New beginning for Multy
April 30, 2011The 2010 campaign may not have been as fruitful for St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham as the previous year when they reached the knockout stages of the junior football championship, but Moran still feels there were plenty of positives to be taken from the campaign.
A quarter-final appearance in 2009 gave the club great hope that they could build on that success and get as far or maybe even further last year. However, luck was not on their side in many of the championship games and they failed to get out of the group.
The format for the junior championship has not changed for a few years now and the sole junior clubs must battle for a place in the knockout stages among themselves. Building on a successful youth policy, Multy have made huge strides in recent years and no longer are they regarded as whipping boys in the grade.
Their first game of the campaign saw them take on Loughnavalley and both sides would have had their eyes on getting off to a decent start. A win here would set either club up nicely as everyone knows how important it is to win their first game.
In the event, Multy produced one of their best performances in a long time to run out 1-13 to 1-5 winners and get off to the perfect start. John admits that the players really produced the goods that day.
"It was a terrific performance against Loughnavalley and all the lads played their part in that win. We kicked some great scores that day. The lads knew how important it was to get off to a good start and you couldn't ask for much better than that," said John.
"Having done so well in the championship in 2009, there were huge hopes that we could push on and go even further last year. We have a decent squad of players, and knew that if the work was put in, they could achieve their goals."
Under the guidance of John Mulligan, Multy went into their second match against Ballycomoyle full of confidence and it showed on the field as they put in another impressive performance. However, it was not enough to score the points as the Bal won by 1-8 to 1-6.
"We had the chances to win the Ballycomoyle game. It was certainly a game that we should have won and it could have made all the difference to our season, but it wasn't to be, but fortunately we bounced back fairly quickly."
And so they did when a 1-5 to 0-5 win over Delvin brought Multy right back into contention and left them in a position that two wins from their remaining two games would guarantee them a place in the quarter-finals at the very least.
Nonetheless, a place in the last eight must be earned and Multy faced two tough fixtures in their next outings. First, the faced a Milltown side that have been knocking on the door of junior glory for some time now, but the maroon and whites were not overawed by the occasion and pushed the Rathconrath outfit all the way, but their profligacy in front of goal was to let them down yet again as Milltown held on for a 0-13 to 1-6 victory.
The fixtures were not about to get any easier. In their next outing they faced championship favourites Milltownpass. Once again Mulligan's charges pushed their more illustrious opponents all the way, but the 'Pass managed to pull away in the second half to record a 0-15 to 0-8 victory.
"We always knew that these would be two very hard games to get anything out of, but we also knew that if we played to our potential then we could cause a surprise. I think a lack of experience cost us particularly against Milltown. I definitely believe that was another game that we could have won and what a boost that would have been to everyone."
With two games remaining, Multy still had the chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, but they needed to win both their games and they went into the St Joseph's match as favourites given that the Streamstown outfit had yet to win a game in the campaign.
Whether it was complacency or not, Multy failed to reproduce the form that they had displayed earlier in the season and although they scored an impressive 0-14 over the course of the 60 minutes, it was not enough as St Joseph's managed 1-12 to record a one-point victory and effectively end Multy's interest in the campaign.
"This was a low point of the year. We really felt that this was a game that we should have won. But, the interest seemed to drop after the defeats to Milltown and Milltownpass, which was a pity as we had a great chance of making the knockouts stages," John ruefully reflects.
Multy finished their campaign with a defeat to St Paul's, to end the season on a low note, but their campaign was not over yet as they then entered the junior shield competition, which they made the final of, only to lose to Loughnavalley by 3-6 to 2-6.
"It was nice to compete for some silverware and it was disappointing to lose the final, but the lads did their best and that is all you can ask of them," added John, who has been the club secretary since 1986.
So what does the 2011 campaign hold for Multyfarnham, who will go it alone this year after the old St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham club was wound up? "Colin Murtagh is manager this year and hopefully he can get the best out of the lads. We will be missing a few lad, who have emigrated and they will be a big loss, but there is a few young lads coming through the ranks."
With regards to underage, John admitted that Multy are pleased with the direction they are heading in. Saturday, October 16 last was a momentous day for the north Westmeath club who won their first ever underage title thanks to an emphatic 8-17 to 2-9 victory over Tubberclair in the under 14 Division 3 decider at Shandonagh.
History was already beckoning at half-time when Multy led by 2-9 to 0-3 with the goals coming from Daniel Loughrey and Peter Murtagh. Multy took over completely in the second half, adding a further 6-8 to their tally. Murtagh found the net again, while Adam Loughrey, Keith Reid, Pauric Moran and Robert Lohan also got in on the goal-scoring act on what was an historic day for the club.
"We are fielding at all levels and the under 14s won a first ever underage championship for the club, which was great to see. There is a lot of work being done with the underage and people like Sean Kelly deserve great credit for that. We would always like to get a few more lads involved in the coaching end of things and they are more than welcome to come down to the club."
Off the field, Multy plan to develop a Parish Hall on their club grounds and having obtained planning permission, they are now awaiting finance to get started. All in all, the outlook is bright for a club which has completely turned its fortunes around in recent years.
The Multyfarnham under 14 team which captured the club's first ever underage championship was: Craig Sweeney; Oisin Dolan, Stephen Donoghue, Keith Maxwell; James Greene, Ronan Wallace, Ciaran McGovern; Ian McGovern, Pauric Moran; Mark Reynolds, Daniel Loughrey, Keith Reid; Peter Murtagh, Robert Lohan, Patrick Mooney. Subs used: Colm Hogan, Adam Loughrey, Eoin Weir, Ross Coughlan and Jamie Finnan. Tweet
