Maryland are glad to see the back of 2002, according to half forward Ollie Moran. In a year when all the major adult football titles were handed out to clubs from the south of the county, Maryland could be forgiven for feeling a mite envious. While neighbouring clubs such as Garrycastle, Tubberclair, Tang and Caulry were slugging it out at the business-end of their respective championships, Maryland were reduced to the role of spectator. Their championship campaign had ended on July 21 when another neighbouring club, Ballymore, inflicted a crushing defeat on them. "To say that it was a frustrating year for us would be putting it mildly," admits Maryland half forward Ollie Moran. "We were understrength for most of our games and never looked capable of challenging for an intermediate title. What added to our frustration was that two of our nearest neighbours, Tubberclair and Tang, met in the intermediate final. "While both of them deserved to be there, we would always fancy our chances against either of them. On paper, we believe we are just as strong as either of them, but they obviously put in a greater effort than us to reach that stage," he adds. Perennial underachievers, Maryland were decimated by injuries and emigration last season. Former All-Ireland under 21 winner Rickie Browne broke his arm in several places while playing for Westmeath against Dublin in the National League in March and was sidelined for the rest of the year. Current Westmeath under 21s Thomas Browne and Eoin Farrell both spent the summer in America, while Donegal native Philip Rainey was also a notable absentee during 2002. John Cunningham, who was a Westmeath minor panelist last year, also suffered a broken arm while on county duty. Despite being short so many key players, the Drumraney men had the distinction of being the only team to beat Tubberclair in last year's championship. Tubberclair led by 1-1 to 0-0 early on, but Maryland eventually settled and a Thomas Browne goal had them six points to the good at one stage. Tubberclair rallied in the final quarter, but Maryland held on for a 1-9 to 2-5 victory, giving them a perfect start to the championship. Malachy Buckley's charges were brought back down to earth on May 19 when they lost by 0-8 to 3-10 to Ballinagore. Maryland's lack of scoring power was reflected in the fact that all but two points of their tally came from the boot of David Martin. The blue and whites regained winning ways in their third game when they overwhelmed St. Loman's by 2-11 to 0-7. David Martin was again their top scorer with 0-7, while the goals were accounted for by Kevin Smith and James Reynolds. Maryland had just two further outings in the championship, both of which ended in defeat to Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall (0-8 to 3-7) and Ballymore (0-8 to 2-11). Their remaining two scheduled matches weren't played because of walkovers received and given. Maryland received a walkover from Athlone but were forced to concede the points to Tang because they were unable to field a team. While admitting that it was embarrassing for the club not to be able to field against Tang, Moran stresses that Maryland were not in a position to fulfil that particular fixture. "The timing of the game didn't suit us at all," he says. "We had a lot of lads away and just wouldn't have been able to field. In saying that, we had still hoped the game would have been refixed for another date." The league also proved to be something of a struggle, but a morale-boosting win over Kilbeggan Shamrocks in a relegation play-off just before Christmas ensured that Maryland preserved their Division 2 status. "That was an important win for us because it would have been a major setback for the club to be starting out this year in Division 3. In Division 2, the standard is that bit higher and the only way you can improve is by playing against good quality opposition." At underage level, Maryland/Tang were unlucky to be pipped by The Downs in a thrilling under 14 'B' championship decider at Cusack Park in mid-November. Four times in a gripping first half the sides were level and at half-time, they remained inseparable. The Downs opened up a two-point lead on the restart, but following a great save by goalkeeper Thomas Moran, Maryland/Tang regained the initiative thanks to a Josh Flanagan free and a second goal from Kieran Egan. The Downs, however, hit back with an unanswered 1-1 of their own to make it 3-5 to 2-6 after 47 minutes. Maryland/Tang tried valiantly to respond, but all that they could muster was a pointed free from Flanagan. Despite the disappointments of last year, Moran is upbeat about Maryland's prospects for the coming season, pointing out that they will be much closer to full strength. The team will also be under new management with Richard Browne having recently taken over the reins from Malachy Buckley. "We've the likes of Rickie Browne and Philip Rainey back with us this year which has to be a huge plus. The likes of John Cunningham, Ronan Moran and Conor Farrell have been blooded over the past year or two and I'm sure they will have greater roles to play this year. "The championship draw is tough - Kilbeggan, Ballymore and Rosemount have all operated at senior level in recent years. But, as we showed against Tubberclair last year, we are capable of beating anyone when we put our minds to it. "We finished last year on a high when we beat Kilbeggan to retain our Division 2 status. Hopefully, we'll be able to carry the form we showed in that game into this year's championship and qualify for the knock-out stages at the very least," he concludes. The Maryland/Tang team which contested the under 14 'B' championship final was: Thomas Moran; Ronan Farrell, Michael Galvin, Kieran Duncan; Shane Reynolds, John Sammon, David Kincaid; Conor Lynn, Conor Egan; Liam Reilly, Niall Bannon, John Reilly; Kieran Egan, Kevin Flanagan, Josh Flanagan. Sub used: Aidan Burke. Tweet

Most Read Stories