Milltown's bid for junior championship honours came unstuck at the semi-final stage again last year. But it might have been a different story had they not been ravaged by injuries according to club secretary and player John Dillon. For the second year in succession, Milltown's junior football championship hopes were dashed at the penultimate round stage. In 2001, Caulry ended their interests while last year it was the turn of St. Joseph's. The latter also put paid to Milltown's Junior Cup aspirations, again at the semi-final stage. While not trying to take anything away from St. Joseph's victories, Milltown club secretary and long-serving player John Dillon claims that the Rathconrath outfit were severely weakened by injuries. "We had a horrendous year on the injury front," he says. "Fellas like Fergal Reilly, who was on the county minor panel the previous year, Ciaran Byrne and myself spent most of the year on the sideline because of injuries. For a small club like ourselves to have a chance of winning silverware, we need every player at our disposal and unfortunately that wasn't the case last year." Dillon, who suffered a serious facial injury in a challenge match against Longford side Cashel, notes that Milltown are currently in the process of rebuilding and this has also been a factor in their failure to regain intermediate status. "We're going through a transitional phase at the moment and it's very hard to make progress when that's taking place. When we came down from intermediate in 2000, a lot of lads were coming near the end of their careers and it was obvious that rebuilding work needed to be carried out. "Fortunately, we have a lot of good prospects at the moment, including Michael Connell, Patrick Gavigan, Stephen Somers, Danny and Aidan Scally and the Reillys, Fergal, Conor and Paddy. When these guys get a bit more experience, I have no doubt that we will be a much stronger outfit." Under the stewardship of St. Loman's referee Mick McAdden, Milltown made an encouraging start to the championship when they defeated Delvin by 2-14 to 0-7 on April 13. But they suffered a setback two weeks later when eventual champions Caulry pipped them on a 0-7 to 0-6 scoreline. Milltown bounced back from that defeat to beat Loughnavalley by 1-14 to 0-3. The green and whites dominated from the start with Paul Mahon's goal helping them to a commanding 1-8 to 0-1 lead at the break. Against St. Loman's in round four, Milltown didn't have things all their own way, but they still triumphed by 2-8 to 1-7. However, that was followed by the first of three defeats to St. Joseph's in 2002, the final score being 1-6 to 0-15. Milltown were now in danger of missing out on a top-four finish, but three wins from their remaining three games saw them qualify for the semi-final. A 3-8 to 0-8 victory over St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham was followed by a 1-9 to 1-6 triumph over Ballycomoyle. In their final group game, they overcame St. Paul's by 1-8 to 1-4 with half forward Conor Reilly accounting for the Milltown goal. The Rathconrath side renewed rivalries with St. Joseph's on September 21 at Cusack Park with the prize for the winners being a place in the final against Caulry. Milltown made the better start with points from Louis Kiernan and Nicholas Rooney giving them a 0-2 to 0-1 lead after nine minutes. But that was as good as it got for Mick McAdden's charges who were made to play second fiddle for the remainder of the half. After Darren Pettit had levelled, St. Joseph's took a firm grip on proceedings and were six points to the good after 19 minutes thanks to a Declan Nannery goal. Louis Kiernan pulled back a point for Milltown, but further scores from Alan McDonnell and Brendan Slevin left the Streamstown men perched nicely on a 1-8 to 0-3 lead at the break. The second half was a dour affair with the teams managing just five points between them. Milltown substitute Paul Mahon registered the first score after nine minutes and Damien Gunning latched onto a pass from Johnny Duncan to cut the St. Joseph's lead to six points. With 14 minutes of the half elapsed, Milltown produced a fine move involving Gerry Somers, Duncan, Gunning and Mick Dillon, with the latter kicking a good point to leave his side trailing 0-6 to 1-8. However, Milltown failed to score again as two further points per Declan Nannery and Daire Lynam sealed a 1-10 to 0-6 victory for St. Joseph's. While the junior team disappointed, the year wasn't without its highlights. At underage level, Millmore Gaels (a combination of Milltown and Ballymore) claimed their first ever title when they powered to a 4-7 to 1-4 victory over Ballycomoyle in the under 14 'C' championship final at Cusack Park. Under the tutelage of John McNeill, Martin Wilson and Mick Eivers, Millmore Gaels laid the foundations for their win in the first half when they established a 3-4 to 0-1 lead. Their north county opponents improved on the restart, but never looked like making up the deficit. The writing was on the wall for Ballycomoyle after just four minutes when full forward Joe Kenny scored the opening goal. Kenny and Alan Slevin added further goals before the break to give Millmore Gaels a commanding lead. Ballycomoyle succeeded in reducing the deficit in the second half, but a second goal from Slevin two minutes from the end sealed an impressive victory for the combination side. "The under 14 success was a big boost to both Milltown and Ballymore," Dillon notes. "It was great to get an underage title under our belts after a few barren years and hopefully the amalgamation can go from strength to strength from here. I think the decision to come together was a very wise move by both clubs, especially as the playing numbers wouldn't be huge in either club." This year, former county player Martin Lynn has succeeded Mick McAdden as junior team manager and will be assisted by selectors Ned and Gerry Somers. As has been the case for the past two years, winning the junior championship will be the club's main objective. "The junior championship is the target again," Dillon explains. "We're playing our league football in Division 3 again this year and that should give us an advantage over most of the other junior clubs. The injuries we have last year have cleared up and we have also been boosted by the return of our regular full back David Molloy who missed all of last year. "St. Joseph's will probably be the team to beat as they have been knocking on the door for quite a few years now. But we expect to be a lot stronger than last year and, if we can get any bit of luck at all, we could win the championship," he concludes. The Milltown team which contested the junior championship semi-final was: Damien Byrne; Eamonn Hynes, Brendan Kiernan, Alan Ward; Michael Connell, Johnny Duncan, Paddy Reilly; Damien Gunning, Tom Dillon; Mick Dillon, Stephen Somers, Conor Reilly; Louis Kiernan, Gerry Somers, Nicholas Rooney. Subs used: Paul Mahon, Willie Keegan, Peter Ballesty and Paul Heduvan. Tweet

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