Gaels save best display for big stage

Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni Park Cavan Gaels proved, if there was any doubt, that the gulf between them and the rest of the chasing pack is wider than ever when they blitzed a disappointing Denn side last Sunday at Kingspan Breffni Park. Much of the talk in the build-up to the match centred on the return of Sean Johnston to the Gaels side, but few could have predicted the incredible performance of Micheal Lyng, a player who has been plagued by injury for four seasons but who proved in this match the truth of the old cliché that form is temporary while class is permanent. That class was evident in everything the Gaels did. We knew that Denn would need to contain the champions early on but they got off to a nightmare start, a worst case scenario which saw them fall 1-9 to 0-2 behind with just 23 minutes on the clock. Game, set and, unfortunately for the 3,500 supporters who paid €41,500 in gate receipts, match. Ironically, Denn had created the first two chances, with target man Hubert Smith -who gave Karol Crotty a torrid afternoon but lacked poise at crucial times - winning two early balls, but having squandered those opportunities, Denn were punished. A 35 metre point by Johnston - who took a pass form the outstanding Anthony Forde and immediately took on his marker - was followed by a free from the same player to make it 2-0 after three minutes. Denn had a wide, their first of seven to the Gaels' three, before an opportunist point by Martin Dunne extended the gap to three. Suddenly, the worst fears of the neutrals were realised as it became apparent that Denn were struggling to cope with the fluency of the town side. A tactical decision to deploy Martin Cahill on Johnston backfired, too; by the time 'Jelly' has possession, it's already too late and Cahill - who has been magnificent at wing-back for two years now - would have been of more use around the middle, winning breaks and helping to cut off that supply. Regardless, Denn were in trouble all over. A fine point from Aidan McKiernan stemmed the tide momentarily in the ninth minute but Cormac Nelligan stepped up to hit two beauties from either wing in the following minutes to make it 0-5 to 0-1. Gavin Duffy bombed forward to open up a five-point lead as the Gaels, for whom Cathal Collins was sensational at midfield, overran Denn at will. Darren Costello replied with a free following a foul on Smith but within 20 seconds, Lyng set up Johnston for Cavan Gaels' seventh. Oozing confidence and having snuffed out Denn's danger men, the champions continued to pour forward and points from Dunne and Nelligan (free) made it 9-2, before the defining score of the match arrived on the 23-minute mark. Eamon Reilly fielded the ball at centre-back and laid off to Lyng, who made the rest look easy, skipping by a couple of tackles and driving the ball to the roof of Brian Boylan's net to extinguish the last glimmer of hope for Denn. Up by ten and on top in every position, all Cavan Gaels needed to do was keep the scoreboard ticking over and close out the match. Martin McKiernan and Johnston traded points as Denn, realising their start had put paid to their dream and with nothing to lose, finally threw off the shackles and fired over two quick points through Ronan Kiernan - after a superb block by Ciaran McGovern - and a Costello free to go in at the break eight in arrears. The underdogs' mantra is the same in every final: keep it tight early on, hang in there long enough to spook the favourites and take whatever chances come your way. Another pillar of the old philosophy is that "the little guy", as they say in American sports, must charge out of the blocks after any break. Thus, it was expected that Denn would throw whatever they had at Cavan Gaels in the early minutes of the second half, to rage against the dying of the light. Surprisingly, however, Denn - stunned at their first quarter capitulation - came out still staggering from the heavy blows they took early on. The Gaels kicked on and within nine minutes they were 13 up. First, Lyng took a pass from Nelligan and drove over and then Collins and Eamon Reilly added two more. Nelligan's fourth made it 1-14 to 0-6 and another from Lyng - whose on-field relationship with Johnston is telepathic - and a second by Eamon Reilly made it 1-16 to 0-6. Denn scored just once in this period, Colin Kiernan taking a pass from Smith and firing over a brilliant point from long range, but the next ten minutes, whether through their own class or the Gaels' having pulled up, or both, would be Denn's best of the match. A fisted point by Smith, after good play from Thomas Corr and Martin Cahill, started the revival and when Corr was hauled down and Colin Kiernan tucked a penalty away, the gap was cut to 10. With some Denn supporters having already left, their players finally found some form and played some of the fast, intelligent football they had shown in the earlier rounds. A huge point by corner-back Eoin McPhilips brought the gap to nine and and two more quick scores suddenly made it a six-point game. With Darren Costello finally finding some space, Denn's tails were up now but with just nine and a half minutes on the clock, time was against them. Sure enough, the Gaels kicked clear again and a Nelligan free and a fisted point by sub Pauric Smith but the issue finally beyond doubt. A Johnston free made it 1-19 to 1-11 and although Denn grabbed a late consolation goal through sub John Smith, who deflected brother Hubert's shot past Eoghan Elliott, Gaels sub Kevin Meehan clipped over the final score of the match to round out a comfortable victory, with the scoreline flattering Denn if anything. While big game nerves on behalf of Denn certainly played a part, this was a ruthless performance from Cavan Gaels who, in winning their seventh title in a decade, played their best stuff of the season by far. Mick O'Dowd has his side moving ominously well and their muted celebrations at the final whistle prove that they have their sights fimly fixed on a bigger prize this time around. Cavan Gaels: Eoghan Elliott, Karol Crotty, Darren Rabbitt, John Gurhy, Gavin Duffy (0-1), Eamonn Reilly (0-2), Daniel Graham, Cathal Collins (0-1), Anthony Forde, Dominic Reilly, Micheal Lyng (1-2), Paul O'Donnell, Sean Johnston (0-5, 2f), Cormac Nelligan (0-5, 2f), Martin Dunne (0-2) SUBS: Niall Murray, Pauric Smith (0-1), Robert Maloney-Derham, Kevin Meehan (0-1) Denn: Brian Boylan, Eoin McPhilips (0-1), Ciaran McGovern, Adrian Cahill, Martin Cahill (0-1), David McKiernan, Aidan McKiernan (0-1), Thomas Corr, Ronan Kiernan (0-1), Jerome Kiernan, Padraig McGovern, Martin McKiernan (0-1), Colin Kiernan 1-1 (1-0 pen), Hubert Smith 90-1), Darren Costello (0-3, 3f) SUBS: Philip Galligan, Paul Donohoe, John Smith (1-0) REF: Joe McQuillan (Kill Shamrocks)