The 2006 Westmeath senior hurling championship proved to be a very unpredictable campaign with many of the top sides not faring as well as expected, but one side that can hold their heads up high is Crookedwood, who achieved their goal of surviving in the top flight after the club's first year in the grade. However, despite the fact that the 'Wood secured their senior status, newly elected chairman Paul Murray admits that there was an air of disappointment when they did not reach the knockout stages. At the start of the year, Crookedwood along with Ringtown would have been favourites to be relegated; nonetheless both sides had different thoughts. "Definitely our first priority was to stay up as we knew it would be tough in our first year, but we showed great determination and heart in most of the matches and were actually a bit disappointed not to have reached the quarterfinals," said Paul. The draw at the start of the year was not the kindest to Crookedwood as they faced a Lough Lene Gaels side that has won five of the last ten championships. This encounter was billed as a David v. Goliath contest and for long periods it looked as if the underdog was once again about to triumph. The phrase 'goals win matches' was never more emphasised as the Gaels managed to score three during a match in which they looked to be in trouble for long periods. The former champions ran out winners by eight points, but there were many positives for the green, white and golds to take from the game. "There was bad defending for some of the goals and that cost us dearly. We showed that we could match them for long periods and if you can do that against the Gaels, you are doing something right, because they have been one of the best teams in the county for over a decade now," revealed Paul. The defeat to the Collinstown outfit meant that the 'Wood were placed in the losers' section along with St Oliver Plunkett's, Castlepollard and Ringtown. "It was certainly a tough group to be in, but we knew we had a chance against all the teams and with a bit of effort and hard work could pull off a surprise or two." In the opening match, the rural club faced Plunkett's and although confidence was high that a result could be secured, things did not go Crookedwood's way as they lost by eight points. "In the Plunkett's match we never really got going at all and it was a very disappointing display, which was a bit of a blow to the lads' confidence." On paper, the next match was even tougher as they faced a Castlepollard side that were defending champions at the time and a second group stage defeat for Crookedwood would have left them in dire straits. "The players knew what they had to do and this was certainly our best performance of the year. Ringtown had already beaten 'Pollard and we knew that we had a chance." The match ended in a draw, but Paul feels that if the side had taken their chances, they could well have beaten the defending champions on that occasion. "We certainly deserved the draw at least and maybe should have won it. We had the chances to certainly do so, but the draw gave the lads great confidence heading into the last match against Ringtown. A win would put us into the quarterfinals and that was what we were aiming for at that stage," he stressed. Pollard's heavy defeat to Oliver Plunkett's meant that a draw was sufficient for both Ringtown and Crookedwood to avoid relegation, but the chairman admitted that they were looking at the bigger picture. "There was no way that we were going to go out and play for a draw. We wanted to reach the quarterfinal and the lads were determined that was what they were going to do." In a tightly contested match, the sides were evenly matched throughout, but it took a late Johnny Orme free to ensure the match ended in a draw, meaning that both sides' senior status was secure and the reigning champions Castlepollard were relegated to the intermediate ranks for 2007. "It was a big shock to see Castlepollard relegated, but the loss of Darren McCormack and Barry Kennedy for most of the year was a big blow to them, but I think they will bounce straight back up." Paul is enjoying his new role and believes that the club will continue to go from strength to strength in all areas over the coming years, especially with their underage structure. "There has been a big drive at underage level for the last few years and it really has started to pay off. We are developing the kids from under-8's now and the likes of Ciaran O'Keefe and Antoinette Savage to name a couple have done great work with the underage. We have also got a number of the players involved in looking after the various teams and we feel this is important as they younger players look up to the seniors. "We won the minor 'B' final before Christmas, which was a major boost to the club and hopefully most of these will come through to the senior ranks. "At the moment there are four of the senior team over 30, while the rest are under 25. The majority of the lads were on the under-16 team that won the championship in 1998, so we have a relatively young side and will certainly be looking to reach the knockout stages of the championship this year." Fixture congestion has become a major problem on the club scene in every county and Paul believes that one solution is for league matches to be played without county players. "There is too big of a gap during the summer when there is no games at all and teams have to play as many challenge matches as they can, but league or Feis Cup games are more competitive and I would like to see more of them played in the summer. "Teams should play without their county players and this will give more players the chance to prove themselves, while easing the fixture problem a little," said Paul. Crookedwood have recently formed a development committee to oversee their financial affairs and the club plan to do some work around their grounds, while there are also plans in place to extend their dressingrooms. "We intend to do a lot of general work around the pitch like drainage and so on, while if there is enough funds raised during the year, we intend to build on to do the dressingrooms." Crookedwood is certainly a club in a healthy state on and off the field. There is no doubt that the work is being done on the field and their results have shown what they can achieve. With such a comprehensive underage structure in place, they continue to produce quality teams at all grades and the silverware cabinet is filling by the year. The Westmeath Examiner Cup could well be the next piece of silverware to grace the club, as they certainly have the drive and determination to do so in the very near future. Tweet

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