The year most recently hijacked by the sands of time was an exceptional one for Glen Emmets GFC. The Tullyallen club comfortably retained its hard-earned intermediate status, generating an unprecedented enthusiasm in the clubhouse. On all fronts, the Emmets are making enormous strides. Never before in the history of the club has there been such cause for optimism. By Gerry Robinson It would have been considered a good year for Glen Emmets if they managed to hang onto their intermediate status by any means possible. However, the manner in which the Tullyallen men retained their middle grade standing in 2005 was highly impressive, marking it out as not just a good year but a great one. Traditionally, Glen Emmets have tended to yo-yo between junior and intermediate grades. Having won the Macardle Cup (Division Three league) in 2004, the challenge presenting itself in '05 was to buck the trend of instantaneous demotion. This they achieved in rousing fashion, with the Emmets clinching a respectable mid-table finish on the Division 2B league table. Reflecting on the season just ended, Robert Murray is in clearly upbeat spirit. Robert is one of the many reliable players donning the Tullyallen green and red these days and also happens to double up as club PRO. An ideal interviewee, if ever there was one! "It was an excellent year for the club," Robert points out. "We managed to stay up intermediate for the first time, so it was definitely one of our most successful seasons." While it might be stretching it a little to suggest that the club finds itself in a state of euphoria, there is certainly a mood of contentment in Tullyallen as we head inexorably into the '06 campaign: "When the season started, we would have been happy just to stay in intermediate," Robert confirms. "But as the year unfolded, we grew in confidence and began to realise that we could surpass these expectations. We went on a good run in the second half of the league, winning three in a row (against the Nicks, Westerns and the Fechins), and promotion was suddenly a possibility, until we lost to O'Raghallaighs…" Glen Emmets finished well outside the top two in the end - ten points adrift of St Nicholas and O'Raghallaighs - but they were also comfortably above the relegation zone. Some of their performances over the year were highly encouraging and most defeats suffered were of the decidedly narrow variety. "We beat the Nicks away and they ended up getting promoted," continues Robert, "and I think that result shows what we can do. We can compete with any team in Division 2B on our day, but we still finished ten points off second place so there's plenty of room for improvement." How did the promoted pair manage to steal such a march on the rest of the division? "The Nicks and O'Raghallaighs were the two strongest teams. They managed to beat everyone else, while the rest of us were taking points off each other. That was the difference. "To stay up, we won the crucial games, including Westerns away. If we'd lost there, it would have dragged us down but that win gave us some breathing space. When we won at the Nicks we knew we were safe…" The championship didn't go so smoothly. Glen Emmets were in Group A and failed to get off the mark. They lost their opener by 0-15 to 1-8 to Hunterstown Rovers at Collon in early June and were pipped by eventual semi-finalists St Mochtas (2-9 to 1-8) at Dunleer eight days later. A 3-9 to 2-6 defeat to beaten finalists Naomh Malachi at Pairc Clan na Gaeil on August 6 put paid to any lingering hope that Tullyallen could yet have a say in the competition and Eamonn Taaffe's charges finished bottom of a group that also contained junior-bound Westerns. "The championship was a bit of a disaster. We didn't win a game but that doesn't really tell the full story. We played well at times and can draw some positives from those performances." Indeed, Emmets were eight points adrift at one stage in the opener against Hunterstown but struck 1-4 without reply in the second half to close within the minimum before Hunterstown escaped to victory. And how Emmets lost their second IFC outing to the Mochtas is anybody's guess! They dominated most of the match but conceded two injury-time goals, after losing David Bracken in the second half and hitting something like 16 wides over the hour. Somehow, victory eluded them at Dunleer that Friday evening in mid-June. The Mochtas game was make or break. Robert is still unable to explain the freak defeat: "We've had a lot of meetings with the Mochtas recently and there's never much between the teams. We dominated but they seem to have the knack of getting late goals against us. They did it in the 2004 junior final and they did it again with two goals this time. I don't know how it happened. "We started slowly in most of the championship matches but we always hit a purple patch somewhere. We got back within three points against the Malachis after they built up a big lead, but we couldn't get closer. Overall, we weren't too disappointed but we need to tighten up at the back." The starting XV changed quite a bit over the course of the year and Robert says the Emmets had a "different panel" at the end of the year than the one they'd set out with. Does he think they finished the year stronger? "Yes, you could say that. We had a win and two draws in the first half of the league and three wins in the second half, which is probably an improvement. It was disappointing to lose the last two games. The results didn't matter to us at that stage but it made no difference to the sides that beat us either, so we were a bit disappointed not to put a few more points on the board." Are Glen Emmets ready to consolidate as an intermediate force? "We were averaging 20 points a game towards the end of the 2004 Division Three league and we knew we were ready for intermediate football. We won Division Three by four points and only lost one game all year. We knew we could make the step-up. This is the first time we've managed to stay up and we're delighted. This is already one of the most successful teams in the club's history and we're determined to build on that. "The parish is blooming, with houses popping up everywhere. The club has excellent new facilities and we played on our new pitch for the first full season in 2005. We have planning permission in for a new clubhouse. All in all, we have great momentum now. We have to keep it going and the aim in 2006 will be to get promoted to Division 2A. That's the only way we'll be safe if the County board decides to restructure junior football. And we believe a shake-up is needed because junior football has gone very bad." Glen Emmets had a landmark success in 2005 when they claimed the U16 Division Four league. "This was a massive achievement," Robert Murray enthuses. "Though we're amalgamated at minor and U21, the U16s fielded on their own and we were very happy to win a trophy with a team consisting exclusively of Glen Emmets lads." Robert helped train the all-conquering U16 team alongside another first-team player Derek Wogan, while Pat Grimes and Noel O'Connor managed the side. "We were delighted with the victory because this bunch had been threatening a breakthrough for a few years and it's good to see them get a reward. A couple of those players played for the second team in 2005, while some acted as subs on the intermediate team. It's a good crop and we're hoping to integrate them. There's a massive interest in the club right now and we've never been healthier in terms of players, facilities and finance. "We had over 40 lads training with the first team near the start of the year, but it then broke down to an average of about 28. You couldn't ask for better than that. I remember days when we were junior and had only seven or eight at training. Our second team played in Division 4C and they were there or thereabouts as well, and those lads are looking for their place now. "The average age of the team is in around the mid-20s, so we have plenty of good years ahead and we're hoping to build on the progress we've made in 2004 and 2005." Eamonn Taaffe managed the team again in 2005, with Pat Colgan, Ted Russell and Paudie Carolan as selectors. Robert concludes by paying tribute to the contribution of the manager: "Eamonn has stepped down after four years as manager, having made a massive impact. We wouldn't be where we are now without him. He really brought us on. He did tremendous work and it's greatly appreciated by everybody in the club." Tweet

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