It was a very rewarding year for Glyde Rangers. The Tallanstown men consolidated their senior status - only narrowly missing out on promotion to Division 1A (for the second consecutive year) - and gave as good as they got in three championship outings. Senior team selector Pat Moran looks back upon the 2002 season with more than a degree of satisfaction. Understandably, Pat Moran is in good form. He's optimistic. Glyde are playing a lovely brand of football these days and have consolidated their senior status. They looked every bit a senior team in '02 and appear to have truly found their feet in the highest echelon of Wee County GAA. "We're very happy with the year we had," says Pat. "The previous year was this team's first in senior football and we were a little apprehensive that we might get relegated. "Once we got through that, however, we had a meeting at the start of the year and decided that we were quite capable of staying senior and competing at that level. We knew we could match most teams in the county and that we had no reason to be afraid. We took it from there and had a real go and went out to win every game." Pat has been a first team selector for the past four years, alongside manager Denis Kelly. For the past three seasons, they have also enlisted the services of former St Marys and Louth half back Ken Rooney as a selector and the Ardee man has had a very positive influence on proceedings out Tallanstown way. Glyde were in Group C of the SFC in '02. They lost to Clan Na Gael (0-13 to 0-8) on June 2nd, were pipped by eventual county finalists St Brides (1-5 to 0-6) twelve days later, and enjoyed a comfortable victory over Lannleire (0-15 to 1-8) in their final outing on July 7th. It was a creditable effort, but ultimately Glyde were a tad disappointed. Pat reckons that - with a bit of luck - they could have done even better. "There are a lot of teams in transition and we have a lot of young players, so we felt it was as good a time as any to win a senior championship. "Glyde had also signed two new players at the start of the season - David Devenney from Tuam Stars and Gary Marmion from St Josephs. While the latter was plagued by a string of injuries, 21-year-old Devenney proved a big star at midfield or on the 40 ... so much so that he has attracted attention from Paddy Carr. "We had a good run in the league, despite losing our first game to Naomh Fionnbarra, which was a setback. We won four or five in a row and were looking forward to our first championship game against the Clans. Unfortunately, that didn't go well on the night. "As well as bringing in two new players, we also lost two key men - free taker Damien Gartlan and Rory McCoy. Losing Damien affected us severely and we ended up missing seven easy frees against the Clans." In light of that slip up, a re-think was deemed necessary: "Myself, Ken and Denis realised that we needed a reliable free taker in the team. We decided to give Martin O'Connor a chance. We promoted him from the second team and played him at full forward. He got himself into great shape and was the find of the season - he was worth five or six points a game." But the championship never quite got on track. "The championship was a disappointment. For the second game against the Brides we had three men injured and four more were on holidays [Glyde still only lost by two points and Brides went on to reach the final]. "Lannleire was a championship game, but it didn't matter. There was a bit held back in that game because we were playing them again in the league a week later. We had put ourselves in a great position to push for promotion but fell short in the last few games." Glyde finished on 17 points, three behind promoted Naomh Mairtin. They would have moved up to Division 1A had not they lost their last three games. "It was in our own hands but we didn't take it," Pat admits. "Not being able to put out our full team for the third-last game against Dunleer was disappointing and they reversed the championship result. We were then beating the Joes by a point in injury time but ended up losing. "For the last game against the Clans we decided to go out and give it a go. Even though we had little or nothing to play for and they needed to win to secure the Division 1B title, we went out and played to win. As far as I'm concerned the Clans are an upcoming team with some outstanding players, but we gave them a run for it and they only got the winning points right at the end. "We were pleased with that performance and it proved yet again that we're not too far away if we can stay injury-free." Indeed, it was the second successive year that Glyde had knocked loudly on the door to Division 1A. In 2001, they came even closer, only to lose a promotion play-off to Mattock Rangers. Since then, the team has continued to stabilise. David Barry was back to his best form in 2002, while youngsters Conor Sheridan and Trevor O'Brien - both of whom were on the county MFC-winning Baile Talun side in 2001 - have also come into the first team and made a big difference. If they can get all their men back and have an injury-free run, Glyde will be a formidable force in the coming season. Remember, this is a club that regularly gets 25-30 fellas out training! "We've talked about it already and we all agree that we can go really well if we get everybody out. Collon is a classic example of what can be accomplished if players are prepared to stick at it and make the sacrifices. All we need is for maybe some of the lads to re-adjust their social lives - in terms of planning holidays and stuff - and we'll be ready to challenge for major honours. "The eldest fella on the team is 27 and the youngest is 17 - and we may have a few more younger lads breaking through again next year. The game has changed and I don't think it's too early to be bringing young lads into the team - a lot of them are well able to play senior football." Pat is adamant that Glyde could cause a major surprise next year: "The senior championship is wide open. All the big teams - Clans, Stabannon, the Pats - are in transition and the Blues might not have the same hunger. Of course, Collon are still there and there are some improving teams, but I genuinely think it's there for Glyde if they want it enough." Pat Moran would love nothing more than to see his beloved Glyde reach the Holy Grail. He enjoyed an incredible playing career with the Tallanstown club, featuring on the side that ran away with the Division Two title two years ago - at the age of 43! He made his second division debut as a fresh-faced 13-year-old. A former Louth U21 panellist, Pat played senior championship football with Glyde for eight or nine seasons and was on the Flood Cup winning side of 1977. He appeared in two senior semi-finals, against St Marys and Newtown Blues. Pat Moran is an intrinsic part of Glyde Rangers GFC. His family is steeped in Glyde tradition. Father, Owen, played for the club and won a Leinster junior championship with Louth in 1957. Owen also managed Glyde once upon a time and was a selector on the side that won the aforementioned Flood Cup (to go senior) in '77. Pat's own sons are also following in the family tradition: Kevin was wing back on the second division team last year and also made an appearance in goal for the first team - he was also goalkeeper on the '01 county minor championship winning Baile Talun side. Meanwhile, another son, Gareth (14), is involved with the Louth Development Squad. By all accounts, Glyde are moving purposefully in the right direction. Tweet

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