Arguably the biggest underachievers of last year's senior football championship were Castledaly. Their failure to progress beyond the group stages was a source of huge disappointment to supporters but new club chairman Denis Fanning is hopeful that they can make amends in the coming campaign. Following their success in the delayed 2000 Feis Cup final early last year, Castledaly were installed as one of the favourites for the senior football championship. But they never got motoring and subsequently failed to reach the knock-out stages. The south county outfit were expected to achieve a top-three finish in a group that also included St. Loman's, Athlone, Garrycastle, Ballynacargy and St. Mary's but such never looked like materialising. They walloped St. Mary's in their first outing but that was as good as it got with only two points (draws against Ballynacargy and Athlone) being garnered from their remaining four matches. "We were very disappointed with the way things turned out," admits Castledaly's new chairman Denis Fanning. "A lot of people felt that we were championship dark horses at the start of the year but we struggled to find our form and never really threatened to go any further than the group stages. Even though we had just won the Feis Cup, morale wasn't the best and you can't expect to win anything when that's the case." Fanning, who succeeded Gerard Lawlor in the chair, is in no doubt that Castledaly have the capability to lift the Flanagan Cup. But he stresses the importance of harmony in the club. "Last year we had a few internal problems and it was reflected in our performances. It was through no fault of our manager Dominic Guinan that things didn't pan out as we would have liked. "This year we hope to wipe the slate clean and have a real go at winning the championship. We have JP Casey back from America and I'm convinced that we have the all-round ability to make our presence felt." Castledaly's 2-10 to 0-7 victory over St. Mary's in their opening game of last year's championship suggested that they would live up to expectations. JP Casey's importance to the team was underlined when he scored 2-5, the goals coming either side of half-time. Castledaly led by 1-4 to 0-4 at the interval but with JP Casey, Russell Casey, Niall Kelly and Derek Heavin in fine scoring form, they had increased their advantage to nine points at the final whistle. But Castledaly's entire season was rocked when they suffered a crushing 1-9 to 4-10 defeat to St. Loman's in their next game at Cusack Park on June 24. The Loman's attack was rampant and the game was over as a contest long before the finish. On July 11 at Kilbeggan, Castledaly's qualification prospects suffered another setback when they were held to a 0-12 to 0-12 draw by Ballynacargy. This was a game the green and golds were expected to win and they appeared to be well on course when they led by 0-8 to 0-2 at the break. Shortly after the restart, Castledaly had increased their advantage to seven points but then came an astonishing Ballynacargy recovery which saw them edge into the lead. In the end, the south county side had county minor player Damien Doyle to thank when he conjured a late equalising point. Castledaly needed to beat Garrycastle in their fourth game at Pairc Chiarain to bolster their chances of reaching the knock-out stages. But, after a poor contest, they finished on the wrong end of a 0-6 to 0-8 defeat. Dominic Guinan's charges were dominant when assisted by the wind in the second half but more often than not, their finishing let them down. Amazingly, a place in the knock-out stages still beckoned for Castledaly before they faced Athlone in their final group outing at Moate on August 26. Having already qualified for the quarter-final stage, Athlone weren't in need of a win but Castledaly still found them a tough nut to crack. Athlone led by six points midway through the second half but Castledaly staged a tremendous rally in the closing stages which culminated in substitute Michael Fogarty scoring the equalising point. The final score was 0-14 each but it wasn't enough for Castledaly. It must be pointed out that even if they had won, Garrycastle's victory over St. Mary's the following day would still have denied them third spot in the group. While the senior championship proved a disappointment, Castledaly were successful in other grades. In late April, the club finally ended its jinx in the senior 'B' championship by seeing off the challenge of Kilbeggan Shamrocks in the delayed 2000 final. Castledaly had lost three finals in the previous five years but made no mistake on this occasion, running out emphatic 1-17 to 0-8 winners. The senior 'B' success completed a notable quadruple for 2000, with the Feis Cup and the Division 2 and Division 4 titles having also been won. Castledaly's grip on the senior 'B' crown didn't last long, however. On June 2 at Rochfortbridge, they met The Downs in the 2001 decider. An early goal from Michael Duffy gave the green and golds hope but they ended up losing by 1-4 to 1-8. Castledaly's underage structure remains one of the strongest in the county. Under the management of Eugene Costello and Michael Kelly, the under 14 team defeated Milltownpass by 1-8 to 2-4 on November 4 to take home the county 'B' title. A first half goal from Paul Finnerty helped Castledaly into a 1-4 to 1-1 advantage at half-time. Milltownpass fought back to take the lead early in the second half but points from Anthony Costello and Tomás Warburton ensured Castledaly of a thrilling victory. Over the next few months, Castledaly hope to begin work on the development of a new pitch for training and underage purposes adjacent to the existing pitch. The clubs also hopes to install full floodlighting facilities in the near future. The development of a second pitch will mean that the existing stand will be relocated on the opposite side of the existing pitch. Needless to say, success in the senior championship is what Castledaly crave for most. Last year's management team of Dominic Guinan, Gerard Lawlor and Eugene Doyle has been replaced by Brendan Clarke, Gerard Duffy and PJ Fanning (father of Denis). "There's no doubt about it, we'll be hoping for a big improvement from the seniors this year. Brendan Clarke enjoyed a lot of success with Athlone and we're hoping that he can achieve similar success with us. "One thing's for sure, we can do an awful lot better than last year," Fanning concludes. The Castledaly team that captured the 2000 senior 'B' football championship title was: Willie Glynn; Kenneth Larkin, Alan Duffy, Colin Harrington; Enda Kelly, Mark Rohan, Niall O'Neill; Joe Sheerin, Niall Kelly; Tom Claffey, Sean Connell, Graham Young; Mike Fogarty, MJ McLoughlin, Brendan Fitzgerarld. Subs used: Oliver Galvin, Michael Duffy, Alan Doyle, Alan Kelly and Mark Linnane. The Castledaly team which won the under 14 'B' championship final was: Lee Gaffey; Cormac Murray, Conor Coughlan, Keith Finnerty; Colm Farrell, Andrew Kenny, Anthony Connell; Paul Larkin (0-3), Jonathan Holloway; Catriona Gavin, Tomás Warburton (0-3), Anthony Costello (0-1); Paul Finnerty (1-0), Brendan Kelly (0-1), Eoin Costello. Tweet

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