In keeping with the trend of recent years, 2007 saw St. Loman's underage teams steal the limelight from their senior counterparts. Underage chairman Joe Martin was pleased with the club's haul of four underage titles, but admits that there continues to be much frustration at the senior team's failure to challenge for championship honours. In a year when St. Loman's were once again frustrated in their efforts to land the Flanagan Cup, the club's vibrant underage structure once again turned out winning teams at under 14, 16 and minor level. The Mullingar club has enjoyed remarkable underage success over the years and last year it added to its long list of achievements by capturing no fewer than four titles. As in 2006, the St. Loman's under 14s beat all-comers to secure Feile and championship honours. The under 16 team won a Division 2 championship, while the minors ended the year with a Division 1 league title to their name. "It was another good year for our underage teams," St. Loman's long-serving underage chairman Joe Martin proudly states. "The under 14s fared best in that they succeeded in retaining their Feile and championship titles. The under 16s also won a championship, while the minor team won a league title. We also fielded two under 12 teams for the first time in a number of years and both teams acquitted themselves very well." The Feile na nOg title was the first to come St. Loman's way last April. After a thrilling win over Maryland/Tang in the semi-final, the reigning champions - managed by Christy Martin, Vincent Sheridan, Aidan Canning and Cathal Lyons - defeated town rivals Mullingar Shamrocks by 2-5 to 1-5 in a dramatic decider at Cusack Park. The final seemed destined for extra-time when Shamrocks were awarded an injury-time penalty, but St. Loman's goalkeeper Larry Raciesks produced a vital save to deny Sean Daly and the final whistle sounded moments later. St. Loman's were the superior side throughout, but 10 wides (compared to just four for their opponents) almost cost them dearly. Shamrocks made a dream start when Dylan Rice netted after just 30 seconds, but the Blues levelled 10 minutes later with a similar score from Keith Hope and went on to lead by 1-3 to 1-0 at the break. When Hope pounced for his second goal 11 minutes into the second half, Loman's looked set for victory, but Shamrocks never gave up and pointed frees from Sean Daly had reduced the deficit to three points before the same player failed to convert the penalty which would have forced extra-time. The victory ensured St. Loman's of their place at the national Feile na nOg finals which were jointly hosted by counties Leitrim, Sligo and Roscommon at the end of June. Competing in Division 3, the Westmeath representatives recorded wins over host club Coolera/Strandhill and Coolaney, but a defeat to St. Stinson's of Antrim cost them their place in the semi-finals. "Obviously, we were disappointed to go out at the group stage for the second year in-a-row, but the lads could still feel proud of their performances. It would have been nice to bring back an All-Ireland title, especially as two of the team's mentors, Aidan Canning and Cathal Lyons, were members of our last All-Ireland Feile winning team in 1991," Joe says. St. Loman's put that disappointment behind them when they completed back-to-back successes in the Division 1 championship with a 5-5 to 2-7 victory over Tyrrellspass in the final which was played under lights at Kinnegad in October. The scoreline did little justice to Tyrrellspass who could conceivably have won the game but for an outstanding performance from St. Loman's goalkeeper Larry Rasiasks. Tyrrellspass were denied on several occasions by some wonderful saves, particularly at the start of the second half when Tyrrellspass applied strong pressure. During this critical period, team captain Aaron McLoughlin scored a breakaway point for St. Loman's and when midfielder David Whelan grabbed his second goal soon after, the Mullingar side never looked back. At half-time, the game was finely poised with St. Loman's holding a 2-1 to 1-3 lead. Shane Dempsey scored the opening goal after just two minutes, while Sean Deegan's 15th minute goal for Tyrrellspass was cancelled out by Whelan's first major in the 28th minute. Whelan's second goal four minutes after the restart propelled St. Loman's into a fortuitous 3-3 to 1-3 lead and there was no way back for Tyrrellspass when the excellent midfielder completed his hat-trick of goals seven minutes