title and league table toppers, Cootehill Celtic. Once again they gave a good account of themselves with the players undaunted by the challenge posed by one of the favourites to win this competition. Butlersbridge started brightly in this game and got off to a good start. However, once again lady luck failed to smile on them and they lost inspirational midfielder, Andrew Nelligan with a dislocated shoulder. While the team battled gallantly for the remainder of the game this setback was probably the difference between winning and losing. “We lost out in the end by five points which I felt did not reflect the great effort put in by the players on the field,” said Mickey. “Having lost the opening two games in this three-team group we were effectively out of the hunt for a quarter-final place. The final game against Drung, while competitive, was still only a formality for us. Now out of the championship we could focus all our attention on retaining our Division 2 status. “We also had our second team playing in the Reserve League of Division 2. This was always going to be a tough competitive cauldron for this group of players. As I stated earlier, the loss of so many players pre-season meant that we were working on the edges of our panel. While we did not set the world on fire in this league, we nevertheless competed and tried to bring through some younger players.” This was a tough baptism for these young players in the highly competitive arena of this division. They will have benefitted from the experience and will be much better for it. “At this level the championship is down to strict knockout stages, which leaves little room for error. We had a tough first round clash against Cornafean who proved to be much more physical than us and ran out winners on the day. Our lads tried hard and to their credit never gave up until the final whistle,” said the team manager. When asked if he was prepared to take on the challenge for a second
year, Mickey was directly honest in his answer. “I doubt I would have the time in the coming year. Too many things are going to influence my decision not least, I am getting married and moving to Leitrim. So you can see it would be a big call for me and I feel that if you cannot give your undivided attention to the job then it is time to step aside,” said Mickey.
JUVENILE FOOTBALL Juvenile football at Butlersbridge is indeed in a healthy state according to Joe English, Juvenile chairman, the club’s driving force at this level. Joe points out that work at this level is down to a group of very dedicated people who freely give their time and experience to help maintain the growth of Butlersbridge GFC. “We start our underage football with our minikickers (U-6s and U-8s). What we lack in numbers in this area is more than compensated with quality. Coached by Cian Murtagh, Packie Graham and Colm Murphy the U-8s have taken part in a number of blitz competitions. With the U-6s working with coaches Trevor Shannon, Gareth Henry and Aishling Shields, the skill and enjoyment factor is evident with those attending training sessions,” said Joe. The ‘Bridge field teams from U10 up to U14 and join with neighbours, Redhills to compete as Redbridge at U16 and minor level. Once again dedicated coaching at U10 level by Paddy Greenen, Ciaran Maguire, Joe English and Harry Conaty paid dividends as this young group of players showed their talent by qualifying for the final of the prestigious Cunningham-Stakelum tournament hosted by Drumlane. Bouyed by this great run, the U10 side went on a step better a month later by winning the annual Dennis O’Keeffe tournament hosted by Drumalee GFC. Following a very exciting final against a strong Ballyhaise team the cup was presented to winning captains Andy McEvoy and Kevin McPhillips. “I would have to say that the highlight of this year for us at juvenile level has to be the historic victory of
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Paul Murphy