Despite his side's defeat to neighbours Tubberclair in the intermediate championship final, Tang manager Adrian Coughlan took encouragement from the fact that 2002 was the club's most successful year in almost a decade. Tang may have finished 2002 without any silverware, but it was still their most successful year since 1993 when they last captured the intermediate championship crown. A club perceived to be in decline since their relegation from the senior ranks in 1999, Tang turned the corner last season when qualifying for the intermediate decider against Tubberclair. Despite succumbing to a 0-8 to 1-11 defeat against their near-neighbours, team manager Adrian Coughlan is far from downbeat about how the year unfolded. "Our performance in the final was very disappointing but, overall, there were a lot more positives than negatives to be taken from the year," he says. "We had slipped back a bit since 1999, but last year we succeeded in stopping the slide. The players gave a great commitment to training and, even though they lost the final, there was certainly no heads hanging afterwards." Coughlan, who is also the club chairman, takes encouragement from the fact that those vital characteristics - determination and self belief - were evident in Tang's performances for the first time in a number of seasons. "After we were relegated, I felt that some of the players had lost heart and were low in morale. But I'm glad to say that the old fighting spirit returned last year and we weren't pushovers for anyone. "Reaching the final was a great achievement in itself when you think that we would have been ranked sixth or seventh for the intermediate title at the start of the year. We blooded several youngsters over the course of the year which helped to give the team a more competitive edge." Amazingly, Tang qualified for the knock-out stages of the championship without winning a game on the field of play. They drew three of their group games and received walkovers from Maryland, St. Loman's and Athlone. Their only defeat was suffered at the hands of Tubberclair. "It wasn't a very satisfactory way to qualify and the fact that we received walkovers in three of the games meant that we were out of action for long periods. But thankfully, the lack of games didn't seem to hinder us in the knock-out stages," explains Coughlan whose backroom team comprised Tom Keenan, Johnny Rock and Andrew Marlowe (trainer). Tang opened their championship campaign with a 0-5 to 0-5 draw against Ballymore. Due to their opponents being unable to field, Tang had to wait until June 29 for their next game against Tubberclair. Unsurprisingly, the maroon and whites showed signs of ring-rustiness as they faltered to a 0-4 to 0-10 defeat. Two weeks later at St. Loman's, Tang fought out a 1-11 to 2-8 draw with Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall. Their final game of the group stages was against Ballinagore and once again, Tang finished on level terms, 1-9 to 0-12. Without a win to their credit, Tang were widely expected to bow out of the championship race when they squared up to Kilbeggan Shamrocks at Cusack Park on September 1. But, against all the odds, Coughlan's charges produced an excellent performance to run out 1-11 to 1-6 winners. Displaying a determination and eagerness that their much-fancied opponents couldn't match, Tang - in their changed strip of green and gold - emerged as worthy winners after a tense opening 45 minutes. The sides were level on 0-4 apiece at half-time and it remained close until impressive corner forward Paddy McCormack scored a soccer-style goal to give Tang a 1-7 to 1-5 lead. Sensing victory, Tang went for the jugular in the final 10 minutes. Further points from Michael Bannon, Michael Tumelty (two) and a fisted effort from county star Paul Conway sealed their place in the last four. An unbeaten Milltownpass provided the opposition for the south county outfit in the semi-final on September 14 at Rochfortbridge. The game bore witness to a terrific scoring performance from Michael Tumelty but Tang still had to be content with a 1-12 to 1-12 draw. With Tumelty, Conway and Tom Forde all finding the target, Tang had opened up a 0-7 to 0-3 lead by the 27th minute. But a couple of shrewd positional changes saw Milltownpass battle back to restore parity at the interval. Milltownpass hit the front on the restart when Eamonn Gorman fisted the opening goal, but Tang soon regained the lead courtesy of a goal from substitute Seamus Keenan. Tumelty shot two further points in the closing stages to keep Tang noses in front, but an injury-time free by Emmett Brennan earned Milltownpass a second bite at the cherry. The sides renewed rivalries at Rochfortbridge on September 28 and Tang made no mistake at the second time of asking, triumphing by 2-10 to 0-8 after extra-time. Tang were extremely wasteful early on and found themselves trailing by 0-1 to 0-4 after 20 minutes. But points from Tumelty and Padraig Reilly left just the minimum between the sides at the break. An injury to Tumelty didn't bode well for Tang's chances, but Joe Conlon proved an able replacement, almost immediately earning his side a penalty which Denis Bannon expertly converted to give the southerners a 1-4 to 0-5 lead. Milltownpass didn't lose heart, however, and with five minutes remaining, Dermot Gorman notched the equalizing point to force the game into extra-time. But there was only really one team in it in the additional 20 minutes as Tang stamped their authority on proceedings. The clinching goal was scored in the final minute by Denis Bannon who showed a wonderful presence of mind to lob the ball over Paul Brady after the Milltownpass goalkeeper had mis-placed his kick-out. Despite holding the edge in terms of experience, Tang entered the final against Tubberclair as underdogs. And it soon became apparent why this was so. Played in front of a big crowd at Cusack Park, the game never rose above the ordinary with Tubberclair controlling proceedings for the most part. Tang did create a number of decent chances in the second half, but overall, they could have few complaints about the outcome. Tang made the better start to the south Westmeath clash, with Michael Tumelty kicking them into an early lead. In fact, it wasn't until the seventh minute that Fergal Wilson opened Tubberclair's account. Wilson maintained the brilliant form he had displayed in the earlier rounds by adding three further points which propelled the green and golds into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead. Michael Hopkins and Tumelty then exchanges points before John Reid set up Liam Doogan for the only goal on the stroke of half-time. Trailing by 0-2 to 1-6, Tang were left with a mountain to climb in the second half. A Tumelty free reduced the deficit, but Michael Hopkins immediately responded with a point for Tubberclair. After Seamus Keenan had landed Tang's fourth point, the maroon and whites had a strong claim for a penalty turned by referee Sean Carroll after Eamon Carey appeared to have been fouled. At this stage, Paul Conway was becoming more influential for Tang, scoring a neat point which was sandwiched between further scores from Wilson and Reid. Conway was to hit the target again on three further occasions, but with Wilson beating defenders with ease, Tubberclair's advantage never came under serious threat. In the final minute, David Ganly completed an impressive afternoon's work with the last point of the game, leaving Tubberclair clearcut winners by 1-11 to 0-8. "We created a lot of chances but the problem was trying to finish them off," Coughlan recalls. "I also felt that we should have been awarded a penalty but the referee saw it differently. Having said that, Tubberclair deserved their win and I think they'll do well in the senior ranks." Former player Coughlan is back as Tang manager this year and has set his sights on going one step further than last season. "Last year, we surprised a lot people by getting to the final. This year, there'll be more expected of us and our aim has to be to win the intermediate championship. We learned a great deal last year and it's important that we put it to good us," he concludes. The Tang team which contested the intermediate championship final was: JJ Leavy; Damien Gill, Padraig Reilly, Colm Donoghue; Alan Murray, Dermot Bannon, Peter Bannon; Paul Conway (0-4), Seamus Keenan (0-1); Tom Forde, Michael Bannon, Colm Conlon; Denis Bannon, Michael Tumelty (0-3), Paddy McCormack. Subs used: Eamon Carey, Gregory Carey and James Tormey. Tweet

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