later. Shane Dempsey scored his second goal and Loman's fifth with eight minutes and not even the concession of late goal to Conor Slevin could spoil the Mullingar club's celebrations. The St. Loman's under 16 team, which was backboned by players from the successful 2006 under 14 side and coached by Declan Cox, Donal Kilmurray and Eamonn Clinton, landed the Division 2 championship title following a 3-10 to 2-10 victory over Castledaly in the final at Rochfortbridge. The Delvin Road side laid the foundations for their success in the first half when a brace of goals from Kelvin Reilly and another from Killian O'Keeffe helped them to a commanding 3-6 to 0-5 interval lead. However, a strong second half rally by the Castledaly men, which included goals from Eoin Fleming and Cathal Connell, ensured a nervous finish for the winners. The minor side, which was managed by John Cochrane, Sean Quinn and Christy Martin, suffered a first round defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks in the championship, but exacted sweet revenge later in the year when they overcame the same opposition by 2-9 to 0-6 in the Division 1 league final. Despite playing most of the match with 14 men following full back Darryl O'Toole's early dismissal, the Blues dominated throughout against an out-of-sorts Shamrocks side. St. Loman's were well on their way to victory at half-time when Stephen Martin's goal helped them to a 1-6 to 0-3 lead. And they put the result beyond doubt when substitute John Heslin added a second goal midway through the second half. By contrast, 2007 proved to be another poor year for the St. Loman's seniors who failed to progress beyond the group stages of the championship. The return of PJ Carroll to the helm - the Cavan man led the team to semi-final appearances in 2001 and 2002 - had raised hopes of a successful year, but St. Loman's once again failed to fulfil their undoubted potential and an early exit proved the inevitable outcome. After losing to Tyrrellspass in the first round, Loman's registered an impressive 2-16 to 0-7 victory over St. Malachy's and then drew with Killucan, 1-7 to 0-10. However, defeats to The Downs and Mullingar Shamrocks in their remaining group matches ended their interests for another year. St. Loman's have appointed Walter Burke, who guided St. Faithleach's to the last two Roscommon senior football deciders, as their new manager for the coming season and Martin is hoping he will oversee a major improvement in the club's fortunes. "We'll be hoping to get through to the knock-out stages at the very least," he says. "Tyrrellspass are definitely the top dogs at the moment, but I think we are capable of beating any of the teams on any given day. The word is that the new manager is going to give the younger players their chance to shine and it will be interesting to see if this policy will pay dividends. "Our second team reached the junior semi-final last year so he should have plenty of talent to work with." Over the past 12 months, St. Loman's have greatly enhanced their existing facilities by laying a new Prunty pitch and installing new floodlights. The state-of-the-art floodlights, which illuminate the main pitch with the power of 1,000 lux, is part of an ongoing development which is costing in the region of EUR750,000. The new lighting makes the Delvin Road venue perfect for night-time football and hurling, particularly during the late autumn and winter. The St. Loman's under 14 team that lined out in the Division 1 championship final against Tyrrellspass: Larry Rasiasks; Luke McGrath, Cian Burke, Aaron Cahill; Paddy Shanley, John Wallace, Daniel Sheridan; David Whelan, Darragh Keena; Mark Browne, Aaron McLoughlin, Darragh O'Keeffe; Keith Hope, Noel Gavin, Shane Dempsey. Subs used: Jack McGrath, Sean Dinnegan and Pierce Shaw. The under 16 Division 2 championship winning team was: Stephen McDonnell; John Kiernan, Cathal McKinley, Pat Laide; Jason O'Toole, Conor O'Donoghue, Diarmuid Hyland; Kelvin Reilly, Kyle McGurran; Stephen Gilmore, Niall Kershaw, Jonathan Mee; Jamie Farrell, Killian O'Keeffe, Michael Hickey. The minor side which defeated Mullingar Shamrocks in the Division 1 league final was: James Kenny; Seamus Savage, Darryl O'Toole, Donal McGovern; Emmett Cahill, Kelvin Reilly, James Kelly; Darryl Quinn, Mark Flanagan; Conor Cochrane, Paul Sharry, Shane Flynn; Conor Lynam, Stephen Martin, Adrian Gilmore. Subs used: John Heslin and Conor O'Donoghue. Tweet

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