Take two for Lacken ahead to trip to Derry

By Michael McMullan

LACKEN face Doire Trasna in Saturday’s refixed Ulster Junior Football Championship clash in Find Insurance Celtic Park.

It comes after last weekend’s weather the saw the original fixture pulled on the morning of the game.

“It’s a strange enough situation because it’s probably something you’re not really used to,” captain Shane Moynagh told Gaelic Life.

“It’s tough because we had three weeks after the county final and were ready to go on Saturday but we’re just going to have to regroup and be ready for it again.”

It has been a season of recovery for Lacken in Cavan. Play-off defeats to Shercock and Drumgoon saw them relegated from the intermediate the intermediate grade.

Fast forward 13 months and they’ve bounced back to take the junior title with a chance to follow in Arva and Denn’s footsteps but winning Ulster, with Drumlane being pipped in an Ulster Junior decider on penalties.

“It was difficult coming down from intermediate last year,” Moynagh said. “From my own experience growing up, we were always a senior club, so it’s been hard dropping to intermediate and then again down to junior.

“The main goal was just to get out of it. It was a great relief and good to get a perfect record throughout the group stage and then win all the knockout games.”

Lacken is a team backboned by three sets of Galligan brothers. Goalkeeper Raymond and cousin Thomas were both All-Stars when Cavan won Ulster six years ago.

Since then, Raymond has managed Cavan and he has been a save pair of hands between the posts.

“Down the years, we would have just been maybe a club with two very small primary schools with 50 and 70 students in each.

“Down the years, Lacken would have been just teams of brothers. I have two brothers myself that would have played senior football who just retired last year.”

Earlier success

Lacken’s last success came in 2012 with an intermediate title but they’ve been in and around the senior grade since.

“It’s no secret, that is our goal, to get back to senior football as quick as we can,” Moynagh pointed out.

“Winning the junior was a good experience. Most of our lads wouldn’t have played in county finals or even knockout stages,” he added.

“We would have competed in quarter-finals at senior but not actually gone on and won games.

“The experience of winning tight knockout games has helped us. Even looking at Denn and Arva the last couple of years, they made use of Ulster.

“Chatting a few boys when we played Denn in a reserve game there recently, all the boys told us to enjoy it.

“Growing up, you’re mad just to play Ulster football, so, hopefully, it’ll be a good experience.”