Delvin hurlers will face into the 2006 campaign in the intermediate ranks following their relegation from the top flight. However, club secretary and midfielder Kevin Williams believes the club must look at the positives as they aim to bounce straight back up to senior. It was a cruel blow for the North Westmeath side as they hoped to equal or better the previous year's performance of reaching the quarterfinals. Nonetheless, for any squad that suffers the loss of six players at the beginning of a campaign it is a major setback and that's what happened to Delvin. "It was a major blow to lose the likes of Padraig Fitzsimons, Gareth Halpin, Daniel McHugh, Bernard O'Shaughnessy and John O'Shaughnessy (for part of the year). We are a small club who rely on everyone, but especially the calibre of players that were missing. Any club in the county would find it hard to replace five or six lads," said Kevin. The loss of players was not the only factor that contributed to their downfall as Delvin were forced to change managers during the course of the year and Kevin admitted that this affected the whole squad. "Things didn't work out with the manager we had in at the start of the year and we had to ask Jimmy O'Grady back to help us out, which he did. When a situation like that arises, it is hard for the players to stay focused, although the lads have a huge respect for Jimmy, it's just a pity he hadn't more time," added Kevin. Having put in a mammoth effort in the 2004 campaign, it was always going to be hard for Delvin to keep that momentum going for another year, especially without some of their more experienced players. "It's fair to say that the effort put in wasn't as good as last year. The interest and commitment just wasn't there this year and at senior level, it is so important to keep that going," stressed the club secretary. Delvin have come along way in the last few years and they now possess a talented squad that has youth on it's side as Kevin revealed that at 29 years old, he was the oldest player on the team. The likes of Padraig Fitzsimons, Niall Williams, John O'Shaughnessy, Ger Clune and David Barry would walk on to any team in the county. With such talent at their disposal, it was a major disappointment for the men from the Valley to be relegated. "At the start of the year, we knew it would be difficult with so many missing, but we felt that we had enough strength in the squad to stay up and as results transpired, we should have remained senior comfortably and that made it all the more disappointing." The maroon and whites began their campaign with a tough tie against 2003 champions Castlepollard. It was too much to ask of the young Delvin side as Pollard ran out comfortable winners. Defending champions Castletown-Geoghegan were next and the North Westmeath side were quietly confident of repeating their performance from 2004 when they surprisingly defeated the black and ambers in the group stages. Luck was not on Delvin's side in this instance as a late rally by Castletown was enough for them to see off the challenge of their brave opponents by a two-point margin, 2-11 to 1-12. "We should have beaten Castletown," stressed Kevin. "The game was there for the taking, only they got a couple of late scores, while we wasted a number of chances and that proved costly. We played well enough in that match, but definitely threw it away" A week later, Delvin met St Oliver Plunkett's and the rural club found the going very difficult as Plunkett's ran out convincing winners. Three defeats from their opening three matches left Delvin in the unenviable position of being bottom of the table and staring a relegation dogfight in the face. The prospect of facing annual favourites for the Westmeath Examiner Cup Lough Lene Gaels in the next round of group matches was a daunting task for the Delvin men, but the return of O'Grady as manager seemed to inspire them to greater things. For those supporters and neutrals that turned out to witness this match, they were not disappointed as the game received top marks for entertainment value alone. Hot favourites, the Gaels were given a rude awakening by a spirited and slick performance from Delvin. The underdogs began brightly and could have been two goals up in the opening minutes but squandered both chances. However, their early dominance paid dividends as they raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead. Peter Kelleghan, Daniel Clune (2) and Niall Williams all finding the range. Points were exchanged between the sides with Niall Williams continuing to keep Delvin marginally in front. Lough Lene Gaels then upped the tempo and hit 2-2 without reply, leaving everyone of the opinion that Delvin's challenge was over. The sides exchanged further scores following the restart and Delvin slowly narrowed the gap, although there was still five points between the sides with 15 minutes remaining. Delvin received a boost when Lough Lene were reduced to 14-men for the remainder of the game and they used the numerical advantage to their benefit as Niall Williams converted a free before centre half forward Packie Clune blasted the sliotar to the net from close range to put one-point between the sides. The lead was stretched to two shortly afterwards but Clune and Williams pointed for Delvin to draw level and this was to be the last