Moynalty's bid for Junior B Football Championship honours came to an end at the quarter-final stage in 2007 when they lost to Wolfe Tones, but they demonstrated plenty of character in that match which went to extra time. Wolfe Tones had won the Junior C title the previous year to go with their breakthrough success at senior level and included one Tommy Dowd in their attack, so they were always going to mount a serious challenge for honours in the higher grade. That said, it was undoubtedly a big disappointment for Moynalty when their championship ambitions faltered at the last eight stage. They also enjoyed some good results in Division 5 of the All County A League, to which they had been relegated the previous year, and weren't too far off a final place and promotion. They were coached by former player Ben Smith for the 2007 campaign and he was joined on the selection team by his brother Tony and David Murtagh. When the championship draws were made earlier in the year, Moynalty must have at least quietly fancied their prospects of emerging from group B which looked quite challenging, but clearly also offered good opportunities to amass the points that would see them safely through to the business end of the battle for the Larry Kearns Memorial Cup that is the prize for the Junior B Championship winners. The section also included the second string teams from three senior clubs - Walterstown, Blackhall Gaels and Seneschalstown - as well as Bellewstown who had been finding the going tough in the previous few campaigns. Moynalty would undoubtedly have liked to get their campaign off to a winning start to give confidence in the camp a good lift, but that wasn't how it worked out as Walterstown got the better of them with a fair bit to spare when the sides met in a championship opener at Martry. Things were looking very good for the team in red when they scored the first three points of the contest courtesy of Damien Lynch, Ciaran Govern and Patrick Sheridan, but they failed to build on that highly encouraging start as a more than useful Walterstown team steadily found their feet, began to hit the target with regularity and reeled off nine successive points to move into a comfortable 0-9 to 0-3 lead at the interval. It was always going to be extremely difficult for Moynalty to recover from that situation and the odds were clearly stacked against them. That's how it turned out as Walterstown continued to enjoy the better of the exchanges in the second period to push further clear. By the time the final whistle was sounded they were ahead by 0-17 to 0-6 and it was now a matter of setting out on a recovery mission for the Moynalty men with clear opportunities for victories lying in wait. And, to their credit, they did just that as they won their remaining three matches in the group stages to achieve their first big goal of a place in the quarter-finals. The first championship victory was achieved with a minimum margin (0-10 to 1-6) success over Bellewstown and when a more clearcut win followed in the third round against Blackhall Gaels, who they defeated by 1-11 to 1-6, Moynalty's bid for a place in the knockout stages was very much up and running again. Blackhall had beaten them in the championship the previous year, so that was a sweet victory. It was back to the scene of that first round loss against Walterstown when Moynalty travelled over to Martry to meet Seneschalstown's second 15 in the last round of divisional matches. They went in search of a third straight victory and they got it when they had four points to spare over the Yellow Furze outfit, winning by 0-12 to 0-8. Unfortunately, it was a win achieved at a price because Ronan Tormay picked up a bad shoulder injury. Conditions were dreadful, with the players on both sides struggling to come to terms as this year's miserable Irish summer weather took its toll. However, with David Murtagh making a significant personal contribution of five points and Donal Lynch, Sean Lynch, Alan Brogan and Shane Brogan also proving to be particularly effective, Moynalty got the victory they wanted and were through to the quarter-finals. And there to meet them at Carlanstown were Wolfe Tones who would later clinch the title with a final victory over another second string outfit, Trim. Moynalty would have had no illusions about the extent of the challenge they faced against the previous year's Junior C winners, but they gave as good as they got for much of the contest before the Tones took command during extra time to book their place in the last four. The winners opened up a 0-6 to 0-2 advantage at the interval in normal time, but Moynalty deserved enormous credit for the manner in which they battled back in the second period to force the match to an addition 20 minutes, with Kenny Coldrick scoring the all-important goal that prolonged an entertaining contest. However, it was Wolfe Tones who found most in extra time as they reeled off points with great consistency to be ahead by 1-17 to 1-9 at the end. Moynalty had given it everything and certainly didn't deserve to be eight points adrift following over 80 minutes of action. Losing games in the knockout stages is always extremely disappointing, as it brings a sudden end to the dream of outright success, but Moynalty can certainly take encouragement from that particular performance against what was a strong Wolfe Tones' second string. "We got out of the group stages and through to the quarter-finals, but lost to Wolfe Tones after extra time at Carlanstown," said club secretary Michael Casey as he reflected on the Junior B campaign. "They were strong and, of course, they went on to win it out. "We were probably a bit lucky to be level at the end of normal time, yet we could have won it. It was disappointing." Fortunately for Moynalty, they have youth on their side and the big hope has to be that the work being done at under-age level will eventually bring its rewards at adult level. "They are probably a bit young at the moment, so it is a case of looking to the future," Casey added. "We have been doing well at under-age level over the last couple of years and hopefully they will come through." UNDERAGE SUCCESS Moynalty turned in a solid performance to win the U-12 FL Div. 3 title with a 4-5 to 2-6 final victory over Rathkenny at Drumconrath in early June, which provided another clear indication of the dedicated work being carried out with the under-age set up in the club. They came face to face with a physically strong Rathkenny team, but their brand of fast, fluent play proved vital in the success, as did scoring four goals. Shane Faulkner proved to be Moynalty's hat trick hero as he found the net three times, while the other goal was scored by Jonathan Lynch. Five of the game's six goals came in an exciting first half which provided plenty of entertainment and with Faulkner proving very effective in that period Moynalty edged into a three point (3-2 to 2-2) advantage at the change of ends. Faulkner had scored two of his three goals in that half and Lynch also raised a green flag. It was all to play for as the excitement was maintained in the second half, but when Faulkner, who made a highly important personal contribution of 3-1 overall, struck with his third goal 10 minutes from the end Moynalty were well on their way to the title. A good goalkeeper is always vitally important to a team in these type of games and Moynalty's Raymond Owens certainly fitted into that category in the final as he produced a number of magnificent saves in the second period when Rathkenny threatened to take control of proceedings. Andrew Lynch, Aine Bennett, Eoin Allen, Ronan Lynch, Patrick Byrne, who was on the mark with three points, Jamie Moloney and John Brady also proved very effective in a solid team performance. The Moynalty team in the final was - R. Owens; A. Nevin, A. Lynch, K. Doyle; S. Farrelly (0-1), A. Bennett, R. Lynch; E. Allen, J. Brady; R. Nevin, P. Byrne (0-3), J. Moloney; C. McCartan, S. Faulkner (3-1), J. Lynch (1-0). Sub - E. Olwill for McCartan. LET THERE BE LIGHT! In keeping with many other clubs around the county, Moynalty took the wise decision to have floodlights installed during 2007 and they should certainly play a vital role in the preparation of the various teams in the club and lead to the playing of matches at night, which is becoming increasingly popular. "We got the lights put up in August," secretary Casey revealed. "And we also put in a new training pitch which will give the main pitch a break." Tweet

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