'Pass aim to make swift return
April 30, 2010It was a cruel blow for a club that has tasted life at senior level during those intervening years and who were regarded as a strong intermediate side for so long.
Teams often go through eras when they are not at their best and unfortunately for Milltownpass this came at a massive price last year. However, club secretary Jim O'Connor revealed that there is a renewed spirit amongst the players and indeed all involved with the club and that their number one goal this year was to return to football's second tier at the first time of asking.
Since being reformed in 1977, Milltownpass has built a reputation of being a football stronghold. The likes of Jim Whelehan and Kevin Burke are just a couple of the players that have represented the county over the years.
To lose their intermediate status was a bitter blow for the club and Jim admitted that it was a culmination of a number of factors that lead to their downfall.
"It was very disappointing to see the team go down after being out of junior for so long, but that's the way it goes and we have to look forward and not back," said Jim.
"I suppose there were a number of issues that contributed to the relegation. A few key players missed important matches through injury, while luck certainly wasn't on our side during some of the championship games.
"In saying that the commitment from the players that had been shown in previous years wasn't there either and that was a major problem, which proved very costly indeed."
Last year, Tyrrellspass clubman Gerry Feery was once again in charge of the intermediate side and Jim lays no blame with him over the drop down to junior.
"I wouldn't blame Gerry in the slightest. He gave his all, but you can only work with what's on front of you and when lads wouldn't put the necessary effort in, there wasn't much that he could do."
Milltownpass were placed in a group that consisted of Tang, St Mary's, Ballynacargy, Kilbeggan Shamrocks and Moate All Whites. The general consensus was that the club could make an impression on this group and a place in the knockout stages was a distinct possibility.
The first group match saw the whites face Tang at Rosemount. The latter have been at the business end of the championship for a few years now and their experience showed against a young Milltownpass side as they ran out five point winners on a scoreline of 2-9 to 0-10.
There were many positives to take from that display and neighbours St Mary's were the next to oppose Feery's charges. Like all local derbies, anything is possible and on this occasion, it was the Rochfortbridge outfit that came out on top rather comfortably and as the old saying goes 'goals win matches' as St Mary's scored three in a 3-6 to 0-7 victory.
This was serious dent to their chances of reaching the knockout stages and the writing was on the wall when Ballynacargy recorded a resounding triumph in the next match.
Milltownpass needed to regroup and they needed to do it quickly. Credit to the side, they produced a fine performance against Kilbeggan to finally get their first win of the campaign. The score on this occasion was 1-6 to 0-7.
With one game remaining, a win was imperative, but Moate needed a win also, so it was all to play for at Lakepoint Park. The game ebbed and flowed, although when it most counted Moate began to pull away at the end and they were three points to the good (0-11 to 0-8) when the final whistle went.
"The Moate game is definitely one that we should have won. Even against Tang, we didn't take our chances and if we had, we probably wouldn't be in the situation that we are now."
The defeat saw Milltownpass face another close neighbour Shandonagh in the relegation final. Once again their failure to take their chances proved detrimental as the sky blues won by 1-11 to 0-6 and the reality of junior football hit home.
"Obviously everyone was very down after the Shandonagh game, it was a cruel blow, but as I said one that we had to get over quickly and by the way we have started this year, it looks as if the lads are really going all out this year. The effort is being put in and the new manager Billy Flanagan, who is a former player with the club, is getting a great response. There are 26 or 27 lads out training, which is great to see."
The fact that Milltownpass are playing in division two of the league gives them a huge advantage over their championship opponents this year and Jim stressed that it is important for them to stay in that division.
"We beat a couple of intermediate teams in the league already and hopefully we can maintain our status in that division. Obviously, our main goal is to get back up intermediate, but I think it's important that we stay in division two also."
Jim revealed that the underage scene within the club was very strong at present and that men like Dessie Gorman, Mick Geoghegan, Gerry Whelehan and underage chairman Maurice Duncan have been doing great work to ensure the safe future of the club.
"We would be fielding teams at all levels from under-8s right up to minor. Our under-16s would have the least numbers, while the under-14s should be very strong this year. Unlike a few years ago when the same people were looking after all the teams, we are now in the situation where there are three or four people looking after each team."
Off the field, the club are continuously developing the facilities with the addition of a sand track being the latest development. Work is being carried out on designing an underage pitch adjacent to the national school, while there are plans in place to develop a new community centre at the club grounds.
"We have a number of fundraising events coming up in order to raise finances for the development of the community centre. It is a difficult time to raise money, but people in the community recognise the importance of the GAA.
"I strongly believe the State would be out of money if the GAA was to cease existing. Sometimes it can be taken for granted, but there is no question that it prepares youngsters for adulthood and gives them a sense of belonging wherever they might be." Tweet
