Navan Cosmos and Muirhevanamor in action at the MDL last season, both clubs will be among the leading contenders for the Div 1 title and a place in the Premier League.

Meath teams could find it tough in Premier League

Published: Wed 10 Aug 2011, 4:01 PM

The new Meath & District League season kicks-off this week with a series of games in both the Kilmessan and O'Neill Shields while there is also the opening round of action in Div 2. The following week Premier and Div 1 campaigns get up and running heralding the return to the fold after a number of years of Bellurgan Utd. Also back are Kilmessan, one of the founder clubs of the Meath & District League. Bellurgan will kick-off the 2011/2012 season in the Premier and on the evidence of their previous spell in the MDL they will have to be immediately regarded as one of the teams who can go all the way and take the title. Kilmessan have been graded in Div 4. There are only two Meath teams, Trim Celtic and Duleek, in the Premier with eight from Louth and two from Monaghan. Kells/Blackwater had to make a special application after investigations last season showed up some registration irregularities. They have been regraded to Div 2 this season and will, no doubt, be looking forward to a clash with town rivals Kells Celtic. Div 3 has been regionalised with the highest placed team in Section A and Section B liable for promotion. Those two teams will also play-off at a neutral venue for the Div 3 title. The runner-up in each Div 3 section will play-off for the right to play the third lowest-placed Div 2 team in a promotion/ relegation play-off. Arising out of discussions at the annual general meeting, it is now proposed, subject to sufficient entries, to revert to the standard Div 3 for 2012/2013 with the possibility of creating Div 3A or Div 4A. Consequently, teams finishing lower than fifth in each of the present sections this season will not be guaranteed a place in Div 3 for the following season. Goal difference will apply to separate teams. PREMIER Last season Trim Celtic had one of their best seasons in the Premier, staying in touch with the big boys from the Wee County right until the closing stages. How will they fare out this time around? They kick-start their campaign with an away game against Marsh Celtic who managed to stay in the division with considerable comfort after looking like relegation candidates for a time. Any trip to face a Drogheda side on their own patch has to be approached with great caution. Trim Celtic manager Brian McCreary will be looking to push on from last season's highly respectable finish. He is acutely aware his team - along with Duleek - will be playing for more than just themselves. "We will give it a hell of a go this season, we'd love to bring the Premier title back to the Royal County. Now with Torro gone we are, along with Duleek, flying the flag for Meath in the top division so we intend to give a good account of ourselves," he told the Meath Chronicle. As part of a reshuffled management set up McCreary has brought in former player Richie Fitzsimons as trainer while Danny Quinn and Christoper Weldon will be his assistants. Jimmy Hyland, who coached the very successful treble-winning u-17 squad, is the reserve team manager. Significantly Trim Celtic have also added to their playing squad with the signing of former Athlone Town players Colm Smith and James Goggins. Both have League of Ireland experience with Smith having previously spent some time with Drogheda Utd. They live in Trim and Athboy areas respectively. Sources suggest that there are a crop of young players emerging through the ranks at Trim Celtic and that the future looks bright. Duleek's immediate future looks somewhat less glowing. They have lost a number of players, some to emigration. Manager Paddy Reilly will be busy over the next week or so trying to sign players although as club official Pat O'Brien says that's easier said than done. "It's not easy getting players willing to give the kind of commitment needed for that level, lads who are willing to give up two nights a week for training and keep themselves in the right condition at the weekends." Duleek travel to take on Square Utd in their opening game. PREDICTION: Champions - Carrick Rovers: Runners-up - Woodview Celtic. Premier - Albion Rovers, Bellurgan Utd, Carrick Rovers, Clones Town, Dromin Utd, Duleek, Marsh Celtic, Quay Celtic, Rock Celtic, Square Utd, Trim Celtic, Woodview Celtic. Bottom two liable for relegation, third from bottom shall play-off with third highest placed team in Div 1. DIVISION 1 Torro finally lost their valiant attempt to stave off relegation at the end of last season. Unless the wheels really fall off they should feature among the teams for promotion although as Navan Cosmos have found out in recent seasons Div 1 can be devilishly difficult to escape from. They kick-off with a home game against newly-promoted OMP. Knightsbrook are the team to watch. Can they continue the rate of progress of recent seasons? It would be a truly astonishing achievement by Mick Craig and his boys if they did manage to secure a ticket to the Premier. A top four or five finish is a more realistic objective. Navan Cosmos were desperately unlucky not to make it to the Premier at the end of last season. A season older and wiser they will be difficult to stop and they recruited one or two new faces. Slane Wanderers are likely to be in the promotion shake-up while Navan Town will need to improve considerably on last season's showing to avoid getting dragged into another relegation battle. They face Kentstown in an interesting Div 2 season opener and will be hoping that some of the players from the under-age sction start to make an impact. Longwood's dramatic improvement during the course of last season suggests they are on an upward curve. The title, however, could end up in Navan. PREDICTION: Champions - Navan Cosmos; Runners-up - Muirhevnamor. Div 1 - Ardee Celtic, Cavan Town, Drogheda Crescent, Kentstown Rovers, Knightsbrook, Longwood, Muirhevnamor, Navan Cosmos, Navan Town, OMP Utd, Slane Wanderers, Torro Utd. Two highest placed teams liable for promotion, third highest placed team shall play third last in Premier, third from bottom shall play third highest placed team in Div 2. DIVISION 2 This is a division that promises to be as tight and competitive as the closing stages of the Epsom Derby and it will kick-off this weekend. Three or four teams appear to have the credentials to go all the way, with a few more not too far behind. Boyne Harps, who kick-off with a home game against Glaslough, would have to be considered right up there while among the Meath clubs Kells Celtic, Newtown Utd and perhaps a re-instated Kells/Blackwater could be in the mix. Robinstown and Athboy Celtic had their share of difficulties in garnering points last season and will need to make a bright start to their respective campaigns not to be dragged into another dogfight. Skryne/Tara must have been delighted to see the back of the 2010/2011 season. Nothing went right for them. Relegation from Div 1 was inevitable long before the evenings started to lengthen. They will surely find it easier to accumulate victories in their new environment. Johnstown Celtic also find themselves in new territory having gained promotion. They will be aiming to consolidate and could push for a play-off place. They will know a lot more after Sunday's visit to Newtown Utd. PREDICTION: Champions - Boyne Harps: Runners-up - Kells Celtic. Div 2 - Abbey Celtic, Athboy Celtic, Black Bull, Boyne Harps, Chord Celtic, Glaslough Villa, Glenmuir, Johnstown, Kells Celtic, Kells/Blackwater, Newtown Utd, Robinstown, Skryne/Tara. Two highest placed teams liable for promotion, third highest placed team shall play with third last in Div 1, third from bottom shall play Div 3 qualifier.