action of the match. Confusion reigned in the intervening minutes as the referee was forced to consult his umpires for the final score, although it was deemed a draw much to the relief of the Delvin contingent. It was a moral boosting draw for O'Grady's charges that would have seemed impossible at the start of the campaign. Nonetheless, the lengthy break in the championship due to Westmeath's successful Christy Ring Cup campaign had a major bearing on the outcome of Delvin's year. "We were definitely on a high after the Gaels match. To draw with them was a huge achievement for us and we were eager to play the next match as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there was a six-week break between matches and we had no one on the county team which didn't help. Despite playing a few challenge matches and training all the time, it was hard to keep the commitment going once again," revealed Kevin. When normal service did resume in mid-August fellow relegation candidates Ringtown were the opposition. A tight, tense affair was the outcome as neither side wanted to lose. The early exchanges saw each side find their range and the match was close throughout. But, it was Ringtown that prevailed when a last gasp point earned them the victory and their first points of the championship much to the disbelief of the Delvin men. "To lose against Ringtown the first day was a bitter blow as we felt that we were much the better team, but it was a tough match and both sides were desperate to win." A narrow three-point defeat to Raharney soon followed which virtually condemned Delvin to a relegation play-off final against Ringtown, even though they had one-match to play against Clonkill. The Loughegar side ran out easy winners against Delvin in the last group match, which left the men from the Valley rooted to the bottom of the table. Delvin could have not asked for a better start in the relegation final as they lead by 1-2 to 0-0 after ten minutes with Niall and Kevin Williams firing over a point each, while Packie Clune's well placed shot flew into the corner of the net. The sides exchanged a brace of scores shortly after as Ringtown came more into the game. Then in the 22nd minute, Ringtown found the net after some slack defending in the Delvin defence and the sides went in at half time with the Whitehall outfit leading by 1-5 to 1-3. In the second half, Delvin seemed to play well below par as they struggled to match their first half performance and when Ringtown scored their second goal of the afternoon, the match was over as a contest and a place in the 2006 intermediate championship awaited Delvin. "To lose the way we did was heartbreaking, but we know if we had all our players, it would have been a different story. There are a lot of young players coming through the ranks and with some of the other lads back next year, Delvin should make the return to senior, although it will be tough as there are a number of good sides in that grade and it is very competitive," concluded Kevin. Valleymen upbeat despite league heartbreak Despite being pipped for the All-County Football League Division 7 title by Ballynacargy in January, the Delvin footballers are in upbeat mood ahead of the new season according to PRO Paul Hughes. Delvin footballers showed steady signs of improvement in 2005 and could count themselves unlucky not to have finished the year with some silverware. For a long time, the Valleymen appeared odds-on to capture the All-County League Division 7 title and many supporters were of the understanding that they had wrapped the title up before Christmas. But their closest rivals in the division, Ballynacargy, had games in hand and, through a combination of walkovers and wins over Tang and Tubberclair, forced a play-off which resulted in a 2-12 to 2-8 victory for the blue and golds after extra-time. "There was a lot of confusion over the outcome of the division," recalls Delvin football club PRO Paul Hughes. "After winning seven of our eight games, we thought we couldn't be caught, but Ballynacargy won their games in hand and received a few walkovers as well, and that set the scene for what was essentially a Division 7 decider. We played well on the day, but Ballynacargy wore us down in extra-time and we ended up losing by four points. "While it was disappointing to lose, we weren't too downcast because we still had a good year. In any case, the league structures have been changed this year so it wouldn't have made any difference if we were promoted. We would still have ended up playing in the new junior league," he adds. Delvin's only loss in Division 7 was to Coralstown/Kinnegad and this ultimately cost them the title. Despite the surprise of being caught by Ballynacargy, who had made up the ground on Delvin in the months of November and December, Pat Shryane's charges had no fears of playing them, especially after their victory when the teams previously met in June. The play-off took place on January 29 in sunny, but bitterly cold conditions at Shandonagh. Ballynacargy could call on several members of their intermediate team, including Andrew Heduvan, Mark Murphy and Michael Loran, but it was Delvin who made the better start when Padraig O'Shaughnessy scored an early point. However, their lead was short-lived as Enda Scally replied almost immediately with a goal for