Published: Wednesday, 8th September, 2010 3:04pm

'We need to improve to go through' - Johnston

by Paul Fitzpatrick

Sean Johnston (right) and Martin Dunne celebrate after combining for the crucial second goal, scored by Dunne, against Cuchulainns in the Hotel Kilmore SFC quarter-final. Cavan Gaels face Mullahoran this Sunday at Breffni Park in the second of the semi-finals.
Pic by==: 97

Breffni hums, as we wrote here two weeks ago, with talk that Cavan Gaels are in decline following some mediocre form to date but the bookmakers - who rarely get it wrong - don't concur. They have pencilled in the Gaels as odds on favourites to reach an amazing 11th successive county final. To get there though, they'll need to improve, according to captain Sean Johnston.

"We barely came through the group, we beat Lavey, just about, we had a real scare against Ramor, we should have been beaten and we just scraped through against Ballinagh in a game we had to win to get through the group," Johnston told The Anglo-Celt this week.

"In the quarter-final we were in a very precarious position at half-time and we had to battle to get through it. It's not a bad position to be in, in a semi-final without possibly playing well but I suppose there are warning signs there for us and we know going into Sunday that if we don't pick it up it will be the end of our championship season."

The champions' woes, if you can call them that considering that they are unbeaten, can largely be explained by a crippling injury crisis and the loss of more than a handful of the younger brigade, who spent the summer on J1s in the US.

"It's difficult, no matter what your squad is, to recover from losing 11 or 12 first team regulars that have been playing the last couple of years and it can be difficult to get back into the swing of things when you're missing so many of your regulars. We were hit with a few injuries through the year, not looking for excuses, but it is quite difficult when you're missing players and you get another few injuries on top of that. So it's all credit to the boys that are there, they've really put the shoulder to the wheel and they've got us into this situation," said Johnston.

The return of the likes of Martin Dunne, Kevin Meehan, Daniel Graham, Conor McClarey - who scored two goals in the Junior B semi-final win over Kingscourt last Saturday - and Robert Maloney-Derham will add considerably to the Gaels talent pool for Sunday's mouthwatering clash with Mullahoran.

"Hopefully the boys coming back has added a bit more intensity to training and made the manager's job a bit more difficult come Sunday," said Johnston, who listed the experience garnered over the past decade as a key weapon in his side's armoury.

"This team has been about for years and there is a lot of experience in it," said the schoolteacher, who turned 26 last month.

"I suppose one of our biggest strengths is that we know we've been there, done it the last few years, as have Mullahoran, two very experienced teams going into battle on Sunday and it's going to be a very very tough game."

Johnston's status as a leader in the Gaels dressing room has been recognised this season with the captain's armband, but he doesn't feel any extra pressure ahead of his side's biggest match of the season.

"When it comes to the captaincy thing, there are elder statesmen on the Gaels team who are all very good leaders and good talkers and it's just like every other year really," he said.

The town side has produced a conveyor belt of talent in recent seasons and continues to churn out talented young footballers, fit, skilful and well-versed in the house style. The feeling is that such constant reinvention has been key to keeping Cavan Gaels motivated to stay on top.

Johnston flat-bats any questions about hunger. All eyes, he says, are on Mullahoran at 3.30pm this Sunday.

"We went so many years without winning championships in the 70s and it's only in the last ten years when all the underage work came to fruition that we started winning championships. We're going to get a serious test come Sunday, so that's going to see exactly where we're at.

"We're playing the form team in the county, they've come through the group unbeaten and absolutely flying in some games and scoring a lot so it's a difficult task for us but we're looking forward to it. Every championship year brings its own experiences and we're hoping we can perform Sunday

"It's a double header now with the Drumlane and Killeshandra replay so that should bring a big enough crowd. Playing Mullahoran in the championship is the biggest game you can get. I suppose over the last few years it's been nip and tuck with the few of us. In the last final we played, they beat us in 2006. That was very disappointing, there's been nothing really between us the last couple of years, we've both come away with victories so I suppose it'll come down to who plays better on the day."

Despatches coming from Breffni Park, and Terry Coyle Park for that matter, have it that Derry manager Damien Cassidy has played an important role in recent weeks in firing up the Gaels camp. Rumours of a 'fire and brimstone' half-time team talk from the Derryman were rife after the quarter-final but, as is the wont of footballers in high summer, Johnston is loathe to reveal any trade secrets.

"I think he was just there as a spectator. I think he was in the stand alright," says Johnston of Cassidy's involvement in the Cuchulains match, a game which saw the champions come back from seven points down in the first half.

"He came in for a bit of a chat to us after the game and that's basically it, there's nothing really much to it. He's had a good career with whoever he's been with, Bellaghy and a couple of other teams and he was doing a very good job in Cavan. The difference someone can bring in, just a speaker at training to up the ante, we always like something like that in our club and if it adds something to the party, hopefully it can improve us for Sunday."

Whether or not Cavan Gaels have acquired the services of Cassidy or not, a deep-seated belief and a team ethic has been crucial to Cavan Gaels' success and will be king again on Sunday, according to the full-forward.

"Every game is different and we're not really worried about how individuals are getting on as long we keep performing and keep winning and that's what gaelic games come down to now, it's a full team effort. If someone doesn't produce on the day, someone else just steps up to the mark and we'll be looking for everyone to step up to the mark on Sunday."

Should both sides do just that, step up and meet at full tilt, the neutrals could be in for the match of the season.

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