Syddan have a burning ambition to make it back to the senior ranks, but Navan O'Mahonys frustrated their attempts in 2003 when eliminating the north Meath side at the semi-final stage of the Intermediate Football Championship. They had earlier beaten the town side in the group stages of the competition by three points, but when it mattered most and the stakes were very high, O'Mahonys came out on top in surprisingly comprehensive fashion, winning by all of 10 points. Losing at the penultimate hurdle and not getting the chance to play in the final is always a big disappointment, but Syddan remain very upbeat about the future and will approach the 2004 campaign in the knowledge that they are right up there in the pecking order when it comes to fighting it out for intermediate honours. Reaching the last four represented progress and even though they were well-beaten by O'Mahonys, the Syddan players will appreciate that with a bit more composure in attack they will take plenty of beating. Harry Carolan, who is also the club chairman, Brian Dardis and Shay Duff took charge of the management of the team and they were drawn in Group A of the championship along with Castletown, Curraha, Drumconrath, Drumree, Na Fianna, O'Mahonys and Rathkenny. Their first round match against Na Fianna at Dunderry had the potential to be a very tricky opening assignment and so it proved as Syddan took 21 minutes to get off the mark before Brian Dillon opened their account from a pointed free and they drifted four points behind during the opening period. By half-time the deficit was down to the minimum at 0-4 to 0-5 and with Brian and Joey Dillion impressing at midfield in the second-half they just did enough to carve out a victory on a 0-11 to 0-9 score line. A stout defensive performance against the strong wind in the second-half against Curraha at Rathkenny enabled Syddan to earn a draw next time out in the championship. They led by only 0-7 to 1-3 at the break after playing with the aid of the elements and appeared to be in real bother, but they restricted Curraha to a goal for the remainder as it finished level on 0-9 to 2-3. Brian Dillon scored the equalising point 11 minutes from the end, while an outstanding display from Thomas Dillon at full-back was vital to Syddan's cause. The third round meeting with the 2002 beaten finalists O'Mahonys at Castletown was always going to be a real test of Syddan's credentials and a superb goal from Noel McGillick with less that five minutes to play helped them to a 1-11 to 1-8 victory. O'Mahonys had led by 1-5 to 0-2 at the break and were looking good for victory, but the form of midfielder Brian Dillon, who scored an impressive 10 points over the hour, and that goal by McGillick helped steer Syddan to victory. That win against a side of O'Mahonys' quality should have provided a major boost to the confidence of the team, but Syddan's only defeat of the group stages was just around the corner as they lost narrowly to Drumconrath by 1-8 to 1-10 at Nobber after being on level terms at the break (0-6 each). However, they bounced back well when it was required and two successive victories booked their place in the quarter-finals. They just edged out Castletown by 0-13 to 1-9 at Rathkenny and then registered six unanswered points in the closing 10 minutes to just get the better of Drumree by 1-9 to 1-7 at Simonstown. That was a match in which Syddan looked to be in serious danger of defeat against a Drumree side that was battling against the threat of relegation. Drumree actually led by four points (1-7 to 1-3) at one stage in the second period, before that flood of points enabled Syddan to pull through for a narrow victory. However, there were no such concerns in the concluding group game against Rathkenny at Drumconrath. Syddan were already safely through to the last eight, but they ensured top position in the section by recording a runaway 20-point victory (3-17 to 0-6) as Philip Duff helped himself to three goals, including one from a penalty in the first-half. St. Colmcille's provided the opposition in the quarter-finals at Pairc Tailteann and Syddan were ruthless in the early stages of that particular match. They had built up a commanding 1-7 to 0-0 advantage before the injury-hit east Meath side had time to draw breath and with Brian and Joey Dillon dominant at midfield there was going to be only one result. Philip Duff had scored the Syddan goal and they went on to lead by nine points (1-11 to 1-2) at the change of ends. The game was over as a meaningful contest at that stage and the fact that St. Colmcille's managed to win the second-half by 1-2 to 0-2 was of little consolation to Bob O'Malley's side. Syddan were never seriously troubled and won by 1-13 to 2-4. Syddan were now just one step away from a place in the final, but what a giant step it was as they faced up to an O'Mahonys' side that had been edged out by Ballivor in the most dramatic of finishes to the previous year's decider. Unfortunately for Syddan, it proved to be one step too far as O'Mahonys won easily by 2-9 to 0-5. A goal from Lee Russell put the Navan side in the driving seat after 44 minutes as they led by five points at that stage and when David Hosie slotted home a penalty nine minutes later the killer blow had been administered to Syddan's hopes of reaching the decider. Syddan will reflect on two missed goal opportunities early in the second-half when impressive O'Mahonys' goalkeeper Mark Brennan saved from Eamonn Maguire and Paddy Skelly and wonder what might have been. They will also ponder on the fact that they managed only two points in the second-half and that Paddy Skelly was their only player to hit the target from play over the hour, but team captain Martin Cassidy believes they just didn't perform in that match. "Looking back on it now, we just never got going in that game," he recalled. "It never happened for us. We missed goal opportunities and let them in for a sloppy goal that was a huge blow to us. We