Touted as relegation candidates at the outset of the year, Moate surprised many by finishing ahead of St. Loman's and Tyrrellspass in the group stages of the senior championship. But there could be more difficult times ahead warns new captain Kevin Flanagan. Such have been the difficulties faced by Moate All-Whites in recent years that last year's finish two places above bottom team Tyrrellspass in the group stages of the senior championship was regarded as a good achievement. Having contested two of the three previous relegation play-offs, Moate were seen as prime candidates for relegation to the intermediate grade. But to the surprise of many, they took the scalps of St. Loman's and Garrycastle to comfortably retain their senior status. "Given our recent track record, it was inevitable that people were expecting us to get relegated," admits Kevin Flanagan, who has been appointed captain in succession to Kit Gillivan for the coming year. "We were drawn in a very tough group and it was hard to see where we would pick up points. But we made a great start to the championship by beating St. Loman's and even though results didn't go our way after that, we showed great character to beat Garrycastle in our final game to avoid the relegation play-off. "Our objective at the start of the year was to stay up and to do so without having to play in another relegation play-off was an added bonus," he adds. County champions as recently as 1997, Moate's fall from grace has been reflected in their failure to reach the knock-out stages since then. Flanagan, who was a member of that all-conquering team, attributes the club's decline to a lack of young talent coming through. "We have paid a heavy price for neglecting our underage section," he acknowledges. "The situation has improved in more recent times, but it will probably take another four or five years for the younger players to establish themselves at adult level. For years, the Carmelite College was a breeding ground for young players, but since it closed we have suffered greatly. It was very sad to see the club having no representative on the Moate Community College team this year which must have been a first." Under the management of former Offaly selector Eamonn Mahon, Moate opened their championship campaign with a shock 0-11 to 0-9 victory over St. Loman's at Tang. Loman's enjoyed the better of the first half exchanges to take a 0-8 to 0-4 lead into the interval. But with the wind to their backs in the second half, Moate had restored parity by the 26th minute courtesy of points from Lar Gillivan, Ger Heavin and Donie Buckley. In a dramatic finish, Niall Mackey and Heavin added points to secure a valuable win for the All-Whites. Moate then suffered the first of three consecutive defeats when they lost to Coralstown/Kinnegad by 0-7 to 1-11. Despite losing centre back Damien Claffey with a dead leg in the opening minute, Moate were well in contention at the break, trailing by 0-7 to 1-6. But their challenge petered out completely in the second half as Coralstown/Kinnegad pulled away for a comfortable win. The first round win over St. Loman's seemed but a distance memory after Moate suffering a crushing defeat to Athlone in their third outing. Forced to field without a string of regulars, the All-Whites were completely over-run by their south county rivals and eventually succumbed to a 2-19 to 0-5 drubbing. First half goals from Tom Stuart-Trainor and David Prendergast helped the Shannonsiders to a 2-9 to 0-5 interval lead. It didn't get any better for Moate thereafter as for the second game running, they failed to register a score in the second half. "I would have no hesitation in saying the defeat to Athlone was the lowest point in the club's recent history," recalls Flanagan, who played most of his underage football with neighbouring Caulry and was a member of the Westmeath minor team which lost the 1992 Leinster final to Meath. "We were badly depleted for that game with Damien and Alan Claffey, John Murray, Niall Mackey, Kevin Deehan and myself all missing due to injury. But that was still no excuse for our awful display." A 1-13 to 1-6 defeat to Tyrrellspass at Rochfortbridge left Moate facing the prospect of relegation going into their final group game against champions Garrycastle. The All-Whites trailed Tyrrellspass by six points at half-time and despite a second goal from substitute Jimmy Gillivan, were unable to make up the deficit. Determined not to become embroiled in another relegation dogfight, however, Moate caused a huge upset when they edged out Garrycastle by 1-11 to 1-10 in their final group game. It was easily Moate's best performance of the year and left them ahead of St. Loman's and Tyrrellspass in the group. Inspired by Ger Heavin, the All-Whites signalled their intent by racing into an early 0-3 to 0-1 lead. By half-time, they had opened up a 0-8 to 0-3 advantage thanks to points from Eamonn McDermott, John Murray and the ever-reliable Heavin. When former county star Murray increased Moate's lead to six points just after the restart, there appeared to be no way back for Garrycastle. But a Paul Bannon goal left just a point between the sides before Moate hit back with a cracking goal from Kit Gillivan and another point from Heavin. Garrycastle refused to roll over and in the closing stages Noel Galvin, Dillon, Donal Ryan and Enda Mulvihill kicked points to level proceedings. However, Moate never flinched and Heavin landed a fine winning point from distance to give them victory with a minute of normal time remaining. Although four minutes of injury-time followed, the All-Whites could celebrate at the final whistle as they defiantly avoided another relegation battle. Sadly for Moate, that proved to be Ger Heavin's final act for the club, having since transferred to St. Mary's in Sligo where he is now based. Veteran corner back Tommy McCormack is another who won't be seen in the Moate colours again. "Ger will be a massive loss to us, but he owes Moate nothing at this stage," Flanagan says. "He was one of the best players the club ever produced and his importance to us could never be understated. He leaves with everyone's best wishes and it would be great to see him win another championship medal with his new club before the end of his career. "We've also lost another stalwart in Tommy McCormack who announced his retirement over the winter. He is another player who won't be easily replaced." While relegation was avoided in the championship, Moate weren't so lucky in the league. After many years in Division 1, they were demoted after a campaign which yielded just two wins and one draw. Moate made a bright start to the campaign, drawing with Rosemount and beating St. Loman's in their first two outings. They looked set to retain their top flight status when they secured their second win at Coralstown/Kinnegad's expense, but defeats to St. Mary's and Mullingar Shamrocks in their final two games sent them down. Looking ahead to this year's championship, Flanagan reveals that Moate have set their sights on reaching the knock-out stages. Failing that, he is anxious that they avoid a relegation play-off. "Our target is to gain six points out of 10 which would probably be good enough to see us through to the knock-out stages. Our minimum target is to avoid the relegation play-off like last year. "We would also like to win promotion back to Division 1. The only good thing about playing in Division 2 this year is that it gives us the chance to do some rebuilding and get some confidence back," he concludes. Tweet

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