St. Joseph's captured the Junior Cup for the first time last November when they defeated St. Loman's after a replay. Team selector Eugene Nannery reflects on a year which could have yielded even more silverware for the Streamstown outfit. St. Joseph's recorded their greatest success to date on November 10 last when they overcame St. Loman's by 2-5 to 0-9 after a replay to capture the Junior Cup for the first time. Prior to then, the club's only notable success at adult level was an All-County League Division 5 title in 1999. The victory was no more than the Streamstown outfit deserved, after defeats in the finals of 1999 and 2000 to Bunbrosna and Killucan respectively. It also atoned for the disappointment of their junior championship final defeat to Caulry, their second such loss in three years. "It was great to see that our perseverance finally paid off," says team selector Eugene Nannery. "Apart from the Division 5 title, it was our first success at adult level and it was a nice way to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We were very disappointed after losing the championship final to Caulry, but the lads managed to pick themselves up for the Junior Cup and by winning it, it gives us a great platform for the coming year," he adds. Nannery, whose sons Declan and Brendan are two of St. Joseph's brightest prospects, feels that the Streamstown club are now reaping the rewards of their efforts at juvenile level over the past decade or so. Many of the current junior squad garnered under 16 'B' championship, minor league and minor 'A' championship (see Kilbeggan Shamrocks section for review) medals in 1998,2000 and 2002 respectively. "I think it was only a matter of time before we started winning at junior level. At the moment, we have an outstanding crop of players between the ages of 17 and 21 and we'll be looking to them to bring us plenty of more success in the coming years." Both meetings with St. Loman's proved to be thrilling spectacles. In the drawn match at Streamstown on November 2, St. Joseph's needed a late equalizing point from Declan Nannery to earn a 2-9 to 2-9 draw. Despite playing with a strong breeze to their backs in the first half, the home side fell behind to two early points. But by the eighth minute, they were on level terms thanks to scores from Andrew McCormack and Aidan Lennon. Two minutes later, county goalkeeper Lennon scored the opening goal to put St. Joseph's in the driving seat. St. Loman's regained the initiative in the 17th minute when Senan Russell fired to the net, but a fine piece of opportunism by Declan Nannery saw the men in green and gold lead by 2-2 to 1-4. The Mullingar side notched their second goal through Declan Lambden, but points from Lennon (two) and Andrew McCormack ensured St. Joseph's of a slender lead at the break. McCormack increased St. Joseph's advantage to two points on the restart, but St. Loman's then reeled off four points without reply to lead by two with eight minutes remaining. The home side looked to be in trouble, but a brace of late points from McCormack and Nannery ensured them of a second bite at the cherry. The replay at St. Loman's was equally entertaining, with a St. Joseph's team minus the services of the injured Aidan Lennon laying the foundations for their success in the early stages. Andrew McCormack gave the green and golds a dream start by notching 1-1 inside the opening four minutes. Before St. Loman's could recover, the former county minor set up Damien Lynam for a second goal in the 12th minute. Gerry Farrell, Brendan Marshall and David Windsor replied with points for St. Loman's, but they still trailed by 0-6 to 2-3 at the break. The Mullingar side reduced the deficit on the restart but, following a scoreless 17-minute spell, Declan Nannery slotted over two frees to give St. Joseph's a 2-5 to 0-7 cushion. A late spell of St. Loman's pressure yielded two further points, but the Streamstown men held on for an historic success. It says something for the character of St. Joseph's that they were able to bounce back from a hugely disappointing defeat to Caulry in the junior championship final. Under the management of Matt Geraghty, St. Joseph's had qualified for the decider on the back of seven wins and just two defeats. However, they never got motoring against their fired-up Mount Temple opponents and finished on the wrong end of a 1-7 to 1-17 defeat. In the group stages, St. Joseph's recorded emphatic wins over St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham (3-18 to 0-3) and Delvin (1-13 to 0-2) before losing to St. Paul's (1-9 to 0-13). They recovered to beat Loughnavalley (5-15 to 1-5), Milltown (0-15 to 1-6) and Ballycomoyle (3-9 to 0-4) but then suffered their second defeat at the hands of Caulry (1-6 to 1-11). However, a 2-16 to 1-5 victory over St. Loman's in their final group game saw them qualify automatically for the semi-finals. There, they renewed rivalries with Milltown at Cusack Park on September 21. St. Joseph's started at a blistering pace with Declan Nannery's 1-2 helping them to a 1-7 to 0-2 lead after 21 minutes. Matt Geraghty's charges continued to hold an eight-point lead at the interval, and were still seven points clear at the finish, 1-10 to 0-6, despite only adding two points in the second half. Just as had been the case against Killucan in 2000, the final on October 6 turned out to be something of a nightmare for St. Joseph's. Caulry were the sharper team in most departments and, in truth, never looked like losing. Leo Fallon opened the scoring for the champions-elect in the third minute and further scores from the same player, and the Rigney brothers, Alan and Mark, left them 0-5 to 0-1 to the good at the end of the first quarter. Damien Lynam responded with a point for the Streamstown men before Alan Carroll had a penalty saved by Andrew Meares in the 25th minute. That let-off clearly lifted St. Joseph's spirits and Declan Nannery's goal from close range left them just two points adrift, 1-3 to 0-8, at half-time. However, Caulry put themselves in a commanding position after the resumption when they notched 1-2 without reply. First Leo Fallon pointed. Barely a minute later, Alan Carroll pounced on a loose ball and coolly slotted home. Fallon then pointed from long range and, suddenly, seven points separated the sides. Andrew McCormack and Aidan Lennon replied with points for St. Joseph's, but Caulry had the scent of victory in their nostrils and further minors from Fallon and Carroll propelled them to a deserved victory. "We were very disappointed with our performance because I think we are a much better side than we showed," recalls Nannery, who was a stalwart of Kilbeggan teams throughout the 1970s and 1980s. "Having lost to Caulry in an earlier round, we knew they would be very difficult to beat and I suppose the manner of their semi-final win over St. Paul's made our task even more difficult. But we would still have expected to give them a tougher game." With Caulry now promoted to the intermediate ranks, St. Joseph's are many people's favourites to finally capture the junior championship this year. But Nannery won't be taking anything for granted. "Having been in two junior finals, supporters will be hoping that it will prove to be a case of third time lucky for us this year. Certainly, the fact that Matt Geraghty has decided to stay on as manager is a big boost to us, but on the debit side, we'll be without Daire Lynam and Andrew McCormack who have gone to Australia for the year and Darren Pettit will also miss a lot of games due to a broken ankle. "I think this is going to be a very important year for us because in 2004, you'll have three teams coming down from intermediate which will make it all the harder to win a junior championship. We've been there or thereabouts for the past few years and hopefully we'll make the all-important breakthrough this year," he concludes. The St. Joseph's team which captured the Junior Cup was: Andrew Meares; Neil Keegan, Darren McCormack, Pat McCormack; Brendan Nannery, Fergus McCormack, James McCormack; Sean Lynam, Darren Pettit; Daire Lynam, Declan Nannery, Brendan Slevin; Jason Rabbitte, Andrew McCormack, Damien Lynam. Subs used: Alan McDonnell and Pat Conway. Tweet

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