Champions to do it
by Paul Fitzpatrick Updated: Friday, 24th September, 2010 4:57pm
Cathal Collins is still a real leader for Cavan Gaels.
Here we go again. At first glance, the same as last year - the champions enter as the hottest of favourites - but, on closer inspection, different, too.
This time, Cavan Gaels' opponents are not a mature side from a smaller club who have, in hindsight, excelled in making the final, as Denn were.
This time, Kingscourt Stars represent an outfit of real pedigree, who have been building patiently from the bottom up and will bring some of their patented east Cavan swagger with them.
Their very name suggests a club who strive to be the best and Kingscourt will come to the county town in expectation.
For that, at least, the neutrals should be thankful. Too many teams are beaten before they even board the bus to face Cavan Gaels...
The abiding question, of course, is just how good the latter are at present. Their slip in form this season appears alarming - that's beyond question. This time last year, going into the final against Denn as raging hot favourites, they had defeated five opponents by an aggregate total of 0-53 for an average win of 10.6 points.
This time around, the Gaels have won four and drawn one, with their total winning margin reduced to 0-21 for an average margin of just over four points per game.
By any standard, that's quite a drop. However, the one statistic which stands out is the figures Cavan Gaels have been conceding.
On average, the champions have been shipping just 0-10 per match in this championship, a campaign which some would have you believe has been engulfed in crisis and represents a side on the decline - what complete and utter rubbish.
The holders have looked stale at times, which is understandable, but, on paper and on prior form, they are still the best team in this county by a stretch.
The burden of favouritism is such that everything is magnified - the Gaels were held to a draw by Ramor, ergo, the Gaels are on the slide.
Don't believe a word. Forget the fact that up to 15 panellists were unavailable for the group stage, if Cavan Gaels and Ramor were to meet tomorrow, who would win it? Let's not lose sight of the fact that we are talking about a truly great club side.
How this one will play out depends on a host of factors.
The midfield battle will, of course, be crucial. The towering Sean Reilly is a key performer for Cavan Gaels but looks unlikely to start due to injury, which means Dominic Reilly and Enda King will wear eight and nine. King, one of the most under-rated players in the county, has slotted back into the Gaels engine room with the minimum of fuss after a year out and was superbly effective against a strong Mullahoran pairing in the semi-final.
He will be picked up by Gavin Sheenan, who is a hardworking type, a gutsy player who will hold the middle and is capable of nullifying King. They've fought plenty of battles down the years and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them cancel each other out.
Beside him, the combative Colm Smith is in great form and his runs from deep will need to produce a couple of scores for the Stars.
Dominic Reilly, who has made remarkable improvement in recent seasons and especially this year, can field and has a great engine
The Gaels' house style of pace and movement, with its half-back line loads with ball-players, is similar to Kingscourt's, the presence of Alan Clarke as a stopper the key difference.
JP O'Reilly and Barry Tully are Kingscourt's answer to Pauric Smith and Gavin Duffy, wing-backs who love to bomb forward.
Behind them, Thomas Wakely is an excellent full-back and extremely quick, which he will need to be. The Gaels full-forward line of Johnston, Martin Dunne and Niall Murray possesses raw, burning pace.
What must be worrying for the Stars is where they will find their scores. While they are not as limited in their range as Mullahoran were, they are still reliant on Barry Reilly. He made hay close to goal last time out and while that horse has now bolted in terms of a surprise tactic, that doesn't mean it can't be effective again.
There are question marks over the Gaels full-back line. It's solid but, in such a strong team is possibly the weakest line. Will Farrell load his last line of attack accordingly, or withdraw Ryan McCormack to the half forward line again and isloate Barry in space?
Will the Gaels employ a sweeper, possibly in the guise of Collins or Forde?
Questions, questions, questions...
Goals win games, as we have seen time and again, and for such a positive team, Cavan Gaels' in this sector has been paltry in the championship. They have hit the net just four times, two scored by midfielder Dominic Reilly, one by Martin Dunne and one bagged by Johnston, who netted against Cuchulainns after a freakish passage of play in which his marker wasn't even on the field.
However, Kingscourt's record is even worse. They have scored just three goals and none since the group stage and if this situation pertains again, they won't beat Cavan Gaels.
In short, when it's broken down, Kingscourt will feel that they are as good, or damn nearly as good, as the Gaels. In up to half a dozen positions, they possibly are. However, experience is the teacher of all things and the holders have that in spades.
Think of all the football a man like Sean Johnston has played compared to his opposite number, Barry Reilly. He's seven years further down the line in his development as a player. As Val Andrews was wont to say in his previous incarnation as Cavan senior manager, there is a hell of a difference between a good 19-year-old and a good 25-year-old.
If this were a horse race run on level weights, Cavan Gaels would be unbackable favourites. It really will take an aberration on the form book for Kingscourt to win this. The line of form through Cuchulainns adds weight to this.
Yes, recent runs haven't set the world alight but the Gaels have been burdened by excessive handicaps - a horrendous injury list, the loss of key panel members to the US - and the nagging (no pun intended) feeling that they were being held back somewhat.
One Cavan Gaels official commented prior to the sem-finals that key man Nicholas Walsh would be out injured "until the Ulster Club". It was a faux pas but regardless of what may be said, that has to be how Cavan Gaels are thinking. It's only natural, having won three in a row, that they will have an eye on Ulster again.
What's often overlooked about Cavan Gaels is their mental strength. Yes, they can run up huge totals once they hit the front but their record in tight matches, in "domestic" rather than provincial fare at least, stands up under scrutiny, too.
Thus, if it comes down to a dogfight, they will revel in the trenches.
The question is, will Kingscourt? They showed against Gowna, rallying after losing their key half-forward to a red card, that they have plenty of heart and the make-up of their players suggests that they won't fold under pressure.
The spine of the team - McCormack, Wakely, Clarke, the Smiths, McCormack - is physically strong and can take, and give it, with the best of them at club level.
Then again, we said all of this about Denn last year and they were blown away, filleted before they had even broken a sweat.
We predicted last year that the Gaels would "shade an epic"; they didn't - they walked through a match which represented a nightmare for the neutrals.
They won't lead by 1-9 to 0-2 after 22 minutes this time around, but they should win. Kingscourt need everything to click into place - that means Barry Reilly replicating his semi-final form, Ryan McCormack nailing every free that comes his way, "Toasty" and Wakley dominating the defence, and one of their young forwards, such as Daryl Martin or Mark McKeown if they start, to kick three or four points.
The intangibles are too many. Cavan football needs a new team to emerge and Kingscourt fit the profile nicely. It's too soon, however.
The head says Cavan Gaels will have just too much. The champions to win it with a few points to spare, something like 1-12 to 0-10.
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