Delvin entered last year's intermediate championship as favourites for the title, but as in the case in all sports that did not give them the right to win. However, club chairman Martin Newman is confident that the maroon and whites will be back to their best in 2007. This year's intermediate campaign will be an interesting fare as not only will Delvin have to contend with the likes of Cullion, Turin and St Brigid's, but they also face 2005 senior hurling champions Castlepollard, who were surprisingly relegated last year. Clonkill will also have a team in the intermediate grade for the first time and following their success in the junior 'A' just before Christmas, and they too will pose a threat to any side. Martin admits that last year did not go according to plan, but is confident that they can get back on track during this year's campaign, even though they face tough competition. "We certainly have nothing to fear from any side," stressed Martin. "When we were senior, we defeated Castletown Geoghegan and drew with Lough Lene Gaels, while we also gave teams like Castlepollard a run for their money and we have the same squad with a few more young lads coming through. "Delvin are a very young squad and we have a panel of around 35 players, which is great. I believe if the lads put in the right effort then, we have every chance of winning the championship." Hurling stalwart Bobbie Begley was the man in charge of Delvin last year and although the side got off to a great start against Southern Gaels when they had a comfortable five-point victory over the Westmeath side, they then suffered a surprise defeat to a struggling Cullion side. "We started the year well and there was a good turn out for training at the beginning. Bobbie is a very good coach and loves his hurling, it was a real bonus to get him and it's a pity he couldn't have been given more commitment during the year. The game against Southern Gaels was high scoring and maybe we should have won by more. "I felt that we threw away the game against Cullion, the lads were well ahead but let them back into the match and we just didn't take our chances on the day. They scored three goals, which the defence should have dealt with better and we ended up losing by three points, when we should have won easy," he added. Martin admits that from an early stage in the year, it was evident to see that the commitment was not there from the players and he stressed that is essential to winning a title. "You have to put in the effort to win any championship and that is something we didn't do last year. Some of the lads were away in College and some had work commitments, so this meant that the numbers at training dwindled during the year." A local derby with neighbours Brownstown was the next outing for Delvin and they went into this match minus a few regulars, but this did not stop them from producing their best performance of the year at that stage. "There was a good few missing for the Brownstown game. The lads that were there deserve great credit for they way they played and we were well on top throughout the match. Winning that game should have been a huge boost to the players' confidence, although it didn't turn out that way." Despite, the win against Brownstown, it was a return to losing ways for Delvin as they suffered their heaviest defeat of the year to an emerging St Brigid's side. "The St Brigid's game was the low point of the year; it was definitely our worst performance in a long time and we never got into the match at all. There were a lot of questions asked after that game and we knew something had to be done quickly," revealed Martin. The situation did not get any better as Delvin lost their last group match to Turin, but fortunately for them a Southern Gaels win over Cullion meant that Delvin secured fourth spot in the group and more importantly a place in the semi final. "There wasn't much time to prepare for the semi final, but the lads did put in a big effort at that stage. We knew it was going to be a tough match against St Brigid's, especially after what happened in the group game." Delvin showed their true potential against the Dalystown outfit and their hard word the previous few weeks paid dividends as they recorded a 1-11 to 1-6 victory to set up a final meeting with Brownstown. Even though, they had struggled through the group stages, Delvin entered the final as slight favourites having defeated their opponents in the group stages with an understrength side. The decider itself started off slowly and Delvin took an early lead, but a Brownstown goal midway through the half set them on their way to a rather flattering win. "In all honesty if we had won the championship it would have been against all the odds. The effort just wasn't put in during the year and I think the lads were a little over confident going into the final. They never really got going and Brownstown were that bit hungrier on the day." Martin is confident that the team can regroup next year and make a return to the senior ranks even though they face a tough intermediate campaign. "Delvin are a very young side and most of the lads have benefited from playing senior hurling. Maybe we could do with one or two more experienced lads just to help the younger lads come through. In saying that I've no doubt that if we do put in the effort this year, we can win the championship. "Castlepollard are not getting any younger and even though they have some brilliant hurlers, last year proved that they are beatable. Delvin has the likes of Killian Murphy and Luke Kelly coming through and hopefully they will make an impact this year." Notwithstanding the fact that no silverware was obtained during 2006, the club had a relatively successful year as they competed in four finals, while at the time of going to press, they were awaiting to play the under-16 final. "As well as the intermediate final, we reached the junior 'B' final where Lough Lene Gaels beat us in a game that we could have won, but they were just that bit more experienced. "The under-12's and 14s reached their respective finals as well only to lose both. The schools team faired a lot better by winning their competition, so it is good to see that we can compete in the various grades anyway." Delvin is a growing area that has seen many houses built in the community over the last few years. The GAA club has benefited from this as there are more kids now playing hurling and football. "Catherine Doherty has done great work in the schools and has really improved the standard among the kids, which is very important for us. The underage had been let slip a little in recent