Published: Wednesday, 15th July, 2009 10:52am

Cavan slip to a new low

Wicklow 1-12

Cavan 0-8

A lifeless performance from Cavan against Wicklow saw their season end in disappointing fashion in front of 2,500 soaked spectators at a rainy Aughrim last Saturday evening.

The visitors registered just 0-3 after the break but in truth much of the damage was done in the first half when Wicklow, totally on top around midfield, built up a four-point advantage against a Cavan side which, for all of the honest effort of the likes of Ronan Flanagan, Paul Brady and Dermot Sheridan, lacked ideas and struggled to put any decent moves together.

In contrast, a fired-up Wicklow moved the ball impressively against the wind in the first half and were full value for their half-time lead.

Cavan opened the scoring from a Sean Johnston free in the second minute, the Gaels man converting from close range after collecting a Ray Cullivan pass and being hauled down when heading for goal, but Wicklow wing-back Patrick McWalter levelled matters with a fine strike from the wing a minute later.

The burly Seanie Furlong, who caused some problems but was well handled overall by Sheridan, curled over a free to edge the hosts in front for the first time but this was cancelled out by centre-back Paul Brady after good work by Gerald Pearson in the fifth minute.

Mistakes were inevitable in the conditions and on such a tight pitch, and handling and passing errors were commonplace at this stage by both teams.

One such mistake benefited Cavan when Cullivan slipped on kicking the ball, only to see it fortuitously end up in the arms of Pearson, who made no mistake on the turn from 30 metres.

This cancelled out a Wicklow point moments before, JP Dalton striding forward unhindered to tap over in space as Cavan"s looseness in defence and around midfield began to become apparent. Cavan had started Ciaran Galligan in place of Cian Mackey at wing-forward in an effort to counteract the threat of a strong Wicklow midfield pairing, but the Drung man, generally good in the air, struggled to make an impact in conditions not suited to clean catching.

Pearson, who looked lively early on but faded as the supply was cut off, was fouled for a free which Johnston converted to edge Cavan in front by the odd point in seven, but this was as good as it got for the visitors.

Wicklow began to take charge at midfield, where Ray Cullivan handled a lot of ball but was unusually wasteful in possession.

Referee David Coldrick, who had already booked Paul Brady, Pearson and both Wicklow midfielders for innocuous-looking incidents in the first quarter, was extremely fussy and stopped the play on numerous occasions for minor indiscretions which didn"t help either side get into a rhythm; the quality of the match suffered as a result.

A harsh call by Coldrick handed Wicklow a free which Tony Hannon tapped over in the 17th minute and a Larry Reilly-style jinking run and point by the tricky Leighton Glynn made it 5-4 a minute later.

Disaster struck for Cavan five minutes later when a high ball into the danger area caused confusion between James Reilly and his defenders, allowing Paul Earls to rise and punch to the net for a goal which appeared as if it could have been ruled out for an infringement on the square.

Down by four and with only 12 minutes left of playing with the wind, Cavan needed to conjure something but were bereft of ideas when in possession and seemed unable to match Wicklow"s intensity when they weren"t.

A dubious free against Sheridan was tapped over by Furlong to put five between the teams. Cavan hit back with two poor wides at the other end and one shot which actually tailed out for a line ball.

Sean Brady showed good strength and pace to carve through the Wicklow defence before being fouled for a free which Larry Reilly converted to hand Cavan, who had by this stage introduced Mackey for Eugene Keating, some respite.

Down by four, 1-6 to 0-5, at the break, Cavan needed to hit the ground running early in the second half but instead it was Wicklow who took charge.

Midfielder James Stafford set the tone, winning the throw-in and setting up Dalton, and although that attack ended in a wide, a neat point from play by Hannon pushed the Garden men five up from the next attack, and Darren Hayden extended this to six a minute later, cutting through unchallenged to tap over from 25 metres.

A 14 metre free from Larry, after his goal shot was blocked with the foot, marked Cavan"s first score of the half and, as it turned out, their third last of the match.

Two bad calls by Coldrick, against Mackey and then Michael Brides, resulted in an easy free for Hannon.

A feature of the second half was Wicklow"s defending, which was excellent.

A block down on Nicholas Walsh, who was thrown in at full-forward in the latter stages, and two spectacular blocks by Ciaran Hyland on Johnston, gave the home side a huge lift as Cavan pressed in the third quarter.

Mackey, who made a difference when introduced, was the only Cavan forward who looked like causing problems and he, along with Flanagan who, to his credit, gave it everything, was involved in creating a number of chances, all of which were squandered.

Three dismal wides by Cavan were followed by a Hannon free which pushed Wicklow seven ahead. Larry Reilly curled over a well-struck free in response but, for the final 15 minutes, Wicklow turned the screw.

A litany of mistakes by Cavan, who gave away possession far too cheaply under pressure, allowed the home side to keep their advantage intact.

With Givney and Walsh now operating close to goal, Cavan"s sole tactic seemed to be to lump the ball into them in the hope of a goal, but although the former created a free for Johnston to convert, overall the Wicklow backs were on top of the situation.

Overrun for the umpteenth time at the back, Furling fired over his third point in the final minute before an injury time Hannon free rounded off, not just the scoring, but Cavan"s season.

Wicklow march on to round three where their workrate and organisation could well see them trouble one of the better sides. Cavan, for their part, face a six-month post mortem before it all starts again next January. Another year over, another opportunity missed.

WICKLOW: M Travers; C Hyland, D O hAnnaidh, S Kelly; P McWalter (0-1), B McGrath, D Hayden (0-1); J Stafford, T Murphy; L Glynn (0-1), T Hannon (0-5, 4f), JP Dalton (0-1); D Odlum, S Furlong (0-3, 2f), P Earls (1-0)

CAVAN: James Reilly; Michael Hannon, Dermot Sheridan, Michael Brides; Rory Dunne, Paul Brady (0-1), Ronan Flanagan; Nicholas Walsh, Ray Cullivan; Ciaran Galligan, Sean Brady, Eugene Keating; Ger Pearson (0-1), Larry Reilly (0-3, 3f), Sean Johnston (0-3, 3f)

Subs: C Mackey for Keating (29), M Cahill for Dunne (38), D Givney for S Brady (43), E Reilly for Galligan (58).

Ref: D Coldrick (Meath).

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