Glyde Rangers had every reason to start the 2007 season in a positive frame of mind. The Tallanstown men had turned in consistent performances over the past number of years in both league and championship and proved that they could, on their day, compete with the best in the county. Althought they were unable to turn that promise into silverware, they were boosted in 2006 by an impressive league run that saw them reach the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup Final but unfortunately lost out to Cooley Kickhams in the decider. Nonetheless, there were grounds for optimism when the squad reassembled at the start of the year under manager Enda Sheridan. This optimism was shown to have foundation as Glyde showed their ability in the championship as they were the only team to seriously threaten county champions, St Patrick's and finalists, Cooley Kickhams. However, that form proved to be the exception rather than the rule as a series of injuries and absentees robbed them of their strongest team for much of the season. As a consequence it turned out to be a very disappointing season overall and the one silver lining was that the club retained their senior status. Club secretary, Tommy Burns is one of many at the club frustrated by the inability of the team to turn potential into success, but recognises the many contributory factors. "Overall it was very disappointing particularly because at the end of last season it looked very promising. A couple of the lads got married during the year and then we had a number of injuries, while the 13-week break in the middle of the championship certainly didn't help anyone prepare for the compeitition. "An example of the problems we faced came in the Group game against Sean O'Mahony's when we had 11 players missing and at least six of them would have started so it couldn't have been a worse time to play them." There were some highlights over the summer particularly against St Patrick's and Cooley according to Tommy. "We showed what we can do on our day as we effectively had Pat's beaten only to conceded two late goals and draw the game, while another late goal against Cooley cost us victory." Despite not winning, those performances did enough to boost confidence and in the crucial relegation play-off game against Sean O'Mahonys, Glyde secured their place in senior football for another year. "At the start of the year we didn't expect to see ourselves in the relegation battle and we were hoping we could make the third qualifying place. However, it didn't work out that way but thankfully we picked ourselves up for the play-off against Sean O'Mahony's in Knockbridge. "It wasn't looking good at the break as we trailed by six points, but we raised our game and played our best football of the year in the second half to ensure we stayed in senior." The championship was a less than memorable one from the outset as Glyde failed to find form, as they drew their first game with Nh Malachi in April on a 3-7 to 0-16 scoreline and followed up with a 1-8 to 1-6 defeat to Kilkerley Emmets. By the time the championship resumed at the end of July the team's fortunes hadn't improved and they lost to Sean O'Mahony's on a 0-10 to 0-8 scoreline. Little was expected against St Patrick's in the next game but a fine performance saw Glyde in a strong position only for two late goals to give Pats a 2-6 to 1-9 draw. Boosted by that performance Glyde turned in a good display against Cooley but again were caught near the end as Kickhams fought back to score a 1-9 to 1-7 win. With just two points, Glyde faced into a play-off against Sean O'Mahonys but seemed to take heart from their previous two outings as the came strong in the end to defeat the O'Mahonys. The had to be at their best in that second period as Sean O'Mahonys looked to be firmly in control form much of the game. At the break the Dundalk men were 1-6 to 0-4 in front and appeared to be on their way to senior safety. Ten minutes into the second half it didn't look any better for Glyde as they trailed by 1-7 to 0-4. However, the Tallanstown men responded when it was needed most and produced some fine football to score 1-6 without reply in a 13 minute spell, with Trevor O'Brien grabbing the all-important goal. In an amazing finale, the O'Mahonys did regain the lead with a second goal but Shane Barry found the net to give Glyde a 2-12 to 2-9 win and keep them in senior championship football for 2008. The team that lined out on that day was: Anthony Nulty; Shane Sharkey, Glen Finlay, Mark O'Brien; Philip McGahon, Conor Sheridan, Alan Brennan; David Devaney, Brian Duffy; Shane Barry, Gerrard Sheridan, Damian Garland; Trevor O'Brien, Larry O'Brien, Stephen Sharkey. Subs: Niall Barry for Shane Sharkey, David Martin for D Garland, Gearoid Harvey for A Brennan. Scorers: Trevor O'Brien (1-3, 3f), Shane Barry (1-1), Philip McGahon (0-2), Brian Duffy (0-2, 1f), David Martin (0-2), David Devaney, Gerrard Sheridan (0-1 each). According the the club secretary, the race for Joe Ward felt somewhat different this year due to the change in structures. "I think the championship starting so early wasn't a good idea because it didn't feel like the championship and I thought it was too early. Then we had a 13-week break until the last week in July and that didn't help. It was very hard to keep players concentrating on training when there were no important games coming up. Challenges are not the same as players don't put everything in to them." On a positive note, Tommy felt that the new compeitition where teams from different grades faced each other, was a positive step. "It thought it was a great idea because it gave us football and games against teams we would not normally play. You can't blame teams for not wanting to play league matches without county players so it gave the other lads an better outlet than playing challenges. "The only drawback with it was that it seemed to be a bit rushed at the end but overall it was positive." Once again Glyde Rangers can look ahead to the new campaign with optimism, and Tommy Burns agress that if they can get their best team together, they should fear nobody. "There is no doubt in our ability and on our day we are as good as any but I suppose our problem is that we don't have the strength in depth that other teams have. The reality is that we are possibly three players short of challenging on a consistent basis." However, the Tallanstown club continue to put in a lot of work at underage level to ensure there is talent coming through and Tommy points to the likes of Brian Duffy, Dean Matthews and Paddy Byrne who were part of the Louth Minor squad this year. With these players emerging and a few more to make the step up to the senior team, Glyde Rangers can look to a more successful 2008 and the prospect of challenging for the top honours over the coming years. Tweet

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