just missed far too many chances overall, including from frees. "We had so much possession, but we just didn't use it well enough and that really cost us. Their goalkeeper also pulled off some fine saves. I remember going into the semi-final thinking that if we didn't concede goals we could win it, but they got two. "We had beaten O'Mahonys earlier by three points in the group stages of the championship at Castletown. Noel McGillick got a goal for us with about five minutes to play and that proved decisive. It had been close up to that. "I don't think the fact that we had managed to beat them earlier in the competition had any impact on the result in the semi-final." Apart from that loss to O'Mahonys, Syddan's only other defeat in the championship came in the fourth round of group games against Drumconrath. "That match against Drumconrath just about summed up our year really," Cassidy added. "We can be devastating and then we could go out and kick maybe 20 wides." Naturally, there was considerable disappointment when Syddan exited the title race with the final in sight. Missing out on the build-up to the decider and the big day itself represents a major blow to any player, but Cassidy remains very upbeat about the future and has every intention of putting that setback behind him and looking ahead with optimism. "I firmly believe that we have a very bright future," he said. "We have a young enough team. Four or five of them will probably have to move on, but the Junior C outfit which did so well is a very young squad of players and, with football, they will come on a lot and some of them will break into the intermediate team. That will certainly help us. "Apart from reaching the semi-finals of the Intermediate Championship, we enjoyed a good A League campaign, so we have to look back on it as a fairly progressive year. "There is a very good buzz about the club and we just have to put the disappointment of losing the championship semi-final behind us, move on from that and look ahead to 2004." Feis Cup glory Syddan possess a great footballing tradition and winning the Feis Cup in early November meant a great deal to the club and its supporters - and rightly so. The north Meath club were bridging a gap of half a century in the competition and the big surprise at Pairc Tailteann wasn't so much that they defeated Skryne, one of the top senior teams in the county, in the final, but the ease with which they achieved it. It was a success which should work wonders for the confidence and self-belief of a side which desperately wants to win the Intermediate Football Championship and return to the senior ranks and it will come as a major surprise if they don't make that step-up over the next couple of years. The triumph was greeted with considerable joy by the big-sized Syddan travelling support in Navan and it was clear from an early stage that the players possessed the necessary hunger to have a serious go at beating their senior opponents who enjoyed such a good run for a long way in the Senior Championship. Skryne were without Trevor Giles and Mick O'Dowd, but that shouldn't take away from Syddan's success in any way as they were clearly the side with appetite and determination and those were among the key ingredients in a famous victory. Syddan clearly believed they could take a big senior scalp, but they could hardly have imagined they would do so with such ease and the famous trophy, which dates way back to 1920, was already well on its way to the club by half-time when they led by 1-6 to 0-1. Anybody who knows anything about football knows that Brian Dillon is a seriously talented player and he certainly looked every bit of it in that opening period as the brilliant midfielder sent over an impressive tally of five points, four of them from play. He gave his side the lead after three minutes and three minutes later Paddy Skelly and Trevor Gilsenan were involved in the build-up, before full-forward Philip Duff fired a powerful shot to the Skryne net. Syddan were well on their way and Shay Duff followed up with a superb long range point as the highly inspirational Dillon made a telling contribution around the half-way line. Skryne's only score of the first-half was a point from wing-forward Felim O'Rourke and, with Dillon leading the way in the scoring stakes, Syddan went on to hold that clear-cut eight-point advantage at the change of ends. Being the senior team and the favourites, Skryne were expected to rally in the second period, but it was Syddan who never looked in danger of surrendering their strong position and they limited the Tara men to just three points after the break. Allan Carty did notch the first score of the second-half for Skryne, but the fact that Syddan outscored them by 2-1 to 0-2 subsequently demonstrated forcefully that the men in green and gold had absolutely no intention of capitulating. The destination of the Feis Cup was well and truly decided seven minutes after the restart when Gilsenan sent in a cross from the left and Philip Duff fisted the ball past Skryne goalkeeper Cillian McManus for Syddan's second goal. If there was any lingering doubt about Syddan's position of supremacy it was firmly put to rest a further seven minutes later when Eamonn Maguire punched a third goal. Dillon added Syddan's only second-half point from a free and with a 13-point (3-7 to 0-3) advantage the celebrations could begin. Syddan, managed by Harry Carolan, thoroughly enjoyed their moment of glory, and who could blame them. Now they can set their sights on winning the Intermediate Championship in 2004. The team that brought the Feis Cup to the club was - T. Dardis; D. McGillick, T. Dillon, S. Malone; J. Farrelly, M. Byrne, I. Curran; B. Dillon (0-6), S. Dillon; N. McGillick, S. Duff (0-1), E. Maguire (1-0); P. Skelly, P. Duff (2-0), T. Gilsenan. Subs - P. Young for Maguire, D. Young for Byrne, J. Dillon for S. Duff, L. Halpenny for N. McGillick. Tweet

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