years. There is now a juvenile committee in place with Michael Moran as chairman and he is doing a fine job. "Seamus Ennis is looking after the under-10 team and they are improving all the time. We are now happy with the way the underage set-up has got better." This GAA season will be a massive test for Delvin, but if all the players have the confidence that their chairman has, then there will be reason to celebrate next October. Footballers Seek that elusive break Delvin footballers have been plying their trade at the bottom end of the scale for the past few years, but Secretary Sean O'Brien is convinced that with a bit more effort and determination, the junior team can begin to challenge for major honours. The footballers of the club have lived in the shadows of their hurling counterparts in recent years and due to numerous reasons the commitment has not been given to the big ball game. However, during the course of last year's campaign, they showed signs of what they can achieve and produced some excellent performances in both the championship and league, but consistency seemed to be their main problem. "We promised a lot at the start of the year. We reached the 2005 Division 7 league final, which was finished early last year and beat the likes of Kinnegad and Killucan on the way to the decider where we faced Ballynacargy," said Sean. "The match went to extra time even though we were well on top for most of normal time, but I think our lads just ran out of steam as Ballynacargy went on to win by four points." The boost of reaching the league final was evident as large numbers turned out for training and it looked as if the footballers were going to put in a huge effort for the year. "We were very hopeful that there could be a good run made in the league and championship. The first league match was against Loughnavalley and Delvin played some good football and thoroughly deserved to win that match. "Multy were next up and we drew with them, which gave us three points from our opening two matches. Then we met St Pauls and at half time there wasn't much between us, but they pulled away in the second half. Despite this the confidence was still high in the squad as we prepared for the first match in championship." St Fintans/Multyfarnham provided the opposition in the junior championship opener and Delvin got off to a winning start as they recorded a three-point win. However, their season took a turn for the worse when they met Loughnavalley in the second group match, which was played in Cusack Park. "We were delighted to have the chance to play in Cusack Park and knew that we had a good chance of beating Loughnavalley. However, Delvin were missing a number of key players and were forced to field an experimental side. The lads acquitted themselves very well, but unfortunately we lost by three points and the confidence seemed to drop after this. "Mayo native Pat Sheran had trained us for the past three years and he was a very good manager. Despite the good turn out at the start of the year, numbers began to dwindle at training after the Loughnavalley game and moral in the squad slipped," he revealed. Further defeats to Milltown, Caulry and St Pauls further deflated the spirits of the players. Having said this though, the Valleymen still had a chance of reaching the quarterfinals as they faced Ballycomoyle in their last outing. "A win would have seen us through to the quarterfinals, but there were a lot of players interested and it was very hard to get the lads motivated for that game. Once again the lads that did play gave a courageous display and they were a match for Ballycomoyle for long periods until the blue and whites pulled away to win the match and more importantly book a place in the quarterfinals by five points." Sean admits that the one thing that the Delvin players are missing is self belief and when they get the fact that they are good enough into their heads, the maroon and whites will be challenging for honours. "We hadn't enough work done last year and ran out of steam in too many matches. There is a squad of 22 or 23 players and there are as good as any team at this level, they just have to believe that themselves. "Some of the more senior players have to stand up and be counted in order to help the young lads come through. We are expecting a big year from them this year." For the 2007 campaign, Delvin have appointed Raharney and former Westmeath hurler Nick Weir as their manager and Sean revealed that he will be filling a dual role. "Nicky will be training both the hurling and football clubs together this year as we feel this will increase the numbers. We have players who play either hurling or football that should be playing both as they are good enough and hopefully this new training regime will encourage that," he added. Sean is also optimistic about the new revised league format that will see Delvin playing in Division 4 with Multy and a host of senior clubs' second teams. "I think we will benefit from the league as we will be playing against some good football teams and you can only learn from playing sides like these. It will definitely help us for when the championship starts later in the year. "We have an enthusiastic bunch of players who are eager to play and I'm convinced that if we get the enjoyment back into the game, then you will see a marked improvement in Delvin's performances. The enjoyment factor is a big part in getting lads out to play." The issue of scheduling fixtures has become a major problem for clubs all over the country and Westmeath is certainly no different. However, Sean has sympathy for the county board fixture committee, who have the unenviable task of keeping the clubs happy. "The fixtures are a big problem, especially when clubs go without games for such a long period usually during the summer. It is certainly not an easy task for the fixtures committee to keep the matches going, especially when the county teams are in action. "I would like to see continuity in matches between April and September in all competitions and hopefully a solution can be found in the very near future." Delvin's underage structure has also improved in recent years with the establishment of an underage committee and Sean thanked the people involved who have dedicated so much time and effort to help train teams and organise kids for matches. "There is a great group of people to look after the underage and you can sign the improvements that have been made in recent years. We are still struggling at some age groups, but there is plenty of work to be done yet." Tweet

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