Gaels to shade epic

Imagine it as a blockbuster and it's an easy sell. The team of the decade, back in the final and hungry as ever, against the new boys, driven by the search for redemption for last year's defeat. This, to paraphrase the ad, could be epic. If there's a Hollywood edge to this one, it belongs to the champions. Cavan Gaels have the swagger befitting their success. They have the big names, with a team of county footballers and even a sub's bench warmed by the posteriors of a few more. The Gaels have it all; six championships this decade, ten final appearances on the trot and unbackable favouritism with the bookies to hold on to the Plunkett Cup for another winter. Cut to Denn, the anti-heroes. Guts. Grit. Bravery and honesty. Denn are the neutral's choice in this one, make no mistake. Their voyage back to the county final, having stuttered and forgotten their lines on the big stage last year, has been revelatory and they will enter Sunday's match ready to put everything on the line one more time. Denn are the team of the season already and display all of the characteristics a supporter of gaelic football would love to see in his team. They hit hard and fair, they play to a plan and they work for each other. None of this is to write them off as mere workhorses, however; Denn scored 1-10 from play in their semi-final and put together some of the sweetest attacking sweeps we've seen this year. It's a cliché, and unfair, to say that they are a side that is better than the sum of its parts. A more apt description would be that Denn are a team which makes the most of what they have. What loftier praise can a side receive than to be called men who can apply themselves to the maximum of their ability? Word emanating from Crosskeys when the draw for the quarter-finals was made had it that Denn were secretly delighted to have drawn vaunted neighbours Castlerahan, a side rated as second favourites for the title behind the Gaels at the time. True to form, Denn's workrate and nerveless adherence to a pre-conceived plan saw them oust the Ballyduff men. They entered the semi-final against an understrength and hopelessly exposed Mullahoran with the same furrow-browed concentration and, having broken the back of the Dreadnoughts midway through the second half, played some champagne football on the home stretch. Denn displayed the same spirit and togetherness but a new confidence. All of which, however, will count for little if they cannot counter a new threat in Cavan Gaels. The Gaels have purred along, if we're honest, without moving through the gears this summer. They topped their group with the minimum of fuss, routing Ballinagh and Crosserlough in the process. Against Redhills in the quarter-final, the Gaels ran out five clear pulling up and had been 1-10 to 0-4 ahead with seven minutes to play. Killygarry threatened to discard the mental baggage of underdogs and tear into their semi-final but the Gaels overcame a sluggish start to win by ten, choking the life out of the Crubany men tactically and proving as ruthlessly efficient as ever in front of the posts. They were always going to win, but the luxury of being able to introduce Micheál Lyng, Cormac Nelligan and Niall Murray ('football is a panel game' said Mick O'Dowd afterwards) meant that there was no let-up and a victory became a hammering. While we're on the subject, however, the margin of Cavan Gaels' actual victories - they have defeated five opponents by an aggregate total of 0-53 for an average win of 10.6 points - to date shouldn't be lent too much weight. It's worth noting that the Gaels seem to win as many games by a dozen points and more as they do by a handful, which is a reflection of the type of players they produce. Pace and movement are king and a side which possesses these qualities and gets on top can overrun their opposition more easily. Think of the great Tyrone side of '03 to '05 and the Armagh team of '02 - relatively equal in ability and level in head to heads, but Armagh, due to the characteristics of their personnel, made a name on squeaking out results by a point or two against sides which Tyrone and their lightning forward line would routinely guillotine. The very fact that the Gaels are as likely to win matches by ten as two is an indicator of their greatest strength, which is their squad. The club's greatest triumph is that over a decade and a half of intensive coaching, the Gaels have produced an army of almost identikit players - in general, they are fast, gutsy, committed and confident. All are versed in the house style long before they reach adult level, which means that there is always another player to slot in and chime, in sync, to the overall rhythm. If Eamon Reilly is absent, Anthony Forde will be the rabble-rouser, the firebrand manning the heart of the defence. If Paul O'Donnell is out, Niall Murray can slot in as the workaholic wing-forward. In the same way, Robert Maloney-Derham can do a job in a multitude of positions. The system is king, the music never changes, just the individual members of the symphony. The one man who may be