Considering they only emerged from Division 3 football the previous year, 2008 would have to be regarded as a highly satisfying one for the Tang club. By Damien Maher. Under the management of local man, John Burke, who was in his second year at the helm, they embarked on a memorable championship run which ended at the quarter-final stage when they suffered a gut-wrenching one-point defeat to neighbours, Maryland. It probably brought its share of postmortems, but Burke is philosophical about the result. "It was a great effort by Tang and perhaps it could have gone either way, but that's how it often is in the intermediate championship. There's not a lot between the teams on any given day but, on reflection, we would be happy enough with Tang's progress. They had a great run in the championship and finished second in Division 2 of the league, which was a good achievement," he mused. It's ironic that their great rivals eventually brought Tang's promising run to an end, but John Burke is back in the hot seat for a third year and 2009 could well embody different emotions. Tang's dramatic championship campaign began when faced Rosemount at Páirc Chiaran, Athlone. It was a genuine opportunity to off to a winning start in Division 2, but on the day all they could muster was a draw (0-9 to 1-6). Tang almost snatched victory late on, but Paul Conway's fisted efforts came back off the crossbar. Earlier in the second half, Denis Bannon had his effort from the penalty spot turned over the bar by the opposing goalie. Tang had led by a point (0-5 to 1-1) at half time, but in the end had to settle for a share of the spoils. In the second round, Tang faced Tubberclair at Páirc Chiaran, Athlone, where they were aiming for a win over local rivals. But on the day, Tang had no real answer to their neighbours and had to settle for defeat (1-14 to 1-08). Tang almost set up a grand-stand finish here by reducing the score to two points when Aidan Burke combined with Paul Conway, who found the net. However, this did not last long as Tubberclair restored their five points lead with a goal two minutes later. Tubberclair dictated the pace for most of the game and led at half by 0-5 to 0-4. In round three of the '08 intermediate football championship, Tang faced Ballynacargy at Cusack Park, Mullingar. After collecting one point from the first two games, the southerners needed to get a win here to get their qualification prospects back on track. After a memorable fight back, they got the desired result, winning a thrilling game by 3-12 to 2-11. Tang did not look likely winners at half-time as they trailed by five points (0-7 to 2-6), but they showed admirable battling qualities and the big turning point came when Niall Bannon scored his second goal to put them five points clear. From there on, they had the resilience to grind out their first win of the campaign. Tang travelled to Lakepoint Park to face Milltownpass in the fourth round with the clear intention of maintaining the form which brought them their first win. This, however, did not materialise as the score finished at 2-6 to 1-8 in Milltownpass' favour. Aidan Burke almost grabbed a last minute goal to win the game, but was denied by the opposing goalkeeper. Tang seemed to be out of the game at half-time with the score at 2-4 to 1-1, but once again they showed great character in the second half to get back on level terms. In the end they were left to agonise on a one-point reversal. Round five brought Tang back to Cusack Park where they took on Shandonagh. Victory was required to secure a place in the championship quarter-final. Producing a wonderful second half display, Tang duly achieved their goal, winning by 2-9 to 1-10 in a real nail-biting finish. Tang's first goal proved to be one of the best scores of a roller-coaster match. Colm Conlon and Alan Higgins played a one-two in the build-up, before Aiden Burke's pass found Bannon, who finished to net in style. And when Tang, who led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the interval, scored their second goal, there was no way back for Shandonagh. In the quarter-final of the championship, Tang played Maryland in what was an epic encounter at Cusack Park, Mullingar. With a place in the last four against Tubberclair at stake, these two rivals produced a memorable contest, with victory going to Maryland on a 1-8 to 0-10 scoreline. A crucial turning point came when Tang's Denis Bannon had his shot blocked by John Cunningham and Maryland produced a telling counter attack to score what proved the match-winning goal. In the dying moments Tang found themselves with several chances to snatch victory, but Aidan Burke's shot came off the crossbar, while Paul Conway fisted another goal chance over the bar. At the final whistle, Tang were inconsolable as players held their heads in their hands realising they had missed out in agonising circumstances. "Looking back, it was probably the win over Ballynacargy that changed everything for us. We got a great result that day and then pipped Shandonagh to make the quarter-final. A bit of momentum can change everything in this championship, but a lot of it comes down to having a bit of belief," remarked John Burke. Meanwhile, one of the main highlights at underage level was the success of the Maryland/Tang minor footballers, who defeated Caulry in a pulsating final at Hogan Park, Moate. The match finished 0-13 to 1-9 in Maryland/Tang's favour after extra-time. It was 0-4 apiece at half time and at the end of normal time, both teams had amassed nine points each. The scoring totals weren't huge, but in soft underfoot condition, it was truly a compelling game. By the end of the first period of extra-time, Maryland/Tang had forged two points ahead as captain, Aiden Burke and super sub, Enda Kincaid registered crucial points. A goal from Caulry in the second period of the extra 20 minutes looked like it might deny the Maryland/Tang boys, but Enda Kincaid curled over a memorable winning point. Amazingly, he had been replaced nearing the end of normal time, but was reintroduced in a match-winning move. The successful team was: Martin Donoghue, Joe Reilly, Trevor Farrell, Chris Connor, Ronan Farrell, Darren Malynn, Kenneth Kincaid, Kieran Martin Dean Reddin, Sean Coughlan, Aidan Burke, Christy Grimes, Sean Egan, Ciaran Egan, Enda Kincaid. Sub used: Trevor English. Plans are firmly in place for another big showing by the Tang club in 2009 and, naturally, they're aiming to build on last year's progress. "We have avoided Tubberclair, Shandonagh and Ballinagore, three of the bigger teams, in the group stages, which is positive. However, any team is tough at intermediate level and we can't take anything for granted. Staying in Division 2 of the league was very important and it should set us up well for the challenge ahead," said Burke. "Like every team, we're looking to build on last year and, if we can get a bit of momentum going, Tang can go places," he added. The Tang team which lost out to Maryland in the IFC quarter-final was: Michael Galvin, Damien Gill, Kieran Duncan, Greg Carey, Eamon Carey, Robert English, Alan Murray, Joe Conlon, Niall Bannon, Denis Bannon, Alan Higgins, Colm Conlon, Aidan Burke, Paul Conway, Tommy McCormack. Subs used: Colm Donoghue, Dermot Bannon, Sean Egan, James Tormey. Tweet

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