CREMARTIN manager Matthew Lambe has said that the goal of the team is very simple in 2021 – to go one step further than last season.

In 2020’s truncated campaign, the Shamrocks were somewhat surprise Intermediate Championship finalists with a thrilling semi-final win over Doohamlet really catching the eye.

However, the final proved a bridge too far as Monaghan Harps used their experience to edge ahead in the second half with Shane Burke’s late goal bringing Cremartin to within three points at the full-time whistle.

Lambe said that motivation would not be lacking amongst the squad whenever they do get back to action.

“We had always set out last season, even before the pandemic began, with our eyes on earning promotion.

“I know a lot of people throughout Monaghan wouldn’t have had us in the bracket of the two or three favourites for the title. However, we knew that if we had everyone back on board and fit then we would be hard to stop.

“We fell at the final hurdle. Harps had that experience of playing senior in recent years, and that probably got them over the line. The likes of Neil McAdam and (Stephen) Driver and (Conor) Galligan have that experience behind them.

“That told in the end but we have the taste of getting that far now and it’s the place we want to get back to.

“There is no lack of motivation so it’s a matter of keeping things going in the right direction, and you’ll need that wee bit of luck to go your way too.”

If there is one thing that Cremartin showed last year, it is that they have the ability to take a score.

Outside of their 0-11 to 0-11 draw with Corduff in the group stages, they hit an average of 19 points and managed eight goals in their six championship encounters.

“That Corduff game, both teams were set up defensively enough but we would have come away very disappointed that we didn’t get the two points,” Lambe continued.

“They scored the last three scores but we were probably hanging on a bit at the end too.

“There is plenty of competition for places in our forward line. You have fellas there with a lot of experience over the years of playing with Cremartin and being involved in high-scoring games.

“That competition extends to the rest of the team too. Cremartin have had a couple of very good minor teams recently, they got to the semi-final for the first time last year, and there are a couple of lads from that team looking to make a  breakthrough.”

Like every team in the Oriel county right now, it has been a frustrating period for the Cremartin footballers – and Lambe is just hopeful that they can at least look forward to learning of a start date soon.

“We are going through some Zoom calls, lads are out running but obviously there is no training in pods or anything like that for the players,” he said.

“We just have a watching brief at the moment and we’re waiting to see what happens. Hopefully we can get some targets soon.”