also won a couple of weeks earlier when the sides met in the league, so the men from the north west of the county certainly had every reason to seek revenge after suffering at the hands of their opponents on so many occasions. Moylagh demonstrated improvement in their form for the championship rematch, but it was Moynalvey who opened up a 1-5 to 1-2 lead at the interval. However, Moylagh upped the tempo of their play in the second period which they won by 0-8 to 0-3 and when the final whistle sounded they had achieved a victory that should have sent confidence soaring. Danny O'Growney contributed handsomely to the win with a tally of 1-2 and Aengus Fanning and Michael Corrigan scored two points each. Millbrook provided the setting for an intriguing second round meeting with St Brigid's who, like Moylagh, had reached the semi-finals last year where they bowed out of the title race against Clann na nGael. And it was the Ballinacree men who got the victory thanks to a brilliant point from Tomas Blake two minutes into injury time. Both teams had a player sent off in the first half and Blake's accuracy helped St Brigid's to lead by 0-8 to 1-2 at the interval after Eanna Brody had scored the Moylagh goal. They battled back very well to take the lead by a point, but Blake, who was on the mark eight times over the hour, notched the last two scores to earn Brigid's a dramatic 0-12 to 1-8 victory. After the highs of beating Moynalvey first time out, this defeat represented something of a low, but Moylagh had an opportunity to return to winning ways when they met Curraha in the third round at Bohermeen. Curraha had opened their qualification bid in impressive fashion with a victory over St Brigid's, so on a straight line of form they must have fancied their chances. They had also beaten Summerhill in the second round, so their confidence should have been high as they prepared to meet Moylagh. However, it was Moylagh who got the win they needed to maintain their hopes of a place in the last eight as they came out on top by four points (1-10 to 0-9). The victory enabled them to join Curraha at the top of the section, but it was all to play for at the interval when the sides were locked together on 0-6 each. Michael Corrigan's second half goal proved to be the most significant score of the contest and he was his side's leading marksman with 1-1. On another positive note for Moylagh, no fewer than nine different players managed to get their names on the score sheet. A fourth round match against Summerhill's struggling second 15 at Kildalkey appeared to represent a straight forward test for Moylagh, but it turned out to be a much tougher assignment than anticipated before a two point victory was recorded on a 1-11 to 0-12 score line. Again, Moylagh got the only goal of the game and it was vitally important. Everything appeared to be going along the lines of the script when Moylagh raced into a double scores (1-7 to 0-5) advantage at the break after Eamonn Boyle had scored the goal, but if they thought they were going to have an easy ride in the second period they were very mistaken. Instead, Summerhill demonstrated plenty of the club's traditional battling qualities and got themselves back into contention. However, in the end, that goal from Boyle was essentially the difference between the teams and had guarded Moylagh against the threat of a serious recovery from the gutsy 'Hill side in the second half. It was a win that pushed the winners firmly in the direction of their first big goal of the championship - knockout football. Meath Hill, who had been eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Clann na nGael in 2007, provided the opposition in the concluding round of group games at Carnaross where it finished all square (Moylagh 1-10, Meath Hill 2-7). The point gained was enough to see Moylagh through to the last eight, but there was heartbreak for the 'Hill who missed a second half penalty. Aengus Fanning made an important personal contribution of 1-2 to the victory, while their resolute defending under pressure was also a big factor in earning a draw. When the group action had concluded and the calculators were activated, the results were very contrasting for the teams as they headed away from Carnaross. Moynalvey had topped the section on eight points, but the big issue was who would accompany them into the business end of the championship. Moylagh's dream of glory was still alive as they had a score difference of plus seven to Meath Hill's plus four and they could start to get themselves ready for a second quarter-final meeting with Dunsany in the space of three years. The venue was Simonstown and the outcome was bitterly disappointing as the team in red won by 0-14 to 1-5. It was Moylagh who made the more productive start to the match, but Dunsany reeled off five successive points coming up to half-time to lead by 0-6 to 0-4 at the interval. Joe Melia scored the only goal of the game in the second period to give his side a boost, but Dunsany were the better team and were six points clear at the end. Melia was Moylagh's top scorer with 1-1, Fanning got three points and substitute Thomas Reilly got the remaining score, but it just wasn't enough and the dream of championship glory goes on into 2009. "We beat Moynalvey in the first round of the championship," recalled club PRO Sean Fox. "They beat us in the semi-final last year, so that win was a huge boost. Confidence was high after that. But we were brought back down to earth when St Brigid's, our neighbours, beat us in the second round. "After that, we got ourselves together again and beat Curraha and Summerhill and drew with Meath Hill. We scraped through to the quarter-finals, but Dunsany beat us. We knew Dunsany were a good team. "Hurling may be the number one game in that area with Kilmessan so successful, but Dunsany are well able to play football. It was a big disappointment for us, but we just had to take it on the chin. "Justin O'Reilly went to Australia. He was a huge loss to us. I can remember him scoring 3-6 in a league game against Dunsany last year, so he is a very important player to us. Emmet Grall also went to Australia and he was a big loss as well. "We would have liked to go a step further this year after reaching the semi-finals last year, but hopefully it will happen next year. Hopefully, we will have Justin back by then. That would be a big boost." Tweet

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