Having to field an under-strength team in the early stages of the Junior Football Championship proved a heavy burden for Bective and defeats in their opening three divisional matches put an end to their hopes of making it through to the knockout stages. Bective had endured mixed fortunes in the 2006 championship when they won three and lost four of their group assignments and that left them fifth in the section on six points. So their hope going into this year's competition must have been that they would at least mount a serious challenge for a place in the business end of the battle for the Matthew Ginnity Cup. It didn't quite work out that way, but this is a generally young Bective panel and with so much work being done at under-age level and players coming up from the minor ranks to be part of the junior set-up, the club has every reason to be optimistic about the future. The juniors were managed by Brian Murtagh, a man with a proven track record whose knowledge of the game is very well respected, and the selectors were Manus Tiernan and John Gleeson. When the draws for the 2007 Junior Championship were made earlier in the year, Bective came out in Group B along with Summerhill's strong looking second string, St. Brigid's, who had won the Junior B Championship title last year, seemingly perennial title contenders Dunsany, St. Vincent's and Moynalvey. St. Brigid's provided the first round opposition when the championship got under way in April, but the visit to Kells represented a disappointing start when the men from the north-west of the county earned a runaway 11-point (3-10 to 0-8) victory over a Bective side that was weakened due to the absence of a number of players. The Ballinacree side led by 0-7 to 0-1 at the interval, but with Robbie Corcoran, Brian Cantwell, Sean Moran and Charlie Dowdall proving effective Bective improved somewhat in the second period when they stepped up considerably on their first half scoring rate to add seven points to their tally. However, the concession of three damaging goals meant there was never going to be any way back. Bective made the short journey to Kilmessan to meet Moynalvey in the second round and another defeat followed as the team from the south of the county won by double scores (2-12 to 1-6) to maintain their unbeaten start to the championship and league campaigns. On this occasion Bective gave away the goals in the first half and were eight points adrift at the change of ends (0-4 to 2-6). That proved to be too steep a mountain for Bective to climb in the second period and the defeat meant there was added importance attached to their third round meeting with St. Vincent's at Skryne. Their qualification prospects had been severely dented with those two defeats in the opening two rounds, but they also went in search of a victory that would help stave off the dreaded possibility of ending up in a relegation dogfight. As it turned out, Bective managed to stay in contention throughout this encounter, but they still suffered another defeat as the Ardcath side won narrowly by 1-10 to 1-8 to achieve their first win of the group stages. However, it was a match Bective really deserved to win. Bective got off to the start they would have hoped for when they scored a goal from a penalty in the first minute, but they failed to maintain the momentum that such a score might have generated and instead it was St. Vincent's who did most subsequently as they recovered very well to lead by 1-5 to 1-3 at the break. However, to their credit, Bective resumed very encouragingly and regained the lead early in the second half. Things looked promising at that stage, but St. Vincent's turned in a strong final quarter to be two points clear when the final whistle sounded. The fourth round assignment against a useful Summerhill second string looked like a tough ask and took on added significance from the point of view of survival in the junior grade for Bective. Another defeat at that stage would have left them in serious bother, but they responded admirably to the challenge and the pressure when they won very comfortably on a 2-9 to 0-6 score line at Kilmessan. It was significant that this was the first occasion when they had a full panel of players to choose from and it posed the question - what might have happened if they had been similarly blessed earlier in the competition? Goals, as they say, win games and Bective struck for two of them in the opening half which propelled them in the direction of a first win in the championship. Shane Breslin and Robbie McCormack were the men who found the net and those vital goals helped them to a very useful 2-4 to 0-5 advantage at the interval. Summerhill managed to reduce the deficit after the break, but Bective's reply to the threat posed to their lead was highly positive as they scored five points in succession to be all of nine clear at the end. All concerned with the team, players and management alike, must have felt a great deal better about things coming away from Kilmessan that evening after a very solid team performance had produced the desired outcome. As Bective prepared for their final group assignment against Dunsany there was still the possibility that they could finish bottom of the section and get dragged into a relegation play-off situation. They were level with St. Vincent's on two points, with the Ardcath men having completed their five-match schedule. Luckily for Bective they had a considerably superior points difference to St. Vincent's - minus 13 compared to minus 27 - and that gave them a reasonable amount of leeway as they headed for Walterstown to meet Dunsany who needed a victory very badly themselves to keep their qualification hopes alive. A draw would ensure Bective of safety, but the avoidance of a heavy defeat would also do the trick. Bective didn't manage a win to conclude their group assignments, but they did succeed in avoiding a heavy defeat and that was sufficient to guarantee their place in the junior ranks for 2008. Dunsany won by four points on a 1-10 to 1-6 score line and that wasn't good enough for them to advance to the knockout stages for the 10th successive year as they bowed out of contention. They held a healthy 1-5 to 0-2 advantage at the interval, but Bective limited them to only five points in the second period and added 1-4 themselves to reduce the deficit to just four at the final whistle. That was enough to secure their status in the grade. "We had a lot of players missing when the championship started because of injuries and for other reasons, including lads playing rugby," said Bective chairman Jim Sullivan as he looked back on the campaign. "That left us under-strength and we lost our first game to St. Brigid's and then lost to Moynalvey. "Our third game was against St. Vincent's and that was one we really should have won. We deserved to win it and even the