When a season has transpired, each club in the county looks back with varying degrees of satisfaction. With the dust settled on 2008, few clubs in County Monaghan have more reason for contentment than Toome St Victors. They may not have garnered any silverware, but concerted steps were taken in the right direction and chairman Brendan McArdle was delighted with the club's overall performance. When we talk about a club going through a period of transition, it is often a polite way of saying that they simply aren't very good. In the case of Toome, however, the transitional phase heralds a time of renewal, rebirth and regeneration. The club made significant progress during the year gone by. On the evidence of what we witnessed in '08, the Victors could soon be living up to their name. Club chairman Brendan McArdle sums the 2008 campaign up thus: "We've made massive strides and we're in a strong position compared to where we were three years ago." Clearly, Toome are moving in the right direction and - if they are to taste future success - then '08 will be looked back upon as a definite turning point. The club competed favourably in both the junior league and championship; they fielded well at juvenile level; and they continued to develop their increasingly-impressive facilities, with an eye on the future. Toome reached the semi-final stage of the Monaghan JFC but were well beaten on the day by an exceptional Drumhowan side that would go on to win the county and Ulster crowns - 2-12 to 1-5 at soggy Aughnamullen on Saturday October 4. The Toome team for that one was: Niall Finnegan; Damien Wilson, Alan Lambe (0-1), Darren Conlon; Francis Quinn, Stephen Lambe, Shane Moore (0-1); Stephen Quinn, Paul Kelly; Gary Wilson, Gavin Flanagan (0-2), Breffni Morgan; Joe Kelly, Cian McGovern, Gerard Cunningham (0-1). Subs: Stephen McCooey (1-0) for G Wilson, Keith O'Reilly for J Kelly, Gary Wilson for P Kelly. They had booked their semi-final spot with a magnificent 0-12 to 1-8 defeat of a strongly-fancied Aghabog team at Clontibret in mid-September. Gavin Flanagan and Stephen Lambe were exceptional but the team as a whole performed well: Niall Finnegan; Damien Wilson, Alan Lambe, Shane Moore; Stephen Quinn (0-1), Stephen Lambe (0-2), Keith O'Reilly; Paul Kelly, Francis Quinn; Joe Kelly, Cian McGovern, Breffni Morgan (0-1); Gary Wilson (0-1), Gavin Flanagan (0-5), Gerard Cunningham (0-1). Subs: Darren Conlon for K O'Reilly, Stephen McCooey for G Wilson, Gary Wilson for J Kelly. A couple of weeks earlier, Toome had assured themselves of involvement in the business end of the knockout competition with a thrilling 1-13 to 0-10 Saturday afternoon replay victory over Oram at Blackhall. Disciplined defending, with Alan and Stephen Lambe dominating the central positions, was a key feature, while upfront the winners had the accuracy of team captain Gavin Flanagan who finished with a personal tally of eight points, including SIX from play. The winning team against Oram was: Niall Finnegan; Damien Wilson, Alan Lambe, Shane Moore; Steven Quinn, Stephen Lambe (0-2), Keith O'Reilly; Francis Quinn, Paul Kelly; Joe Kelly (0-1), Cian McGovern, Breffni Morgan; Gary Wilson (1-2), Gavin Flanagan (0-8), Gerard Cunningham. Subs: Darren Conlon for D Wilson, Patrick Walsh for G Wilson, Tony McMahon for F Quinn. Having lost their opener comprehensively to Killeevan at Drumhowan on Saturday June 7, Toome's 2008 JFC was kick-started against Killanny in a back-door contest at Castleblayney on Sunday July 6 when the following personnel cruised to a 0-12 to 1-3 success: Niall Finnegan; Damien Wilson, Stephen Lambe, Patrick Walsh; Keith O'Reilly, Alan Lambe, Darren Conlon; Stephen Quinn, Tony McMahon; Colin Wilson, Cian McGovern, Breffni Morgan (0-1); Joe Kelly, Gavin Flanagan (0-6), Gerard Cunningham (0-4). Subs: Gary Wilson for J Kelly, Jim McArdle for C McGovern. "We got to the semi-finals of the championship and finished with 20 points in the league, so it's a big improvement for Toome," the chairman reflects. "It was our most successful season in 15 years. We're moving in the right direction." What are the reasons for this sudden improvement in fortunes? Presumably, it didn't just happen by chance "Jim McConville is a good manager and he has the players training hard and playing well. There is a much better attitude in the club now and everybody is putting in the effort," explains the club chairman. "Our biggest drawback is that we have a small panel. Numbers are small in Toome and, when you are missing even two lads, it leaves the team bare. We're working off a panel of about 20 or thereabouts and we can't afford to be without anyone, especially any first-team players. The players deserve a great deal of credit for their efforts in 2008. They realised the work that has to be done to win games and they got stuck in." Apart from one player, Toome selected from the full complement for most of the year. "Colm Wilson got injured, but he played as much as he could and that typified the attitude in the camp. Injuries were low and we also had no suspensions. Discipline in the club has improved unbelievably and we're very proud of that." The logical next step is to glean some silverware. How close are Toome St Victors to achieving this? "As well as reaching the JFC semi-final, we were very close to forcing a play-off for a place in the semi-finals of the league. We needed to win our final league game at home to Currin, but drew it. We were very disappointed with that because we genuinely felt we could have gone on to win the league. But we're not too far off and the players want to win. They realise now that they can win trophies if they put in the effort, so hopefully they'll continue to improve in 2009." The JFC semi-final was on off day but, in fairness, Toome were up against the best junior side in the province. "Drumhowan were ten up at one stage and we brought it back to two, but they pulled away again at the end. We can take a lot from that game because we got to play against a very strong team. "Next year's junior championship isn't going to be any easier with two very strong teams coming down in Emyvale and Sean McDermott's, but we're hoping to do at least as well as last year, if not better." The club's new 3,000 sq m. All Weather Synthetic Astro-Turf park development is a huge asset to Toome, proving extremely popular not just within the club itself but also getting plenty of use from neighbouring clubs. This is the biggest development the club has undertaken since completing their main pitch and has been a key part of the first two years of Brendan's chairmanship. "The momentum in the club is positive and the spirit is very good, both on and off the field. We also have a lot of people working hard behind the scenes raising money and taking out sponsorships, and the committee works hard raising funds. Money is always tight in a small club but we have good sponsors and they help us a lot. "Our juvenile structure is one of the best in the county and we have some good players coming through," Brendan concludes. "We have up to 70 youngsters on a Monday night at the Go Games. We won the U12 Division 3 championship this year, got to an U13 final, and the U14s and U16s were very successful with small numbers and they trained hard and worked their hearts out. I'm very happy with the underage efforts and things are looking good for the future of the club at all levels." Tweet

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