Bal'. Delvin recovered quickly and two points from Brendan O'Brien and Daniel Clune brought them back onto level terms before Mark Murphy and Patrick Farrelly traded points. The Valleymen then made a decisive breakthrough when Padraig O'Shaughnessy set up Niall Williams for a well-taken goal. That score gave Delvin a 1-4 to 1-1 lead, but points from Daniel Keena and Cathal McKeon late in the half reduced the deficit to the minimum at the break. The standard of play deteriorated in the second half with Ballynacargy failing to capitalize on good possession by registering eight wides. Michael Loran brought them level in the 34th minute, but their wastefulness in front of goal allowed Delvin to hang in, and a last-gasp point from Patrick Farrelly saw the game go to extra-time. Farrelly edged the maroon and whites back in front, only for Daniel Keena and Mark Murphy to reply with points for Ballynacargy. The Longford-border men could have killed the game off when they were awarded a penalty, but Loran's effort struck the crossbar in the last action of the first period. After the turnaround, Loran made amends with a point, and when Cathal McKeon and Mark Murphy tagged on scores to give Bal' a 1-12 to 1-8 lead, Delvin's resolve appeared to be broken. But with a minute to go, Niall Williams pounced on a mistake by Ballynacargy goalkeeper Michael Penrose to score his second goal to leave just a point in it. Fatally for Delvin, they failed to regroup from the resulting kick-out and poor marking allowed Enda Scally to score a goal at the opposite end to finally put the result beyond doubt. Delvin had mixed results in the junior championship, with their interests being ended by neighbours Ballycomoyle in a play-off. They lost their opening two games to Ballinagore (1-6 to 3-13) and Loughnavalley (1-10 to 3-5) before drawing with Ballycomoyle (1-5 to 0-8). This was followed by a third defeat to St. Paul's (0-6 to 0-16), but a first win at the expense of St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham threw them a championship lifeline. Delvin were quickly into their stride and Niall Williams had 1-1 on the board before Multy managed a reply. The losers hauled themselves back onto level terms before scores from Brendan O'Brien and Daniel Clune gave the Valleymen a 2-3 to 1-3 lead at the interval. In the second half, Multy closed the gap to a point and would have overtaken Delvin but for a brilliant penalty save by Brendan Cruise. Following that let-off, Niall Williams scored a third goal and a couple of points from Padraig O'Shaughnessy steered Delvin to a 3-7 to 1-6 victory. Despite finishing second from bottom in the group, Delvin renewed acquaintances with Ballycomoyle in a play-off to determine which team would go through to the quarter-finals. A good sized crowd gathered in Castlepollard for the local derby clash, but the Delvin contingent was left disappointed after Ballycomoyle ran out comfortable winners by 2-9 to 1-4. Forced to line out without Niall Williams and Anthony Clune, Delvin were blitzed in the first half as Ballycomoyle established a 1-7 to 0-2 interval lead. To add to the Valleymen's misery, John O'Shaughnessy had a penalty saved by Ballycomoyle goalkeeper Marius Reilly. Patrick Farrelly did succeed in finding the net in the second half, but a second Ballycomoyle major ended the Delvin challenge. "Even though we managed just one championship win, we were still only one win away from reaching the knock-out stages," says Paul, who is a journalist with the Westmeath Topic newspaper. "We were competitive in all of our matches and gave a very good account of ourselves in the second half of our match against the eventual Leinster champions Ballinagore. The team was much improved on 2004 and the management trio of Pat Shryane, Alan Sherwin and Martin Forde deserve great credit for bringing them that step further." Hughes feels Delvin are beginning to reap the benefits of their efforts at underage level in recent years. The under 14 and under 16 teams reached the semi-final and quarter-final of their respective championships last year, while great progress was also made at under 10 and under 12 level. "Our underage secretary John Gaffney has been a real driving force behind our improved fortunes in the juvenile grades. He has got great assistance from several others, who I won't name in fear of leaving someone out. There is a big interest in Delvin underage football at the moment and you would have to say that Westmeath's Leinster championship win of two years ago was a big help." Paul is confident that the Valleymen can build on last year's progress in the season ahead. "We've taken a lot of encouragement from last year's league form and from the young talent that is filtering through. Our aim for 2006 is to win three games in the junior championship and to reach the quarter-finals. We're also hoping to do well in the new junior league," he concludes. The Delvin team which lost the Division 7 play-off to Ballynacargy was: Brendan Cruise; James Boyle, Louis Sherwin, Cathal Nugent; Patsy Sheerin, Ger Clune, Shane Farrelly (captain); Darren McHugh, Brendan O'Brien; John Cogan, Padraig O'Shaughnessy, Niall Williams; Patrick Farrelly, Niall Kearney, Daniel Clune. Subs used: Ger Gaffney and Andrew Reilly. Tweet

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