It's been one of those years for the Rathkenny club, sprinkles of radiance overshadowed by bucket loads of insipidness. They just didn't leave the traps in 2003. The aspirations were genuinely high at the start of the year, and justifiably so. Rathkenny have plenty of talent in their ranks, and an intermediate title was a realistic goal. But it fell apart this year - the wheels simply came off. "It was really a disappointing year for the club. The intermediate, junior and under-21 teams made no impact in their respective championships or leagues," remarked Rathkenny star player Michael Reid. Perhaps the most disappointing factor of all for the Rathkenny Gaels is the realisation that they punched well below their weight in this year's intermediate championship. A victory over eventual champions Navan O'Mahony's showed what they are capable of achieving. However, they couldn't replicate that form on a consistent basis in 2003. That inconsistency plagued them the past 12 months. As Navan O'Mahony's raised the Mattie McDonnell Cup after their IFC final victory over Carnaross at Pairc Tailteann in September, Rathkenny's intermediate footballers must have momentarily drifted back to Kilberry last May. The day they beat Navan provided hope. The Red and Blacks were one of only two teams to defeat the town side this past year, but erratic form saw them fight for survival rather than the middle grade championship. They enjoyed their good days, endured their bad ones. They were so unpredictable this past 12 months that it was impossible to know what to expect from them prior to any league or championship game. Beating the eventual champions was the obvious highlight of the year, but it is little consolation this winter. As they head into 2004 though, Rathkenny are at least comforted by the fact that nothing was lost over the last 12 months. Of course they had their sights set on promotion from Division 4A and a place in the knock-out stages of the intermediate championship, but neither came to fruition. Nothing gained, but nothing lost either. It could have been a lot worse though. A poor start in the championship saw them battling for survival throughout their Group A campaign. It is a situation they didn't think they would face this year, and Rathkenny were ultimately relieved to cling on to their intermediate status. Their championship crusade opened with defeats to Drumconrath and then Castletown. Drumconrath were full value for their victory running out comfortable victors, 1-13 to 1-2. But Rathkenny were unlucky not to get anything from the Castletown clash, only losing by three points, 1-7 to 1-10. They drew 0-15 to 2-9 with Drumree next time out in early May, with the concession of two goals snatching away any chances of a win. After three games, Rathkenny had only chalked up one point, and already their season was simply about survival. "The intermediates started their campaign with defeats to Drumconrath and Castletown before getting a deserved draw against Drumree in the third round. Beating eventual champions O'Mahony's in the fourth round was the highlight of the year, a late goal by our county player Donal Curtis ensuring a famous win," stated Reid. However, any momentum they had gained from the victory over O'Mahony's, 2-9 to 0-13, was snatched away in dramatic fashion when Na Fianna dished out a heavy drubbing, 3-17 to 1-7. It was the point of no return. A slip up against Curraha would have spelt disaster for Rathkenny. But the Red and Blacks rallied together and edged a three-point victory in Duleek, 0-10 to 0-7. "That was a vital victory as it practically ensured intermediate status," continued Reid. Their final game in the group was against highflying Syddan, and Rathkenny succumbed to yet another heavy defeat, 3-17 to 0-6. It was a disappointing way to finish off their championship campaign, but there was a sense of relief at the final whistle. The players were glad the disappointing championship season was finally behind them, and focus immediately turned to putting it right in 2004. But another point that will concern Rathkenny Gaels is that they actually finished the group with the worst scoring average of all eight teams. They ended up on -45, while the two teams below them, Drumconrath and Curraha, finished on -2 and -15 respectively. Rathkenny showed some good form in the league though and missed out narrowly on promotion to Division 3. They won six of their 11 games, drew two and only lost three. However, it was not enough for them to win promotion. Their league campaign got off on the right foot, with a comfortable victory over newly amalgamated Clann na nGael in early February, 0-12 to 0-3. However, they lost their next two games and were always up against it thereafter. Longwood inflicted the first defeat, 2-8 to 2-4, before Bective battled out a two-point victory, 2-7 to 0-11. To Rathkenny's credit they rolled up their sleeves and went on a six game unbeaten run. Those early defeats would have demoralised most teams, but Rathkenny showed tremendous resolve as they steadily clawed their way back up the table. They beat Drumbaragh 2-14 to 1-8 in mid-March before a 1-13 to 0-11 triumph over Kilbride at the end of that month. A 1-10 to 1-10 draw with Meath Hill followed in early June - which in hindsight was a point lost as The Hill finished bottom of the pile. However, they still hadn't lost in the league since early March, and they followed the Meath Hill draw with a victory over Ratoath, 1-9 to 0-10. The run continued apace in July, where they drew with St Ultan's, 2-7 to 0-13, and beat St Vincent's, 1-12 to 0-6. However, St. Mary's halted Rathkenny's promotion bid in early August, with a goal separating the sides at the final whistle, 1-8 to 0-8. Rathkenny finished off their league fixtures with a tremendous victory over table-toppers Nobber, 1-11 to 1-7. However, their failure to win promotion was hugely disappointing insists Reid. "Our Division 4A league results were not good enough to gain promotion. It is a drawback for the club as we need to be playing at least Division 3 football if we hope to be contenders in the intermediate championship," he stated. But on a positive note, the club enjoyed a decent run in the Feis Cup defeating both Carnaross and senior outfit Cortown. They even brought Walterstown all the way to extra time, but the senior club finished strongly to emerge victorious. Rathkenny's under-21 side succumbed to St Pat's in the championship but they gave an encouraging display and there are a number of these players that should progress to the intermediates over the next few years. Reid was one of the club's best players this year, while John Martin, Noel Curtis, Mattie Brien, Donal Curtis, John Donegan, Derek Smith, Thomas Martin, Brian Meade and Richie Timmons were also solid throughout. As the year draws to a close, Rathkenny can be comforted by the fact that they have at least got the players to do the business in the middle grade next year. It is difficult to make sense of 2003, the defeats and the languid performances. They must lick their wounds for a while yet, but the pain of this year may act as the vital incentive Rathkenny need to garner honours in 2004. Tweet

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