The road back to a final can seem long and rocky after you have lost one, but Moynalvey successfully negotiated the journey this year, before they went on to be thoroughly worthy winners of their first Junior Football Championship title since 1981. By Paul Clarke. Clann na nGael frustrated their title ambitions at the last hurdle in 2007 and while they certainly didn't start this year's campaign on a convincing note when losing their group opener to Moylagh, there was no denying their status as the best team in the grade once they warmed to the challenge. Nobody could possibly have predicted how easily they would win the final against Ratoath and their greatest challenge of the knockout stages came in the semi-final when they battled their way past Longwood in extra-time. Moynalvey were again managed by Kildare native PJ Cummins, with Sean McDermott, Adrian O'Halloran, Ollie Gilsenan and John Smith acting as selectors, and the hope now will be that they can do as the 1981 side did and go on to win the intermediate title. That particular bunch of players took just two years to make the next step up and they went on to be a formidable senior outfit. Last year Moynalvey had the consolation of winning the A League Div. 4 title, but they wanted the big prize this year and set out on the long road back to Pairc Tailteann with an opening group assignment against Moylagh, who they had beaten at the penultimate hurdle in 2007 and in that league decider. They had also defeated the men from the north-west of the county in a league match a couple of weeks before this latest championship encounter. This time, Moylagh got a measure of revenge when winning by 1-10 to 1-8 in a superb contest at Bohermeen. Moynalvey looked capable of taking the points when they led by 1-5 to 1-2 at the interval, but Moylagh did the brunt of the scoring in the second period to shade the verdict by a couple of points. Moynalvey bounced back from that reversal in impressive fashion when they beat Meath Hill by 1-13 to 1-6 at Walterstown. Highly talented youngster Mark O'Sullivan, a son of former Walterstown and Meath player Frank, scored the goal which helped them to a 1-5 to 1-3 interval lead and they were still two points (1-8 to 1-6) ahead at the three-quarter stage. The Hill didn't score subsequently as Moynalvey tagged on five unanswered points. Neighbours Summerhill provided the third round opposition at Kilmessan and Moynalvey won comfortably by 3-9 to 0-6, with Cathal Sheridan scoring the goal which helped them to a 1-5 to 0-2 half-time advantage. John Donoghue and substitute James Weldon found the net in the second period to copper-fasten their position of supremacy. Moynalvey moved to the top of the group when they defeated St Brigid's by 0-11 to 1-6 at Cortown where the losers had two players sent off. The Ballinacree side led by 1-3 to 0-5 at the break, but three superb points from O'Sullivan helped Moynalvey to overtake them in the second period and win narrowly. Curraha were Moynalvey's last group opponents and they secured top spot in the section when winning by 1-15 to 0-7 at Dunganny. The advantage stood at 0-7 to 0-2 at the interval and Willie Byrne's second half goal helped them put plenty of daylight between themselves and the opposition. When the group action had concluded Moynalvey topped the division with eight points, followed by Moylagh and Meath Hill on seven. Moylagh secured the other quarter-final place by virtue of a better score difference, but they exited the championship when losing to Dunsany. Moynalvey's quarter-final opponents were Kilbride and this turned out to be a very one-sided contest as they won by 4-9 to 0-4 at Walterstown. Byrne scored a first half goal and the interval lead stood at 1-4 to 0-0. The second period belonged to O'Sullivan who bagged three goals which helped his side to push well clear. That runaway victory left them just one step away from a second successive final appearance, but first they had to overcome Longwood's stern challenge in a semi-final which was played in atrocious conditions at Pairc Tailteann. This was a cracking encounter which Moynalvey won by 0-15 to 0-13 after extra-time, with Sheridan playing a starring role with 10 points. Mickey Burke almost matched him as he scored nine points for Longwood who were on level terms at the interval (0-5 each) after they had conceded the first three points. The second half remained tight and it culminated in Burke converting a superb free to leave the teams tied on 0-12 each at the end of normal time. Moynalvey outscored Longwood by 0-3 to 0-1 in the additional 20 minutes to book their place in the final against a Ratoath side that had beaten Dunsany by 0-9 to 0-6 in the other semi-final at Dunshaughlin the same day. There was no denying which was the superior team in the final as Moynalvey returned to the intermediate ranks, from where they were demoted in 2002, thanks to a clearcut and fully merited 0-16 to 0-7 victory. Moynalvey played with a passion and focus from the word go which suggested they really meant business. Six different players shared in their 11 points from play and by comparison Ratoath scored all their points from frees. Those statistics accurately reflect the overall trend of the decider. Damien Dixon was rock solid at the heart of a hard-working defence, John and Stephen Donoghue gave them a grip at midfield and they had an attacking star in Byrne who scored four points from play and generally worked his socks off. Veteran Sheridan wasn't content to hang around the goal area and did a tremendous amount of work further out the field. He also contributed six points, five of them from frees. O'Sullivan put Moynalvey ahead with a point inside the first minute and they added four more before Ratoath got off the mark. The lead stood at 0-8 to 0-3 by the change of ends, but the losers launched a mini revival which cut the deficit to 0-6 