Champions ride the storm in gripping contest

So this was championship football, warts and all. They came in small numbers, the Gaels supporters confident as followers of 1/12 should be, Cuchulainns' fans, you suspect, travelling from Cross and Mullagh in hope and the neutrals at least expecting another ritual slaughter, a backlash from the Gaels against their mediocre recent form. Instead, we got an old-fashioned barnstormer under the Breffni Park lights, a drama in two acts. Cuchulainns deserve enormous credit. They belived they could win it and, driven on by Conor Smith, Eugene Keating and Terry Farrelly, threw everything they had at Cavan Gaels here, executing their game plan to perfection. Like front-runners in a horse race, they knew they would have to stretch the favourites from the starting gate. That they did, taking their chances and making Cavan Gaels look ordinary in the extreme. However, once they came off the bridle, the Gaels found their form and the second half was a procession. They out-scored Cuchulainns by 2-6 to 0-2 after the break, the first goal rightly drawing the ire of Cuchulainns players and supporters, scored, as it was, literally seconds after the re-start when the east Cavan men had only 14 players on the field. With one defender yet to trot on from the sideline, ref Padraig Kelleher (who either hadn't noticed or had grown frustrated at the Cuchulainns delay in re-emerging) threw in the ball - the Gaels won it, Sean Johnston (unmarked) called for it and made no mistake. There was plenty of good football - the all-action Conor Smith, a player with a unique style, in particular was a joy to watch, while Johnston showed glimpses of his top form when it mattered - and manly tackling. This was a match played on the edge; if, at times, the standard of play slipped, it was to be expected given the full-blooded nature of proceedings. Unfortunately, sportsmanship disappeared from the radar on occasion as well. It was sobering for neutrals to see a player cheered to the dug-out having been ordered off. That's not the way of champions and reflects poorly on some supporters. Not that any of it mattered at the final whistle - players shook hands, fans filed out either relived or frustrated and all was forgotten. Breffni hums with talk that the Gaels are on the decline - don't believe a word. The champions, depleted by injury, are in the enviable position of having made last four having not yet played well. Two big performances and the cup is theirs again. The die is cast and the message has been relayed loud and clear for pretenders to the throne to hear. Cavan Gaels are still alive and won't give up the Oliver Plunkett Cup without one hell of a battle.