While the football star of the once mighty Crosserlough has been dimmed over the past few decades there is little doubt that the pride and passion associated with the historic 'seven-in-a-row' is alive and well in the club. An even break, a bit of luck on the playing field is all that it would take to rekindle the winning fortunes of this proud Cavan football club. It is all too evident when you hear club chairman, Charlie Galligan speak about Crosserlough. Charlie who has served the club at executive level both as Secretary and Chairman over the past six years, stands down for 2008 as the three year rule in Crosserlough is invoked. Charlie's involvement for the 2008 season will be as insurance officer. The quietly spoken Charlie is proud of what the club has achieved in his tenure and while openly disappointed that they may not have won anything at senior level, he feels that the club are moving in the right direction of trying to rebuild a winning team. "We have a number of young players who have all had county experience at underage level and I feel that as they mature they will contribute to the self-belief necessary to take the next step and win senior titles," stated Charlie. "Over the past three years, we have competed well in the senior league but have failed to produce our league form to championship fare. We have struggled in the championship and have made our exit at an early stage of the competition. I feel that our defeat in the championship, which effectively takes you out of football until the latter stages of the league, has been a detrimental factor in the club's league progress. Our league form has been good but once we exit in the early stages of the championship we are left without competitive football for many weeks and this has been a major cause for our league downturn. If the County Board was able to produce a format whereby the league was in its final stages before the commencement of the championship then I feel we would be in with a chance of winning it. If you look at the final league table for 2007 we ended up on sixteen points, the same number as the 2006 league champions, Ballinagh. Gowna who went on to play in the final against Cavan Gaels had registered seventeen points in their campaign. Both Ballinagh and Gowna were in the finals of their respective championship and had been playing competitive football in the championship when the league was recommenced for the final stages. I feel if we are to make the breakthrough again, then it is imperative that we navigate our way through the championship for a much more sustained effort. "This year in the championship we beat Castlerahan in the first round after a replay but had to wait to see who came through the backdoor system. With a number of games drawn, we ended up waiting an extra couple of weeks longer which did not benefit us. We had to face Gowna who had now had a number of competitive games under their belts which they had played on consecutive weekends. Their competitive edge was far superior to ours and we lost out as a result of having qualified too early in the competition. Maybe a revisit to the pool system is something that might be reconsidered for 2008. We had acquired the services of former Fermanagh player, Raymond Gallagher who signed up for Crosserlough at the beginning of the football season. We felt that with Raymond's prowess as a talented forward we could develop that part of our game at club level that has too often in the past failed us. However, he only lined out for Crosserlough on three occasions and has since returned to Dublin club, St. Brigid's, for the 2008 season. It was a bitter disappointment that he was not as committed as we would have hoped for but such is the vagaries of football, you just take it on the chin and move on," stated Charlie. "We have had success with our second team winning the Division 4 league title when they accounted for Mullahoran. With the restructuring of the new league format with six divisions we decided to drop down to Division 4 and earn the privilege of playing in Division 3 on our own merits. We played a total of thirteen games in the Division 4 league and won eleven and lost one. We also had a good run in the Junior B championship and lost out at the semi-final stage against Cavan Gaels after a replay. We have a relatively young squad and a panel of upwards of thirty four training on a nightly basis so we have very little cross-over from the first to the second team," stated the Charlie. Underage football Charlie sees hope for the future of the club with many of the young juvenile aspirants providing a ray of hope. "We competed in all the age groups. At U-21 level we had high expectations as we had a number of good young players who all had experience at underage at county level. Players