Moynalty Juvenile section followed up last year's successful season with a year to remember in 2006. To say this small parish is on an upward curve is an understatement. The North Meath club is on a crest of a wave after its U14 side completed the double by capturing the league and championship in the same season. They stats show just how dominant this team was. The u14s didn't suffer a single loss throughout the entire league and championship campaign. Joey Curley, who was part of the management team, explains how an achievement like this can mean so much to a club and parish. "It's absolutely fantastic to capture the two trophies in the one year. It means so much to the club and especially the players," explained Curley. "They have worked really hard over a long period. Training began in March and the work rate didn't drop in any way at all. The club has worked really hard over the last year. Credit must go to a lot of the parents also as they have been a huge help with the kids." Curley believes it's now up to the club to push the bar even higher at underage and make full use of the talent at their disposal. "The responsibility is on the club now to continue with the development of these young footballers. Two years ago we had no u-16 team so it's great to see the club making progress. All the players are really skilful footballers. There's about seven or eight players you can move around. The most pleasing aspect of the final against Carnaross was that all the players played well on the day," insisted Curley. They took on Carnaross in the Div.3 championship final. Although Moynalty opted to play against the strong wind in the first half they sprung from the traps and raced into an early lead courtesy of a goal from Paul Lynch. Carnaross responded immediately with a goal which set the tone of the first half. In what was an eventful and exciting final both teams traded scores all the way up to half-time. Kevin McCormack, son of former player Eddie McCormack, was impossible to handle on the night and finished up with 1-11 to his name. Moynalty scored two superb goals in the first half, one from Nicholas McKenna and the other one coming from David McMahon. Further points from Michael Lynch and Ronan McMahon ensured the two sides went in level at 3-7 a piece at half time. The management team of Tom Lynch, Paddy Cahill, Alan McMahon (physio) and Curley gave their troops the right words of encouragement at half time, as Moynalty gave us an exhibition of football in the second half. Every player on the field upped their performance to a level that their opponents had no answer for. They used the quick and direct ball to great effect. The team in red and white gained the upper hand around the middle with Michael Lynch in particular showing up well with some tremendous scores. The heroes weren't just in the final third of the field for Moynalty as their defence performed excellently throughout restricting Carnaross to just two scores in the second half. David Finnegan, Paul Lynch and David McMahon completed the scoring to ensure a 12-point victory for Moynalty. An excellent team performance on the night left Kieran Murphy with the honours of lifting the Div.3 cup. They completed an amazing double seven days later when they comfortably disposed of St. Cuthbert's in fine fashion. Confidence was brimming from the previous victory. On their way to the final they beat the likes of Boardsmill, Clonard and Blackhall Gaels. Once again Kevin McCormack proved the star of the show as he tormented the St. Cuthbert's defence from start until finish and finishing up with an amazing 2-14. It was hard to separate the two sides for the first ten minutes but after that Moynalty assumed control for the rest of the match. McCormack was aided in the scoring by Michael Lynch and Ollie Sheridan which left them with a lead of 1-9 to 0-4 at half-time. As expected St. Cuthbert's tried their best to battle their way back into the match but further scores from McCormack and some excellent saves from Paul Curran closed the door on any comeback. David Finnegan, Thomas Owens and Nathan Lynch excelled in a defensive unit that worked tirelessly as a team. The midfield pairing of Michael Lynch and Paul Smith joined up well in attack on many occasions while the superb support the forwards showed for each other was a telling factor in the final outcome. A delighted Kevin Murphy lifted his second trophy in what was a memorable year for both himself and the parish of Moynalty. U-14 panel: Paul Curran, Nathan Lynch, Thomas Owens, James Nevin, Kevin Murphy, David Finnegan, Paul Lynch, Michael Lynch, Paul Smith, Ronan McMahon, Kevin McCormack, Senan O'Connell, Aaron Clarke, David McMahon, Oliver Sheridan, Nicholas McKenna, Helen Iliff, Shauna Byrne, Audrey Govern, Laura Doyle, Shane Farrelly, Andrew Lynch. There's no doubt the success of the U-14 side has had a telling effect throughout the club. The spirit has been lifted and people are responding by putting in huge amounts of work behind the scenes. The passion for winning has rubbed off on other teams as the U-12 side won a blitz in Meath Hill and the U-10's came out victorious in a similar competition in Carlanstown. Charlie Farrelly is another who works hard at underage level and believes the success of the U-14 side has improved other teams within the club. "There's a great buzz around the club alright, the younger kids have seen the enjoyment the U-14's got out of winning. After the final there were about 60 or 70 of them in the hall and they all enjoyed themselves immensely. It's definitely rubbed off on the younger kids. It's great to see the U-10's and U-12's get some reward by winning two blitzes. It's all orientated towards the kids and it's great to see them bring back trophies to the club. It builds confidence," explained Farrelly. Farrelly who works mainly with the U-10's feels there are plenty of skilful players within the club. "We work really hard on the skilful side of the game; we try to get them to kick as often as they can with their weaker foot. One element we find that works really well is we don't assign a free taker with the younger teams. If you earn the free you must take it. This means there are no star players and most players get a good chance at improving that particular skill. "A lot of credit must go to John Cassidy; he takes the 6-8 year olds around February and March and you can really see them enjoying themselves and coming on from the work he does with them," concluded Farrelly. Tweet

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