St. Vincent's lads were saying we should have won it. If we had managed to win that one, we were still in it. "After that we won a couple of games in the league and then beat Summerhill in the championship. That was the first time that we were in a position to pick from a full squad of players. We had substitutes on the bench and had lads fighting for places. We played very well in that game." As Jim revealed, the current Bective junior team contains a lot of young players and that has to be a positive sign for the future. "Seven of our present team are under-21 and six are under-20," he added. "It will take a couple of years for some others to come through." Of course, the work being done at under-age level is vital to the future and Bective will hope to reap the rewards for this effort in the years ahead. "Our minor structures are in place for only about six years and last year and this year we had players coming through from minor," said Jim. "That will continue to be the situation in the future. We are building up a squad of players and with the younger lads coming through there will be players fighting for places." An indication of the qualify of players being produced by the Bective under-age section can be gauged from the fact that Darragh Smith and Jack Grant were part of the Meath minor set-up this year and they had three players involved with the county under-14 training squads. Bective are a club with their sights set firmly on the future and they will hope that future includes another Junior Championship title quite soon. Bective/Cannistown Juvenile football review Under 8's and under 10's Our season began on 23rd March with training, and continued every Friday evening at 6.00pm until the end of October. Our under 10's played several highly entertaining games with home and away fixtures against teams from Ballivor, Ballinabrackey, Clonard, Longwood, Dunderry, Boardsmill and Kildalkey. We took part in the U10 'Go-Games' football open day in Dunganny on the 26th May which proved very successful .Our U10's and U8's took part in the Simonstown Blitz - which was enjoyed by all, and both age groups also represented our club versus Wolfe Tones at our annual Cannistown Area sports day in September. This year, again, the emphasis was on fun and enjoyment with over 50 young players taking part. We crowned off our season with our annual "Super-Do" in Supermacs at the end of October. Manager Mary McConnell would like to thank under 10 coach Paul Roche, and Daniel Harkin and Fiona O'Sullivan at under 8 level for their help during the year. Under 12 Beaten only by a couple of points in each of our first three games by Ballinlough, St. Cuthbert's and Moynalty respectively. We won our fourth game by a single point after a thrilling contest against Ballivor while losing in an equally thrilling final match against Rathkenny. The future looks bright with some great displays throughout the year by Adam Keating, Darragh Maguire, Colin Foley, Lee Manning, Padraigh Harkin, John Moran, Kayleigh Crinion, Sean Fitzsimons, Alex Carpenter, Aaron Smith, Cahal McConnell and the great Bertie Cunningham (no relation). Under 13 The U13 team got off to a terrific start with victories over Round Towers, Nobber, Castletown and Kilmainhamwood. They beat Nobber in the semi-final before going on to win the title. Bective gained revenge for an earlier defeat at the hands of Syddan by beating them in the U13 final at Kilberry by 2-10 to 0-7. Bective got off to a flying start and had three points on the board before Syddan got off the mark. The Cannistown outfit were playing some neat football and scored a fine goal through stylish corner forward Michael Lyness to leave the half time score reading, Bective/Cannistown 1-7 to Syddan's 0-4. Syddan started the second half brightly, but could not penetrate the winner's defence which was well marshalled by captain Stephen Keelan, Darragh Maguire and Colin Foley. With Pauric McConnell winning a lot of ball around the middle and top scorer Paul McCabe kicking some delightful points, Bective/Cannistown were now well on top. A fine double save from net minder Gary Killion broke up the field and skilful wing forward Bertie Cunningham (on the same day his namesake was being honoured in Pairc Tailteann) rattled the net to give Bective/Cannistown a deserved victory. Bective Cannistown - Gary Killion, Adam O'Flynn, Stephen Keelan, John Moran, Darragh Maguire, Adam Keating, Colin Foley, Alex Carpenter, Pauric McConnell, Bertie Cunningham (1-0), Paul McCabe (0-8), Cathal McConnell (0-1), Aaron Smyth (0-1), Ryan Keating, Michael Lyness (1-0). Subs - Donal O'Regan, Padraig Harkin, Dara Clarke, Calum Reilly, Lee Manning, Patrick Flanagan, Ciaran Casey, Aaron O'Brien, Sean Fitzpatrick, Eddie Power, Christen Keane, Keaton Meade, Edward Murray. Team Manager Sean Moran and his selectors Vinno Keating and Kenny Keelan are very pleased with the progress made in 2007. Adult player Jarlath Brennan deserves a mention for his help at U13 level. Under 14 and under 15 At under 14and under 15 level, the past year has been quiet, with no notable victories partly due to having too few players of appropriate age and playing in a division too high for our team. The Summer Shield Competition introduced a few new players', which helped strengthen our squad. Team manager, Paddy McConnell deserves great praise for his hard work in this area. Under 16 and under 17 The club reached the semi-final of a very competitive U16 Division 3B. The side were eventually beaten by the outright winners Oldcastle who got their revenge, having been beaten by us in the earlier rounds. Martin Mulhall, Franno Barry and Dessie O'Brien were the management team. The under 17 team have got off to a flying start with a number of impressive victories at the time of writing. Minor Playing out of Division 3B, we had wins over Inny Gaels, St. Patrick's, Wolfe Tones and a draw against Ballinabrackey, with defeats against Na Fianna and Dee Rangers we qualified for the semi-final. Again we were beaten by the eventual winners whom we had defeated in the earlier rounds, Inny Gaels getting the better of us in a thrilling semi-final. The hard working management team for 2007 were Gerry Keating, Sean Reilly and Peter Byrne. A special thanks to team trainer, Brian Murtagh. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of all the underage mentors mentioned above, there is now an excellent under age structure within the club. With players from last year's minor and under 17 teams currently playing with the adult teams, and with more to follow in 2008, we are now beginning to see the fruits of our labour. We expect this trend to continue and strengthen over the next few years, and we are confident that we will be celebrating a junior championship win in the not too distant future. Tweet

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