of the calibre of Enda Gaffney, Colin Lynch, Thomas McEvoy, Declan McCabe and James McEvoy would be in my view as good as is there is in the county. We opened our campaign against title holders and neighbours, Castlerahan. It was always going to a difficult tie not only as a local derby but the fact that they were defending champions. We lost by two points in the end and this as a result of a goal in the dying seconds of the game. Castlerahan went to retain their title, so, realistically, we are there or thereabouts when it comes to competing. With a new minor league format we found ourselves playing in a large division one pool and found the going difficult. We did not make it into the play-offs of the minor league but did manage to get to Shield final of this competition. We beat Killygarry in the semi-final and went on to play Castlerahan in the final. We ran out winners by four points. In the minor championship we amalgamated with Ballymachugh as Sheelin Gaels and went on to capture the Division 2 championship title when we overcame Laragh United in a thrilling game 0-15 to 0-13 after extra time. This was a game that provided everything with the neither side able to stamp their authority on each other. At the final whistle, the sides were level on 0-12 apiece only after Mark Galligan made a superb save from a Laragh penalty. This was the lifeline that we needed to go on and win this gruelling contest. It took a concerted effort during extra time to finally quell the Laragh challenge," stated Charlie. Sheelin Gaels - Mark Galligan; Micheal Halton, Paul Lynch, Cillian Smith; Leonard Lynch, Cillian McEvoy, Paul McEvoy; James McEvoy (0-1), Aoghan Kiernan (0-1); Cian Byrd, John Lynch (0-3), Eugene Daly; Barry McKiernan (0-9), Emmet Reilly (0-1), Christopher Kiernan. Subs - Karl Lynch for Eugene Daly; Brian Smith for Leonard Lynch; Ben Rowley for Cillian Smith (injured); Declan Lafferty for Cian Byrd. Subs Not Used: Colin O'Rourke, Damian Galligan, Stephen McKiernan, Donal Harten, Kieran Galligan, Kieran Goldrick, Sean Keaney, Dwayne Quigley. Charlie paid tribute to all the mentors and coaches who have worked tirelessly over the years with the club's underage structure. "Without these people, the life blood for the future functioning of the club would not exist. It is a job that rarely carries much public acclamation but it is one that we at the Crosserlough deeply appreciate. The time and effort afforded by these underage mentors and coaches is a valuable asset. We had an historic occasion recently when three schools from the parish, Drumkilly, Kilnaleck and Crosserlough all made it to the finals of the Cumann na mBunscol. Indeed it was ironic that two of the teams from the parish met each other in the final when Crosserlough N.S. took on Drumkilly N.S. This indeed has to augur well for football in the Crosserlough parish. We also saw our U-10s win the county community games and represented Cavan in the Ulster competition where they made it all the way to the final only to lose out to Donegal," stated Charlie. Club The quietly spoken Charlie is proud of the many achievements of his club and can point to the ongoing work being carried out each year at the club grounds, Plunkett Park. "At the end of each season we take great care in the maintenance of the playing surface. We feel that this remedial work has paid great dividends for us as the playing surface is now in first class condition. We have also developed a training area alongside the present playing field. It is ideal for training and takes a lot of pressure of the playing field. It was vital that we have a training area as Crosserlough as a club is extremely active. We have a vibrant ladies football and camogie section, not to mention our underage commitments," stated Charlie. Another aspect of the club that Charlie shows great pride is the excellent club website which can be viewed at www.crosserloughgfc.com. "The site was created and designed by James Smith and to date has proved very popular. Team Management The club will once again retain the services of team manager, Colm McEvoy and selectors Anthony Rehill, Shay Smith and Breen Smith who worked with them and the Division 4 squad. Camogie With a vibrant camogie setup in place at Crosserlough, much progress has been achieved over the past number of years according to the club Chairperson, Angela O'Reilly. "During the late nineties Crosserlough camogie club was at its zenith, capturing the Ulster title back in 1999. Throughout this golden era for the club, the work at juvenile level was more or less neglected and when the inevitable retirements came along, we had very little to fill the void. This is something that we have worked assiduously at over the past five to six years. We took our approach to the local schools where