Though they failed to get their hands on any silverware in 2005, Loughnavalley continued to make steady progress, reaching a second successive Junior Cup final and also contesting the semi-final stage of the county JFC. This represents a very satisfactory return for a small rural club constantly battling against unforgiving odds, so first team veteran Tony Ruane looks back on the events of '05 with a degree of contentment. Realistically, Loughnavalley were never going to take the Westmeath GAA world by storm in 2005. They had reached the knockout stage of the junior championship the previous year, as well as contesting the Junior Cup decider, and most people in the club approached the new year hoping for a repeat of that performance. As things transpired, the Green & Golds went a step further, contesting another Junior Cup final and also shocking Athlone's second string at the quarter-final stage to book their place in the last four of the JFC. Their brave run was ended by a rampant St Paul's outfit therein, but there's no denying that Loughnavalley had done well just to get that far in the first place. While there was no shame in either the Junior Cup final (against Ballinagore) or junior championship semi-final defeats, Tony Ruane admits he was disappointed with both results. It was the manner of defeat that frustrated Tony on both occasions. He feels that the players didn't do themselves justice in either game - an observation that speaks volumes for the sense of pride and determination permeating this small rural club. Casting his mind back upon the events of the season in general, Tony notes: "We're happy enough with how we did generally, but we were very disappointed with our performance in the championship semi-final in particular. Realistically, Loughnavalley is a very small club and it's about keeping the club going as much as anything, but we didn't play at all in the semi-final and that was disappointing. Overall, though, it wasn't a bad year." Certainly, the results achieved would seem to suggest a steady progression. Loughnavalley made it through to the knockout stage of the JFC again and this time went all the way to the penultimate round. As one of the Lake County's six exclusive junior clubs, they faced their five counterparts in the initial round-robin stage of the competition. Loughnavalley lost their first and third games to would-be finalists St Paul's (2-5 to 0-5) and Ballinagore (0-12 to 1-6) respectively, but claimed a deserved quarter-final berth with victories over Delvin (3-5 to 1-10), St Fintan's/Multyfarnham (1-7 to 1-5) and Ballycomoyle (1-9 to 0-9). A few eyebrows were raised when Athlone were defeated by 0-12 to 2-2 at the quarter-final stage but the dream came to an abrupt halt in September when St Paul's once again proved too strong for the Loughnavalley men, 1-14 to 1-1. It was a disappointing end to a decent year for the Green & Golds, whose impressive early season form had also seen them qualify for the final of the Junior Cup. Unfortunately, intermediate-bound Ballinagore took the spoils in late August, 2-12 to 1-5. All in all, it was a satisfactory year, but the players know there's plenty more work to do if they're to consolidate. Tony Ruane believes that slight progress was made during the year and hopes to see more young talent coming through to supplement the effort. "It's still a small club and we need to bring young players through," he points out. What objectives were laid out before the start of the 2005 campaign? "At the start of the year, if we had been told that we would get to the final of the Junior Cup and the semi-finals of the championship, we'd have been happy. Realistically, we couldn't expect much more than that. It's just a pity we didn't do ourselves justice in those games. That was definitely the most disappointing aspect of 2005. Once we got there, we'd like to have been a bit closer in both matches." Having reached the latter stages of both competitions, could Loughnavalley have actually gone on to capture a piece of silverware? "I think we'd have needed a lot of luck on the day if we were ever going to beat Ballinagore in the Junior Cup final because they were just too strong for junior football, but we could have ran them a lot closer. The same applies to the championship semi-final against the Pauls - they played us off the park and there was only one team in it. "Maybe we can learn something from it. A few new young lads have come in and hopefully the experience won't do them any harm. They should be stronger this year [2006]." Loughnavalley were close to the top of the Division Six league table for most of 2005, but the position was a little misleading as the full programme of games wasn't completed and the competition was left hanging in the air somewhat. "We played more games than most teams and I don't know what the story is with the league," Tony concedes. "The year starts early enough in Westmeath, sometimes in February, yet it still drags on into November. I know county games can hold things up but it's still difficult to see why the matches can't be played off quicker." Tony is originally from the Moy Davitts club in Mayo and joined Loughnavalley in 1997 after a spell with Fingallians in Swords in between. This will be his tenth season with Loughnavalley and the Mayo native, who turns 37 this term, intends to give it a good shot, even though he quips that it "could be a bit of a struggle"! The target for the coming season? "We need to move up through the league. Division Six is second from bottom and we need to move up and play regularly against better quality opposition. That's the best way to improve and we'd be in a better position then to challenge for the championship. "In the championship, Ballinagore have gone up but there are two strong teams coming down to junior grade - Caulry and our local rivals Milltown. We'll aim for the knockouts again, but it'll take a major effort. Caulry, Milltown and St Paul's are very strong sides, so we're really up against it. "Most of the players are around the 26/27 mark now, so you'd expect us to be reaching our peak. A lot could depend on how much effort we put in over the course of the year. We'll aim for a semi-final place and, once you get there, you never know what might happen if you get a bit of luck on the day. Let's just day we'd be hopeful rather than overly optimistic…" Perhaps the Junior Cup might represent a more realistic quarry. Loughnavalley have contested back-to-back finals these past two seasons and actually won the competition out in 2001. "Depending on the draw, it's something we feel we could win," Tony agrees. Tweet

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