Cavan come up trumps in do-or-die NFL clash
Cavan 0-11; Louth 1-5
Cavan debutant Niall McDermott takes on a defender. Photo: Adrian Donohoe
Paul Fitzpatrick
at Kingspan Breffni Park
Cavan moved a step closer to ensuring their Division Three status with a hard-earned win over a very poor Louth side at Breffni Park last Saturday evening, a victory which could have come at a very high price after Under 21 captain Gearoid McKiernan was helped off after taking a heavy knock in the second half.
McKiernan, who had a superb match before injuring himself making a spectacular high catch, looked in some distress when being helped off after waving away the stretcher, but, with just a week to go until the Ulster Under 21, he is reported to be suffering from nothing more serious than a badly-bruised hip and will be fit to take his place.
Losing McKiernan, who had kicked 0-3 from play out of Cavan's 0-9 at the point of his departure, would have been doubly bitter had Louth converted any of their late chances. Cavan dominated most of the match, with the defence (in particular the outstanding Damien O'Reilly and Tomás Corr) doing very well, but panicked on the home stretch and handed the Wee County a succession of late opportunities.
Cavan won't be getting too carried away with the win. The chatter among Louth supporters on the various online GAA forums is eerily similar to Cavan's all-too-common doomsday post mortems; this, they are saying, was their worst performance in a long time.
Still, a win is a win is a win. Cavan worked hard in every position and cut out a lot of the simple mistakes which dogged them against Wexford, Limerick and Waterford.
Niall McDermott, one of four Under 21s drafted in, opened the scoring with a free and Mackey added another, after being fouled himself, after ten minutes.
Louth replied with two points from All Star Paddy Keenan but Cavan were enjoying most of the possession.
Their tactic was to aim long, direct ball at the full-forward line, but it didn't pay dividends in the first half. With Eugene Keating not showing as well as he has in other matches, Cavan badly missed a ball-winner in the full-forward line, with McDermott and Mackey living off scraps.
Luckily , the Cavan defence were tight, with Corr and O'Reilly catching the eye. Oisin Minagh did well on his debut, with his direct opponent substituted, while Mark McKeever came into the match well and Padraic O'Reilly - in his best position of centre-back - had a very effective hour again.
A lovely score from a tight angle by McDermott nudged Cavan in front on the 20-minute mark but Paraic Smith cancelled this out seconds later at the other end.
McDermott was guilty of a throw-ball (one of seven blown by the very officious Gregory Walsh in the first half) when a score looked on but made amends with a good free after a foul on McKiernan in the 24th minute.
Ref Walsh made sure he was centre of attention again a minute later. After McDermott stroked over a free, the Antrim whistler, who blew for an amazing 54 fouls in what was a clean match, disallowed the score, pointed to a spot three feet away and threw the ball up!
McKiernan added Cavan's next score, squeezing over a kick under pressure, to make it 0-5 to 0-3.
As the first half entered injury time, Cavan moved three clear with wing-back Mark McKeever storming forward to drive over from 47 metres for what was probably Cavan's best point of the season to date.
Up 0-6 to 0-3, the Cavan management decided to consolidate. They withdrew Keating at the break and introduced Stephen Jordan, who lined out in defence. The Lavey player found himself as a free man within five minutes when an umpire alerted the ref to an off-the-ball indiscretion and he dismissed Louth corner-back Declan Byrne on a second yellow.
Three minutes later, a tricky free by Mackey after a foul on Niall Murray extended Cavan's lead to four and with Corr snuffing out the main Louth threat, Cavan took control.
Patient play involving Padraic O'Reilly, Ray Cullivan and McDermott created a chance which McKiernan curled over to make it 0-8 to 0-3 in the 43rd minute and the same player added another with a brilliant kick under pressure from distance.
With Padraic O'Reilly having a fine game at centre-half, Cavan were well in charge against an admittedly misfiring Louth, but the expected backlash arrived in the final quarter. Having kicked two into James Reilly's hands, Louth finally grabbed a point - their first in 37 minutes - to make it 0-9 to 0-4 in the 52nd minute.
And suddenly, moments later, they found themselves right back in the contest. A brilliant save by Reilly from Adrian Reid fell perfectly to Mark Brennan, who lashed the ball to the net from point blank range.
The shift in momentum was as sudden as it was undeniable and, an in instant, Cavan's play became scattered and panicked. They weren't helped by the loss of McKiernan, which came in the 26th minute, with Mickey Brennan coming in.
A poor wide from Louth followed before a well-worked move from Cavan was well-finished by Flanagan, who had been picked out expertly by sub Gareth Smith. Flanagan worked tirelessly and turned in an honest shift as ever; the Castlerahan man hasn't hit the heights yet but is such an important player to Cavan that the management will be hoping he finds his best form sooner rather than later.
A three-point cushion is always an uncomfortable one and Cavan almost saw their hopes crushed in the 68th minute when Paraic Smith got in behind Corr but blazed his shot over the bar when one on one with the imposing Reilly.
From the next attack, sub Sean Johnston struck a wide but he made up for it seconds later when converting after Flanagan intercepted a short kick-out.
There was still time for two final flings for Louth, who had late goal chances; their huge travelling support groaned in unison as first Dane O'Dowd cleared off the line, then, from the resulting line ball, a Louth forward's flick sped wide of the butt of the post.
The long whistle sounded soon after, and with it came some respite. Surely, Cavan should be safe.
CAVAN : J Reilly; O Minagh, T Corr, D O'Dowd; M McKeever (0-1), P O'Reilly, D O'Reilly; J McCutcheon, G McKiernan (0-3); N Murray, R Cullivan, R Flanagan (0-1); N McDermott (0-3, 0-1 free), E Keating, C Mackey (0-2, frees). Subs: S Jordan for E Keating (h-t); G Smith for S Jordan (54 mins); S Johnston (0-1) for R Cullivan (58 mins); M Brennan for G McKiernan (63 mins); K Fannin for N Murray (69 mins).
LOUTH : S Connor; D Byrne, A Hoey, G Hoey; D Crilly, D Finnegan, S Fitzpatrick; R Carroll, B Donnelly; A McDonnell, P Keenan (0-2), R Finnegan; D Maguire, P Smith (0-2), C Judge. Subs: M Brennan (1-0) for D Maguire (half-time); E McAuley (0-1) for S Fitzpatrick (half-time); A Reid for A McDonnell (44 mins); J Carr for D Finnegan (47 mins); JP Rooney for C Judge (54 mins).
Referee : G Walsh (Antrim).
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