to 0-9 nine minutes into the second period. However, that revival was short-lived and Moynalvey never lost their composure as they set about killing off the contest. They won the final third of the match by 0-7 to 0-1 and there was absolutely no denying their superiority as they made up for the considerable disappointment of a year earlier. The honour of accepting the Matthew Ginnity Cup went to captain Padraig Donoghue. The atmosphere in the Moynalvey dressingroom was, understandably, so different to the corresponding occasion in 2007 when they were beaten. Winning the final after losing one probably heightened the feeling of elation. Of course, Moynalvey had started the championship with a defeat, but that probably worked in their favour and they went on to win all their games subsequently. "We lost to Moylagh in our first match," said manager PJ Cummins after the final whistle. "It was a bit like Tyrone losing to Down. They were so disappointed. They gave us a lesson and it was the right time to get a kick in the behind. We came back strong since then." It was a very solid performance from Moynalvey from the word go on the big day and the manner in which they limited Ratoath to so few scores was impressive. "We didn't let them play," the manager added. "We couldn't let them play. We had the same back six all year and didn't change them." And how were Moynalvey feeling when Ratoath threatened a recovery early in the second half after they had trailed by five points at the interval? "You are never far enough in the lead in a game," Cummins said. "We didn't think we had it won. We knew they would come back at us. The thing is how well you play when the other team is on top and we did that very well." The Moynalvey team in the final was - O Regan; R Kiernan, P Donoghue, D Kane; P Weldon (0-1), D Dixon, A Brien; S Donoghue, J Donoghue; D Donoghue, C Sheridan (0-6), R Quinlan (0-2); B Gilsenan, W Byrne (0-4), M O'Sullivan (0-2). Subs - S Reilly for D Donoghue, C Collins for Gilsenan, PJ Walsh (0-1) for Sheridan, D Durkan for Brien, J Weldon for Quinlan. Moynalvey's second string team operated in the Junior C Championship and they were left to ponder on what might have been if they had managed to negotiate the quarter-final hurdle where Blackhall Gaels, who went on to claim the title, edged them out after a replay. Moynalvey included victories over St Colmcille's, Rathkenny and Moylagh on the way to a last eight meeting with Blackhall at Dunshaughlin. They fell seven points adrift in the opening half, but came back to force a draw (Moynalvey 1-9, Blackhall 2-6). An even poorer start followed in the replay at Dunganny where Blackhall raced into a 2-3 to 0-0 lead after only nine minutes, but goals from Ray Ryan, Shane Collins and Ger McHale helped Moynalvey to recover and trail by 3-1 to 2-7 at the interval. Ryan netted again after the change of ends to draw the sides level and Moynalvey later went ahead, but Blackhall's third goal proved highly significant as they shaded the verdict by 3-10 to 4-5. Moynalvey were left to regret a very good goal chance that wasn't taken in the closing stages. The Moynalvey team in the replay was - G Drumm; S Carroll (0-1), Z Donoghue, D Durkan; W Mahady, P Garvey, S Courtney; B Dixon, P Corcoran; R Ryan (2-1), S Reilly, C Ennis; S Collins (1-3), G McHale (1-0), R Donovan. Subs - S White for Dixon, M Ryan for Donovan. U21: Moynalvey make amazing comeback Moynalvey produced an amazing second half comeback to recover from an 11 point deficit and defeat Clann na Gael (3-13 to 3-10) after extra time in this exciting under 21 C championship final played in Dunganny. Things did not look good for Moynalvey in this game as the half time whistle blew. Despite early first half points from Phillip Garvey and James Weldon, Clann na Gael had dominated the majority of the half and three goals to accompany 3 points had them 3-3 to 0-2 ahead at the interval. Moynalvey had lost midfielder James Weldon to a straight red card midway through the half and he was joined on the line by the Clann na Gael corner forward after an off the ball incident. Things looked bleak for the men in maroon but instead of allowing their heads to drop, Moynalvey took on the challenge and delivered an unbelievable second half performance after some astute half time words of wisdom and positional switches from manager Stephen Donoghue and selectors PJ Walsh and Adrian O'Halloran. Clann na Gael scored the first point of the second half to push 11 points clear on a scoreline of 3-4 to 0-2. However, the Moynalvey revival then commenced and a Ray Ryan point was followed up by a goal from Peter Durnin to cut the deficit to 7 points. Further points from Mark O'Sullivan (2), Ryan and Durnin along with a Phillip Garvey goal had Moynalvey right back in the mix and they trailed by four points entering the last 10 minutes. Mark O'Sullivan was then unlucky to see his penalty saved and it looked like Moynalvey's chance was gone. However, Peter Durnin goaled shortly after to leave the minimum between the sides and it was O'Sullivan that then popped up with the equaliser to leave the scoreline at 3-8 apiece as the full time whistle blew. Moynalvey, encouraged by a large support, now looked to have the upper hand and they looked the fitter team throughout extra time. Five extra time points from substitute Luke Duffy, Phillip Garvey, O'Sullivan (2) and Ryan in response to two Clann na Gael points meant Moynalvey pushed clear and closed out to win what was a very memorable game. Team captain David Donoghue accepted the cup on behalf of his team mates. Moynalvey - B Reilly, W Mahady, S Carroll, J Duffy, D Donoghue, D Smith, J Weldon (0-1), Paul Garvey, R Ryan (0-3), P Durnin (2-1), M O'Sullivan (0-5), Phillip Garvey (1-2), F Cunningham. Subs - L Duffy (0-1) for F Cunningham, TJ Lynch for S Carroll. Tweet

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