Cavan return to Division 1 in style

Cavan 1-16
Galway 1-12

Paul Fitzpatrick
at Kingspan Breffni Park

 

The Blues are back! Cavan returned to Division 1 in style by defeating Galway to make it five wins in succession in Division 2 of the NFL this afternoon at a rain-sodden Breffni Park.

Before the largest crowd of the season, Cavan captain Gearoid McKiernan was the match-winner as he scored five wonderful points from play.

Cavan led by 1-8 to 1-5 at half-time, with David Givney side-footing home the goal in the ninth minute after a long punt forward from Killian Brady.

Video: Elaine Cully

 

But Damien Comer's opportunistic effort at the other end kept Galway in touch as Cavan racked up nine first-half wides.

In the second half, the Tribesmen poured on the pressure but Cavan defended brilliantly and broke clear for crucial points from McKiernan (two) and Liam Buchanan.

Sub Eugene Keating also landed two points from play and Niall Murray came off the bench to land the clincher as Cavan pulled away to win by four.

And the win meant so much, according to the inspirational Killian Clarke.

'We were ecstatic there after the game, you could see the celebrations there. It was a goal we set ourselves two or three years ago and it's all coming together now,' the Shercock man told The Anglo-Celt.

'The pressure was on there in the last five or 10 minutes but we were happy with the win in the end.

We were struggling to get our hands on the ball but with a bit of hard running, we got men up and we picked off a couple of points there at the end.'

 

Cavan: R Galligan (0-2, 2 45s), P Faulkner, K Clarke (0-1), J McLoughlin, C Brady, C Moynagh, K Brady, T Corr, L Buchanan (0-1), D McVeety (0-1), G McKiernan (0-5), M Reilly, D Givney (1-1), M Argue, J Brady (0-2f)

Subs: N Murray (0-1) for Argue (51 mins), E Keating (0-2) for J Brady (55 mins), C Mackey for M Reilly (60 mins), R Dunne for Buchanan (BC, 63 mins), C Conroy for Corr (70 mins)

Galway: M Breathnach, D Wynne (0-1), D Kyne, C Sweeney, L Silke, G O’Donnell, G Bradshaw, E Brannigan (0-2), P Conroy, T Flynn, P Sweeney, G Sice (0-3f), S Walsh (0-4, 1f, 45), D Cummins (0-1), D Comer (1-1)

Subs: J Heaney for Cummins (48 mins), A Varley for P Sweeney (53 mins), S Denvir for Sice (62 mins), E Hoare for Brannigan (70 mins)