By virtue of a convincing Division 2A league campaign, Hunterstown Rovers have booked their return passage to senior ranks and ace attacker John Levins is of the opinion that they're better equipped than ever to secure a prolonged stay in the top flight. John Levins has been terrorising defences the Wee County over in the name of Hunterstown Rovers since 1993. A score-taker of the very highest order, his career has been plagued by a series of unfortunate injuries which have impacted detrimentally upon both his club's endeavours to consolidate senior status and his own intercounty career (he has played for Louth at all levels). Twice prior to 2001, he had been part of Hunterstown sides that took the step up to senior ranks courtesy of intermediate championship wins. However, this is the first time they've clinched promotion through the league and the full forward is convinced that this route stands them in better stead with regards to their 2002 prospects. "We're delighted to be back up", he says, "and to be honest I think we're better off going up through the league. Two years ago we won the intermediate championship but were at the bottom of the league - if we hadn't won the championship, we'd have been down to junior! So we obviously weren't ready for senior football. "Of course, we were very disappointed to go back down because we trained very hard from the start of the year but nothing went right for us. This year, though, the young lads on the team were more confident and made a huge contribution. You have to win a lot of games to go up through the league and I think it leaves us in a stronger position than previous years." When Hunterstown set out their stall at the start of the season, was promotion top of the agenda? "Jim Matthews, who is a local man who played for the club for years, was in charge for the first time. He told us that we had to aim for a top four place at least and we felt that would be a good achievement. "We didn't exactly get off to a great start. We lost our first game and only had 15 players that day. But we then played the Geraldines at home and beat them. They were one of the favourites in both the league and the championship so we realised at that stage that we had a good chance. We went on a run of seven games undefeated and the longer that run continued the more we began to realise that we were as good as any of the other teams in the division." Suddenly, Hunterstown found themselves travelling to Drogheda to face second-place Oliver Plunketts, knowing that a win would assure them of senior football next season. It didn't go quite according to plan, though: "I think we put ourselves under a bit of pressure for that one," admits Levins. "We went up to the Plunketts and all that was on our minds was that we were one game away from promotion. The nerves got to us and we didn't perform." Hunterstown lost and it looked as if the cat had been thrown amongst the pigeons. But Plunketts lost their next match and Rovers clinched the Toner Cup with a game to spare when defeating St Fechins in their penultimate outing. It was no more than they deserved - as John acknowledges: "Over all, we were the best team in the league. We were only beaten three times all year and every time we lost we came out and won three or four on the trot. There was a great spirit and determination in the team and we got the reward we deserved." John also derived a bit of personal satisfaction from the victory. He explains: "It was something I wanted to win. I'd won two intermediate championships but was on the losing team in the 1993 league final and it was a medal I wanted to get." Hunterstown's most feared player is optimistic about the club's future prospects. The experienced full forward notes: "I think we can stay up this time, because the team has more confidence and the lads are playing together well as a unit. We had some good victories in the senior championship in the past [this correspondent remembers one particular defeat of the Clans which was reported as the Shock of the Century!] and I think it's safe to say that nobody likes to play Hunterstown in the championship because we just never give up. "The new system will really suit us, in the same way as it did Mattock last year. Running the championship on a league basis is ideal for the likes of ourselves but the stronger teams tend to struggle a bit. "We have a much stronger panel now than has been the case in the past. This is the first time we've had lads on the line who are capable of coming in and doing as good a job as the lads on the pitch. From a personal point of view, I found that Robert Martin and Paddy Matthews being introduced to the forward line was a big help. "They did a lot of scoring and took a lot of weight off my shoulders. The more scoring outlets you have, the better," says the man who's surely glad the days when big high balls rained in on him from throw-in to final whistle are over. The only negative aspect of '01 was Hunterstown's disappointing IFC defeat at the hands of Sean McDermotts. Hunterstown appeared home and dry when their close rivals shocked them with a goal right at the death. "We were going well in the league and thought we could go on and win the championship. Against the Seans, we were four or five points up at one stage and missed a couple of opportunities to kill them off. But fair dues to them, they're in the same parish as us and it's good to see local clubs doing well. The more the better. "That defeat was heartbreaking for Jim Matthews, our manager, but I think he was happy enough in the end when we won the league." Jim was assisted in the running of the team by selectors Kieran Matthews (his brother) and Brendan Crosby. Now that he's back playing senior club football, would John like to perhaps wear the county jersey again one day? After all, he's still only in his mid 20s. "I wouldn't mind giving it another go. All my injuries are behind me now, hopefully, and I'm starting to get back into shape. I did my knee twice and also had a bad eye injury and each time I got injured it really set me back. "I'm the kind of lad who has to be training regularly to be firing on all cylinders. It's no good to me to just train once a week. To be fully fit, I need to be training and playing on a regular basis. It's sickening because each time I pick up an injury I know it's going to be extremely hard to get my fitness back. "I played through half of last season with an injury but I'm getting back to myself now and I'm really hoping next season will be good to me. It'd be nice to get an injury-free run at it and get right back on top of my game." If that happened, Louth football in general would be much the better for it because John Levins in full flow is quite a sight to behold. On his day, the Hunterstown man is one of the top forwards in the county. John (who is joined on the team by brothers Dessie and Fintan) has been on the Hunterstown first fifteen for nine years, since he was 16. In his first full season - 1993 - they won the intermediate championship and reached the league final. In 1999, they won the IFC again. They were underdogs for virtually every match they played that year but refused to be beaten, capturing the title with a fine victory over Geraldines in the final. They ricocheted straight back down to intermediate on that occasion and are determined not to do the same again in 2002. What's a realistic target for the oncoming season? "We'll be aiming to get out of our group in the championship and to push for a place in Division 1A. We don't want to go back down again and I think the best way to avoid that is to aim high, to train hard, and keep going for it." Tweet

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