New era to begin for Moville in Division Two
The Inishowen side open their campaign against Gaeil Fhánada on Saturday
Moville are looking forward to a new dawn this week as the club looks ahead to the start of the new club football season.
For the first time in over 20 years and for only the second time in the club’s 26-year history the Moville senior footballers are preparing to play in Division Two of the Donegal All-County League.
Trips to Dungloe and MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey and home games against traditional giants like Four Masters and Naomh Columba await the team of 2022. And then of course there are local derby clashes with more seasoned Inishowen neighbours like Buncrana and Malin are also on the horizon.
Anthony Doogan and former Donegal player Eamonn Reddin once again form the joint team management with Reddin and Seamus Hegarty the team coaches. It is the trio's second year guiding the team’s fortunes.
Moville have played in Division Three of the league and they were sitting mid-table when the league came to a premature stop last season.
In the resultant restructuring of the leagues following the abandonment of relegation Moville joined Gaeil Fhánada, Letterkenny Gaels and Buncrana in the step up to Division Two.
“We are conscious we are the last team to make the move up. But we are looking forward to the challenge and to playing at a higher level and a better standard of team,” said Anthony Doogan.
“We are only a junior championship team and we will be playing against top senior and intermediate championship teams. But we are really looking forward to it.”
The new dawn coincides with a new era for the club and for the first time in years an influx of a number of good minors from last season.
“We are lucky the step up coincides with a group of players coming straight out of minor that are capable of stepping up to senior football,” Doogan added.
“Ronan Farren, Oisin McElhinney, Seamus McLaughlin, Evan Hudner, Brendan McCleneghan and Stephen Telles all have come up from last year’s minor team and they all want to play senior football and they have committed to play Gaelic football.
Tony McCleneghan, a member of Declan Bonner’s county senior squad, has been Moville’s top player for the bulk of the last decade. Unfortunately, he will not due to county commitments will not be available for the first part of the season.
“Tony, as you can imagine, is a huge player for us,” Doogan added. “He plays centre half back for the club and obviously his unavailability is a huge loss but we have to accept that.
“We wish him well with the county and we are very proud of him and the longer he is away from us is good for Tony personally and for the county. It will mean the county is going well in the championship and we all want that.”
In the absence of McCleneghan, the weight of expectancy is on the shoulders of Ciaran Diver, a past member of the county squad, his brother Declan Diver, arguably Moville’s most consistent player the least few seasons.
There’s also the ageless Malachy McDermott, Paddy Skelly, Enda Faulkner, Eunan Hegarty, Danny Murphy and Josh Lafferty. Doogan is happy with the preseason preparations and training has gone.
“We have been together collectively for the last six weeks and before that for the previous months the players had been working on individual programmes Eamonn had laid out for them.”
Moville begin this Saturday evening with an away game against Gaeil Fhánada and then it is hell for leather for the following three weeks as they host Four Masters, are away to Letterkenny Gaels and home to St Naul’s, who were Donegal SFC quarter-finalists last term.
“It is a hectic start and obviously we want to get off to a good start but the first few weeks there may be a number of clashes with soccer but once the soccer is over it will be full steam ahead,” Doogan added.
Consolidation in Division Two and then a right good rattle at winning the junior championship is the objective for the season for Anthony Doogan and Moville.