If someone had forecast at the start of the
season that newly promoted Comber Rec would
reach both a cup semi final and a cup final,
and finish in 4th place in the league table,
the prediction no doubt would have been regarded
by many as unrealistic or overly optimistic.
Yet, paradoxically, the justifiable sense of
satisfaction at the close of what has been a
very successful season is tinged with an air
of disappointment.
The reason for this is not so much that Rec
finished up empty handed, but is more a case
of their being so close to silverware and losing
out to teams they had outplayed. Certainly everyone
at Seaview for the Steel and Sons semi final
agreed that Comber had been by far the better
team, and when Brantwood went on to win the
final that sense of injustice was reinforced.
As for the Clarence Cup final, the woodwork
twice, and a wholly insupportable refereeing
decision, helped deny Rec victory against a
very ordinary East Belfast side, although one
that played to its strengths and found the net
twice.
Rec’s faltering in the final lap of the
league campaign threw into sharp focus the need
to broaden the first team playing panel, and
highlighted the serious effect for the team
of the absence of even one or two regulars,
whether through suspension, injury, or private
social arrangements. Clearly there are not enough
players coming through from below to fill emergency
needs, and new signings for the season ahead
are a top priority.
For individual players the 2006/7 season has
been one of mixed fortunes, from the unfortunate
Ross Hegan who spent most of it sidelined through
injury, to the prolific Mark Miller who has
surely set up a Comber Rec goal scoring record
with an astonishing 41 goals. Mark was on a
mission in September to reach 20, so to more
than double that target is truly an achievement
that will take some beating. Comber Rec can
take pride in ending the season as the Premier
Division’s highest scoring team, and Mark’s
contribution, as the leading goalscorer in the
top Division, has been central.
This review of the year would fall short if
it failed to mention the performance in every
game of Peter Kelly who must surely be the outstanding
central defender in amateur football. On occasions
his drive and determination, sometimes in attack
as well as at the back, were an example to colleagues
whose efforts by comparison seemed lukewarm.
This season saw the loss of two of Comber Rec’s
longest serving and most dedicated players,
Dee Parker and Stuart Thompson. Dee retired
from the game early in the season in his 17th
year at the club, during which lengthy period
of service he emerged as a stalwart and stylish
full back, an honest and sporting captain, and
a shining illustration of all that is best in
amateur football. His physical fitness and attitude
to the game were an example for the rest of
the team, both young and old.
Dee’s good friend Stuart, alias Springer,
was forced to quit near the end of the season
through a recurring injury, but during his 17
years at Park Way he showed true devotion to
the club, whether leading the attack, occupying
a midfield role, or sitting on the bench. Stuart
will be long remembered for his power in the
air and as a clean striker of the ball. The
loyalty of both these players to Comber Rec
is a quality that is becoming harder and harder
to find in a climate where players flit from
club to club, or leave on the flimsiest of pretexts.
The management team of Jim O’Rourke and
assistant Mark Knell have often paid tribute
to Comber Rec’s supporters, and no doubt
they would wish to do so again at the close
of a hard but very promising season.
No team in
the Amateur League can command the kind
of home or away support that Comber Rec
enjoys, and it is as a kind of Thank You
to them that the new tiered seating stand
has been commissioned. Everyone looks
forward to this new facility next season.
Success breeds success, and it is noticeable
how off the pitch the club is thriving,
with a very active clubroom and social
programme which make Comber Rec the envy
of many other clubs.
Equally enviable is the playing pitch,
and anyone worried when Louis Dempster
had to discontinue his loving care of
it was immediately reassured by the emergence
of Jackie McArthur to carry on the fine
tradition, ably assisted by the ever reliable
Sammy Stevenson.
Towards the end of the season a commendable
experiment was launched at Park Way, an appeal
to all Comber Rec personnel and supporters to
display raised respect for match referees. In
view of the fact that Rec have been on the wrong
end of highly debatable decisions down the years,
this was a worthy attempt by the manager and
committee to turn a new leaf for the club, and
it remains to be seen how well the initiative
works out in practice.
A word of congratulation goes to the Comber
Rec third string who had an excellent season
under the leadership of Gary Bennett and Paul
Whiteside. This young thirds team won the Supplementary
Cup convincingly and were pipped in their very
last game to second place in their league, so
it has been a great year for these young players
of the future.
The new season already beckons, with stricter
rulings regarding signing commitments and transfers,
so even at this stage everyone at Park Way is
eagerly anticipating fresh faces and more success
in the months ahead. There is such a fine dividing
line between winning and just losing out, that
a few judicious signings could make that vital
difference in 2007/8.