our coaches imparted their knowledge and skills throughout the skills in the parish and to-date it has begun to reap its own benefits. "We now have upwards of 45 players registered and field teams at U-14, 16, Novice and Junior. We reached the U-16 league final. Our novice team lost out to Castletara in their league final but went on to win the Novice championship reversing the league final result against the same opposition. We are fortunate to have the services of top class coaches in J. J. O'Reilly, Eddie Brady, George Bagnal, Caitriona Byrd, Sinead Coyle and Aine O'Reilly," stated Angela. At senior level, Crosserlough amalgamated with neighbours Denn. The amalgamation proved a fruitful coalition as they reached the Senior B Championship where they overcame a fancied Drumgoon side by 3-3 to 1-6. Drumgoon who had previously beaten the Crosserlough - Denn combination got the ideal start with a goal in the opening minutes. Things did not look that good for the Crosserlough - Denn when Brenda McEvoy had to retire through injury while Angela O'Reilly also had to leave the field due to illness. It was during this period of uncertainty that Drumgoon jumped into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead. Lorraine Day showed that the fight was still in the Crosserlough-Denn side when she converted a '45' to get her side's opening score. The same player further reduced the Drumgoon lead on the stroke of half-time when she fired over her second point to leave the half-time score Drumgoon 1-2 Crosserlough - Denn 0-2. On the resumption of the second-half Drumgoon once again opened the more positive and fired over three unanswered points to give them a six point lead. Undaunted by these early setbacks, the Crosserlough - Denn side nibbled away at the Drumgoon lead and when Emer McVeety made a penetrating run into the heart of the Drumgoon defence, Catriona Byrd was up in support to pounce on the broken play and register a much needed goal for her side. Now with just two points between the sides, it was Drumgoon who once again responded the better when they fired over a point to push their lead back out to three points. Under pressure from the Drumgoon attack, goalkeeper, Denise Wilton proved her worth with a magnificent save to keep her side in touch. Now with the game entering its final quarter, both sides chased a winning margin but it was Aoishe O'Reilly who set her side on the road to victory with a superbly struck shot which found its way into the top corner of the Drumgoon goal. With the sides now level and just less than twelve minutes remaining the tempo from both sides increased. Again Emer McVeety was to the fore when her long ball into the Drumgoon goalmouth was promptly dispatched to the back of the Drumgoon net by Joanne Sheridan. Now leading by three points Crosserlough - Denn failed to allow the Drumgoon side to settle on the ball and ran out worthy winners. Crosserlough-Denn Team; Denise Wilton, Aine O'Reilly, Sinead Coyle, Collette Costello, Aoishe O'Reilly, Brenda McEvoy, Carmel Galligan, Lorraine Day, Lorna Cahill, Orla Smith, Angela O'Reilly Capt, Siobhan Reynolds, Catriona Byrd, Joanne Sheridan, Siobhan Lynch, Orla Galligan, Erin Galligan, Emer McVeety, Yvonne Smith, Aileen Galligan, Clare O'Reilly, Sharon Lynch, Andrea Lynch, Mary Lovett, Amanda Galligan, Marie Boylan, Aine O'Reilly. Sponsors The camogie club chairperson, Angela O'Reilly paid tribute to the response for sponsorship by all the people in the locality who have given generously and have helped offset the cost of running the club. "We have been very fortunate with the response from the local business people and this is something that we at the club are very appreciative off," stated Angela. Ladies football Ladies football at Crosserlough which was re-established just over six years ago is flourishing with teams competing at underage level from 12, 14 up to under 16. According to the club's secretary and trainer with the U12s and 14s, Martha Smith: "We performed reasonably well in all competitions with the under 14s getting to the semi-final of both the league and championship. However, we always seem to get Mullahoran in the knockout stages and so far they have been our nemesis. We have a number of very talented players at the club. Laoise Byrd and Sinead Gaffney have both been capped by the county squad and this is a great boost to us a club. As a club we owe much to the great work put in by all involved especially by John Reilly who works with the U-16 squad. The enthusiasm of our chairman, Tom Dowd has always been infectious and his commitment to ladies football is legendary. It is a credit to him to see upwards of forty five young girls involved in football at the club," stated Martha. Tweet

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