John Dingle
Moore United have gone from strength to strength both on and off the pitch since their formation in 1975.
The club facilities at Falty are among the best in the Roscommon League and cater for all age groups up to senior level. The former schoolhouse has been converted into an excellent dressing/clubroom. The floodlights allow for football to be played other than on Sundays and the night sky over Falty is often lit up indicating Moore are playing at home.
In recent years, the Roscommon League team had made steady progress under then manager Padraig Moran. The former Sligo Rovers striker was given the time to undertake a project and, under his charge, the team were prominent in cup competitions outside of Roscommon. Lengthy runs in national competitions such as the FAI Junior Cup repaid the clubs faith in Moran who enjoyed five good years with the boys in Blue.
Last season was one to remember as United reached the Roscommon Cup final for the first time since 2002. It capped a remarkable campaign for the team in what was expected to be a period of transition.
Moran had departed to take charge at St. Peters and with a new season fast approaching an announcement was needed. The club decided to appoint from within as Davy Cummins stepped into the hot seat from his former assistant manager position. The popular Athlone man brought a wealth of experience to the position having been involved with a number of local clubs over many years.
Cummins quickly got about preparing his charges for the new campaign and it took a while for the team to settle. However, a good run of results after Christmas had Moore in a comfortable League position and a fine cup run capped an already solid campaign. It was a season of stability and a mid-table finish ensured the priority of maintaining a presence in the top flight was achieved. The cup run kept the interest going but few expected that a place in the final would be achieved.
The semi-final draw saw the team come up against strong opposition in the shape of Boyle Celtic. The North Roscommon outfit had recently enjoyed a great run in the FAI Junior Cup and were favourites to progress at Lecarrow. Moore though had other ideas but needed success in a penalty shootout to progress. Goals from Shane Petit and team captain Andy Nevin had United ahead 2 1 at the break. Boyle equalised but a Nevin penalty looked to have secured a place in the decider. Cruel luck saw Boyle again level matters and extra time was now needed. Moore had a numerical disadvantage but held out for a penalty shootout. The drama continued late into the evening as both teams took eight spot kicks each before a winner could be declared. Cummins men finally prevailed in sudden death to win by seven penalties to six.
The final pitted Cummins against Moran as the former managerial comrades locked horns in the decider. St. Peters were looking to complete the league and cup double and two goals in each half saw them lift the cup. Moore were unlucky to come up against one of the top sides in Connacht but could look back on a great season with pride.
Cummins was soon to depart as Moore looked once more to make another managerial appointment. This time they turned to local man, Tommy Naughton, who had previously been involved with the club at under age level. The army man also brought lots of experience to the post having been involved with St. Peters and Tullamore in recent seasons. Naughton had to plan however without two of the teams experienced players as Ronan Keogh and Marc Butler departed. It has been a tough campaign to date though as good performances have not been converted into wins and points on the league table have proved difficult to accumulate.
