2008 was another frustrating year for Loughnavalley who failed to achieve their goal of reaching the knockout stages of the junior championship. However, they certainly aren't without hope facing into the new campaign as team captain Noel Dalton explains. Loughnavalley's quest for a first junior football title success since 1950 goes on after another disappointing campaign which saw them exit the championship at the group stage. It was a familiar story for one of the county's smallest clubs who registered wins over St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham and Delvin, but were beaten by St. Joseph's and the respective second strings of St. Loman's and Mullingar Shamrocks. While admitting that the effort in training wasn't what it should have been, Loughnavalley captain Noel Dalton argues that a lack of regular fixtures made it difficult for the players to maintain interest. "I don't think the junior clubs are being treated fairly at all," the midfielder-cum-centre forward blasts. "Some of our lads mightn't have been committed enough last year, but you can't really fault them when the fixtures are all over the place. We played St. Joseph's in our first game in early June, and then had to wait five weeks for our next game. A long break like that makes it very difficult for players to remain interested. "We tried to organise challenge matches, but because other teams were getting competitive games, we were left without football. It was very disheartening because all that any player wants is regular games." According to Noel, it didn't help either that Loughnavalley were narrowly beaten in their championship opener. "It's always important to make a winning start to the championship, so to lose to St. Joseph's in such agonising circumstances was a big blow to our confidence. There was a lot of optimism at the start of the year that we could reach the knockout stages, but that quickly drained from us after the first round. We've lacked a bit of belief over the last few years, and that's probably down to not winning regularly." Under Jas Brady's management, Loughnavalley had identified their first round clash with St. Joseph's at Cusack Park as a must-win game but, for the second year in-a-row, the Streamstown men came out on top. The game was by no means dirty, but referee Terry O'Dowd still saw fit to issue three straight red cards, two of which were to Loughnavalley players. With Darren Rigney and 1999 All-Ireland under 21 medallist Bobby Elliffe both on target for the 'Valley, the sides went into the break level on 0-4 each. But St. Joseph's took control in the third quarter and when Andrew McCormack pounced for the opening goal, five points separated the teams. Loughnavalley refused to give up the chase, however, and after Sean Ruane pulled back a point, Kenneth Rigney bagged a late goal to leave the minimum between the sides. But a relieved St. Joseph's held on for a 1-8 to 1-7 victory. The green and golds bounced back with a 4-15 to 0-4 drubbing of Delvin in their second outing at Shandonagh. Delvin, who were severely depleted, proved no match for a rampant Loughnavalley side who raced into a 3-4 to 0-0 lead inside 15 minutes thanks to goals from Kenneth Rigney (two) and Peter Kelly. After adding just one point to their tally in the second quarter, Loughnavalley resumed for the second half with an unanswered 1-5. The goal was scored by Ryan O'Hehir following a great move involving Bobby Elliffe, Stephen McManus and Kenneth Rigney. Delvin threatened to score a goal of their own on a couple of occasions, but were denied by Brendan Clarke each time. The 'Valley chalked up their second win when they overcame St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham by 2-10 to 0-10 at The Downs. Following an evenly contested first half, corner forward Paul Donoghue netted twice to put daylight between the sides. A place in the knockout stages was now firmly in Loughnavalley's sights, but successive defeats to Mullingar Shamrocks and St. Loman's in their remaining group matches ended their championship interests for another year. In the game against Shamrocks at Shandonagh, the early exchanges were close, but then the town side hit a purple patch which yielded 2-3 in five minutes, and they went into the break leading 2-7 to 0-1. In the second half, Loughnavalley missed a penalty and two other clear-cut goal chances as Shamrocks eased to 2-12 to 0-5 victory. Loughnavalley gave a better account of themselves against St. Loman's in their final match at Shandonagh on August 22, but defeat was once again their lot. Despite dominating at midfield, the losers struggled to make any headway against a tight-marking St. Loman's defence and trailed 0-4 to 1-5 at half-time. They reduced the deficit early in the second half before substitute Anton Savage added a second goal for St. Loman's who went on to win by 2-10 to 1-9. There was no joy for the 'Valley in either the Junior Cup or Division 3 of the All-County League. In the Junior Cup, they avenged their championship defeat to St. Joseph's before bowing out to eventual winners St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge. As one of the few clubs in the county not to have their own underage structure, Dalton accepts that Loughnavalley are at a major disadvantage. "We'd like to think we'll have our own underage section some day, but at the moment it isn't possible because we don't have the numbers. St. Malachy's/Ballinagore cater for our underage players, and a number of the current junior team have had a fair bit of success with them and with the Ennell Shamrocks group team. But I'm sure if we had our own underage section, it would stop us losing players to other clubs," he says. While 2008 may not have been so successful for the male footballers of Loughnavalley, the ladies continued to go from strength to strength by beating Ballycomoyle to win the Junior Shield. They also reached the junior championship final for the second year running, only to lose to Athlone by 4-9 to 3-6 in Castletown-Geoghegan. Despite scoring two goals in the first half, the 'Valley girls trailed 2-2 to 2-6 at the interval. Loughnavalley got to within a point, 3-6 to 3-7, in the second half before Melissa Barr scored a fourth Athlone goal to end their comeback. Loughnavalley mourned the death of two of its greatest stalwarts last year in Mick Boyce and JJ Ruane. Boyce was a member of the team that defeated Multyfarnham in the 1950 junior championship final (the replay of which was played in early 1951), while Ruane had immersed himself in club affairs since arriving from Mayo many years ago. He was the father of current players Colm and Sean. Looking ahead to 2009, Noel Dalton is confident that Loughnavalley can improve on last year's effort under new manager Fergus Shaw. "Fergus did well when he was with us before and we're looking forward to playing under him again. The new championship format will make it more difficult for us, but if our attitude is right, we can be a match for anyone. A good few of the lads are now 27 or 28, and it's high time we delivered on the championship stage," he concludes. The Loughnavalley team which defeated St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham in the JFC was: Brendan Clarke; Philip McCabe, Gerry Clarke, Vinny Ahearn; Peter Kelly, Johnny Hegarty, Alan Giblin; Stephen McManus, Sean Ruane; Kenneth Rigney, Noel Dalton, Derek Newman; Glen Gavigan, Bobby Elliffe, Paul Donoghue. Subs used: Colm Ruane, Edward Byrne and Ciaran Callan. The ladies team which faced Athlone in the junior championship final was: Alice Kerrigan; Amy Garvin, Lorraine Austin, Laura Elliffe; Avril Corbett, Carol Keenan, Ciara Rigney; Fiona Ruane, Sandra Tuite; Michelle Cuskelly, Nicola Cunningham, Orla Glennon; Majella Murphy (captain), Sarah Walsh, Gillian Corbett. Tweet

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