Tubberclair senior footballers failed to live up to expectations during 2004 following their quarterfinal appearance the previous year. However, the South Westmeath side did not finish the year empty handed as the junior B championship was secured along with the Division 5 league title and club PRO Michael Fagan talks Maroon and White through last season. Apart from their success at club level, Tubberclair also had another reason to be proud as two of their squad were part of the historic Westmeath side that won the Leinster senior football championship for the first time ever when defeating Laois in the decider after a replay. Gary Connaughton and Fergal Wilson were an integral part of Westmeath's historic campaign and indeed Gary's performances in goal earned him an All-Star nomination and many believe that he should have been handed the goalkeeper's berth after a string of fine displays throughout the campaign. "It was a great honour for the club to have two players represented on the Westmeath team at any time, but to see them being part of the team that won the Leinster championship for the first time is that bit extra special. Everyone in the club is very proud of Gary and Fergal and although we have congratulated them many times, they deserve all the credit they get," said Michael. Tubberclair did not get the best of starts to the campaign in 2004 as a heavy defeat was recorded against St Malachy's in their opening group match way back in the first week of May. The green and golds were been favourites to get their campaign off to a winning start but things did not go to plan. St Malachy's were in control right from the start and led by 2-7 to 0-4 at half time, to leave Tubberclair with a mountain to climb in the second half. They could not close the gap sufficiently and ten-points separated the teams at the final whistle, 2-12 to 0-8. "The Malachy's game was a disaster for us. We never got going at all. The lads had been training hard from early in the year and numbers were good, but they seemed a little complacent. The fact that we had three lads heading to America did not help our cause and the management team decided to plan without James Martin, Enda Dooley and David Ganley for the first match, but that is no excuse as we should have been a lot better," added Michael. Westmeath's campaign in the All-Ireland championship saw the club scene come to a halt for almost four months but not many people were complaining as the end result spoke for itself. However, during that time it was hard for clubs to keep the interest levels up. Michael said: "It was a long time to go without a competitive championship match, but you can't really complain. It was very hard to keep things going and the year was dragged out. Throw in the loss of the three lads and that did not help our cause, even though if we had a bit of luck on our side, things could have been very different." The bit of luck Michael referred to was Tubberclair's performance against Garrycastle in their second outing that was played last August. Played in dreadful conditions, where driving wind and rain prevailed, both teams struggled to adapt to the horrendous conditions, but it was the former champions Garrycastle who had to rely on a last minute pointed free to earn a draw against a tenacious Tubberclair side. The green and golds tested the 2001 and 2002 champions right from the start and led by 0-6 to 0-3 at half time with scores from Fergal Wilson (3), John Reid, Paul O'Brien and Francis Spollen. Garrycastle came back early in the second half and led by a point at the end of the third quarter, but Danny Sammon's side were not about to give up without a fight and a pointed free from county star Fergal Wilson brought the sides level. A Tubberclair attack saw Francis Spollen bring out a good save from Cathal Mullin in the Garrycastle goal before the former champions went ahead once again. Wilson showed his accuracy from frees to draw the sides level and a good move involving Jeffrey Farrell and Tom Doogan resulted in Spollen scoring a fine point. Garrycastle were dealt a further blow when Doran Harte was sent off for a foul on Wilson, however Dessie Dolan held his nerve to convert a free as time elapsed and the match finished 0-9 apiece. A week later and Tubberclair would face Tyrrellspass in the championship as the campaign built up to full steam in order to be completed in time for the county to have representatives in the Leinster club championship. A win would see Tubberclair back on course for a place in the knockout stages. The fact that only one forward that started the match for the green and golds scored from play speaks volumes of how Tyrrellspass dominated from the start. The half time score of 1-8 to 0-4 saw seven points between the sides at the interval and left Tubberclair with a huge amount of work to do in the final 30 minutes. Goalkeeper Gary Connaughton kept his side in touch with some fine saves including a penalty, but the light blues kept up the pressure in the second half to run out winners on a 1-10 to 0-8 scoreline, despite the best efforts of Tomas Doogan, Michael Hopkins and Connaughton. "We could have won the game against Garrycastle but were still glad to get the draw. If we won that game, it would have made a big difference to our year. The game against Tyrrellspass saw us outclassed right from the start. We never really got going and were punished early on," revealed the club PRO. Mullingar Shamrocks were the next opponents in the last group match of the campaign and Tubberclair needed a win to avoid a relegation play off, although if results went their way they could still reach the quarterfinals. The first half saw Tubberclair come racing out of the blocks as scores from Francis Spollen, Tomas Doogan, Michael Hopkins and Fergal Wilson (4) gave them a 0-7 to 0-3 half time lead. Shamrocks fought back in the second half and the action swayed from end to end as nothing could separate the sides at the finish. A draw was the outcome and the fairest result but left Tubberclair having to defeat Moate in their last match to avoid being involved in a relegation play-off. Tubberclair ran out easy winners against a Moate side that have struggled to maintain their senior status in recent years and Michael hopes that maybe their situation last year will stand to the side in the 2005 senior football championship. "We knew we were well capable of beating Moate but could not take them for granted as they have avoided the drop for a few years now and are a very experienced side. Our lads played exceptionally well on the day and hopefully we can build on that this year," stressed Michael. It was not all doom and gloom for the South Westmeath side as the division 5 and junior B titles were secured. The later coming last January when Bunbrosna were defeated by a solitary point. The final itself was a close competitive game as Bunbrosna staged a late rally to narrow the gap but could not get the all important score. Indeed it was Bunbrosna who lead at half time by 0-5 to 0-3 but their inability to score until six minutes from the end gave Tubberclair the opportunity to turn the deficit around and six unanswered points saw them hold a four-point lead as the game entered the last five minutes. The blue and whites did fire over three more points before the end but it was a case of too little too late for Bunbrosna as Tubberclair held on for a merited win. The victorious team was: Owen Conlon, Enda Dooley, Peter Evans, Niall Walker, Danny Keegan, David O'Brien; Kevin Doogan, Thomas Doogan, Liam Doogan, John Cassells, David Cassells, Ian Recks, Mark Kenny, Jeffrey Farrell, Alan Robbins. Subs Conor Elliott, Graham Whittaker. Tweet

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