Published: Wednesday, 21st January, 2009 12:00pm

Cavan's "huge" workrate was key

The basis for Cavan"s winning performance against Armagh last Saturday night was, according to team manager Tom Carr, the 'huge workrate' on show.

'The massive positive from this would be the way the lads dug in,' Carr told The Anglo Celt.

'They kept working, moving the ball. The workrate was huge. I"m delighted for them, they put in a great hour this evening. If we had converted the possession, I won"t say the chances, a little bit better, been a bit more composed in the first half we probably would have gone in three or four points ahead.'

The wintry conditions had little effect on the pre-match game plan, said Carr.

'We knew what we were coming out to, it was a battle and we knew it was going to be a battle, that it wasn"t going to be pretty,' he said.

'We"d hope to get the ball in a little bit quicker, we ended up turning it over a bit too much but I just think it went reasonably well. We got on a few fresh pairs of legs near the end just to keep the momentum going.'

The manager was fulsome in his praise for a number of individuals on the Cavan side, among them Gerald Pierson, who finished the match with 1-5 to his name following a hugely-impressive performance.

'If we saw his goal in an All Ireland final we"d be oohing and aahing about it,' stated Carr.

'He had the composure, and that"s all Gerry needs - just a little bit of confidence, more composure. He had two or three opportunities in the first half as well that he hit wide but he he is a very good player and he just needs to move on and up the levels now as the team moves on.'

Carr also highlighted Redhills man Paddy Gumley who, he said, had 'a fine game'.

'We had [former Meath footballer] Bernard Flynn there watching the game for us and he remarked that Paddy was making runs that were nearly ahead of the way lads were thinking out the field, and that"s true. If we can latch on to some of those diagonal runs that he makes I think he"ll prove himself a very dangerous forward, especially on the right hand side.'

Cavan Gaels clubman Nicholas Walsh, who popped up with a nerveless late point, was 'super' according to the manager.

'He caught as good a ball as I"ve seen in a ling time in the middle of the pitch, scored a crucial point and it took great courage to have a go at it,' explained Carr.

'We had a heavy training session last night and a heavy session Tuesday but we"ll tone it down now with ten days to go to the league.We"ll have to whittle down the panel before February 1.'

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