irreplaceable, in his own way, is Sean Johnston - there is no substitute for that level of natural class. He failed to hit the heights the last time we watched him in a blue and white jersey, prior to the semi-final, on a rainy night in Wicklow but Johnston is Johnston. Two years ago, he summered in Chi-town and was the toast of Cavan Town on his return, kicking six points to prove the difference in the county final against Gowna. This time around, he returns from New Zealand refreshed and hungry and could be the difference; when all else it equal, as it could well be here, a flash of genius separates the good the great. The men on the line, of course, have a massive role to play. Mick O'Dowd is the Gaels boss, having been headhunted by former chairman Aidan Elliott. He is tactically astute, as he showed in the semi-final, and will look to snuff out the supply to Colin Kiernan and Darren Costello by bringing back someone like Cathal Collins as a sweeper. Denn manager Gary Farrelly and trainer Damien O'Reilly know what it takes to win on county final day and, just as importantly, know what it's like to be beaten. They have done a tremendous job of work to date but they won't be content with second place, or defeat in a game for the ages. One thing is for certain, Sunday's final will be no massacre. Denn lived to tell the tale last year and now know what it's all about. The sense is that they will have improved for the experience and will actually enjoy county final day - and the incumbent build-up, the bluster, the bunting - all the more. The talk among their supporters this time last season was defeatist - now, there's a real buzz, a genuine sense that there is a destination at the end of this journey, that hope and history may be about to briefly rhyme. Farrelly's players' ears will be ringing with the instruction that must stop the Gaels' half-back line - the launching pad for many of their attacks - from rampaging up field. They need to be disciplined and to take whatever chances come their way, particularly from dead balls. Do that and they won't be far away. Some trends to watch out for: Look for the big boys on the each side to lay down a marker early, possibly in the same way that Tadhg Kennelly 'softened up' Nicholas Murphy a couple of weeks ago. Denn need a good start, which means containing Cavan Gaels by any means in the first 15 to 20 minutes. The Gaels, for their part, will try to stop Jerome Kiernan linking up with brother Colin the way he did in the semi-final. Both play on the same wing, and their pace is a huge asset for Denn and one that O'Dowd will have to counter. The Gaels midfield has been strong all year and chips in with the odd score but Denn will feel that they can win here, especially with news that Sean Reilly may be ruled out. Ronan Kiernan has been a warrior through many battles and his strength,and Thomas Corr's athleticism and engine, could ensure that the oxegen lines to the attack are kept clear. Midfield was one area, remember, where Denn more than held their own last time. The beauty of county final day, of course, is that it's ecstasy or agony, all or nothing, maroon or blue jersies hoisting the cup. Like Cody's Kilkenny and the Kerry footballers a fortnight ago, it's the fear of defeat that is driving this Gaels side as much as anything. They can't come home having been caught, marooned - literally, in this case - on the wrong side of that line. This group doesn't generally tolerate defeat, which is why they are where they are - favourites to win a seventh SFC title this decade. But they face a tough outfit. Denn, too, have a sense of a team on a mission, which is what makes this one so intriguing. The cliche says that you must lose one to win one. Denn have done that, and fit the profile of an emerging side - knocking on the door, committed and with a nice mix of the battle-hardened and enthusiastic. They have generals and foot soldiers and they revel in life in the trenches as we have seen on several occasions this past two summers. Down by five against Killygarry in the 2008 semi-final, written off before playing neighbours Castlerahan this year, ailing in the league yet thundering into the championship final unbeaten in five matches. In the dog days, Denn's spirit de corp has come to the fore. So there you have it. Both sides want this one, both will feel they deserve it, as they should. The Gaels look to have the better ball-players and the experience of winning, Denn will feel that they have the leaders to rise to the occasion and that they have learnt the lessons of '08. Are the Gaels as good as they were? Possibly not. Are Denn better than they were? Certainly. Has the gap closed sufficiently? Not yet. You must lose one to win one, maybe, but this Gaels side have lost three and won six in a decade; the old order is not ready to change just yet. Expect Denn to be there and fighting with 20 to go, and even ten, but the Gaels have class and the Gaels have Johnston. Jelly to help them wriggle off the rack and come through a thriller by three. But it's going to be tight. Buckle up. paul@anglocelt.ie