Cavan must defeat Déise at home

As Basil Fawlty put it, don't mention the war. To preview Cavan v Waterford in the league without bringing up the incidents of Sunday April 9, 2006, when the 1/50 favourites were turned over at home by a Déise team they had slaughtered 7-14 to 1-7, away, the previous season, would be to ignore one of the most painful defeats in the recent history the county. A Sean Johnston penalty wasn't enough to defeat the 14-man Deise who, reportedly stung by unflattering comments in the match programme, ground out an unlikely (the odds would have suggested nigh impossible) victory, with Cavan talisman Dermot McCabe famously called ashore in the first half and forced to watch the horror unfolding from the sideline. Martin McElkennon's reign didn't last much longer, and a new man, Donal Keogan, was in the bainisteoir bib a year later when Cavan made amends, winning 3-12 to 1-12 with goals from Ray Cullivan, Micheál Lyng and Michael Hannon to gain promotion to Division Two on the last day of the league. Another manager, Tommy Carr (the less said about whose disastrous tenure the better), has been and gone in the meantime, and Cavan find themselves in a different place entirely as the Deise come calling today. If Cavan are to make the step up, not "to the next level" but to any level consistent with the talent and tradition in the county, two of the things they must address are consistency and the development of a ruthless edge. Both are the marks of champions. Last Sunday against Westmeath, a team which hadn't won a league match in two years and 45 weeks, carelessness in front of the posts forced Cavan into a position where they had to claw, "with their fingernails" as Al Pacino put it, for a draw when both points should have been in the bank by half-time. The previous day out, a tremendous first half performance in the McKenna Cup semi-final had Tyrone scuttling for cover and Mickey Harte sending for reinforcements from the bench. Again, though, a failure to close it out allowed the Red Hands to swoop for two goals and swat us away. Now, a McKenna Cup title to Tyrone, as we have written before, would be akin to Bill Gates picking up a couple of hundred quid on a scratch card; were Cavan to win one, we'd probably pen songs in commemoration at this stage. On such little incidents do seasons, and managerial reigns, revolve. All of which brings us to this afternoon's match. It's a must-win for Cavan, who have been handed a tough schedule of away matches and simply have to win at home. Waterford are no slouches, as they showed when recording an impressive home win over a good Limerick outfit last weekend. With no starting line-up to hand as we write, the composition of Terry Hyland and Val Andrews' side is educated guesswork. The introduction of subs David Givney, Gearoid McKiernan and Barry Reilly made a decided impact against Westmeath and, with the latter two likely to be ensconsed in Under 21 matters for the next three weeks, the management could well throw them in here. The defence, a mixture of experienced players and rookies, has looked vulnerable at times and, although not helped by a largely ineffective midfield, allowed a misfiring Westmeath in for enough chances to win two matches. The excellent James Reilly aside, Mark McKeever has been the stand-out performer in that sector and he is always worth a score or two from half-back. Martin Cahill could well make a welcome return too and if John McCutcheon is fit, they will form a formidable half-back line. There will be some tinkering elsewhere. Ronan Flanagan, pound for pound one of the best ball-players in the game, hasn't hit top form yet and hopefully will today, while a couple of the newcomers in attack are taking their time to find their feet at this level. Regardless, if Cavan can improve their accuracy, scores shouldn't be a problem with Sean Johnston and Ger Pearson moving well and Cullivan and Givney also good for a couple if they start. The management have preached patience from the outset, and they are right; the trick is in finding a balance between old and new, ensuring safety in the division while experimenting, keeping players' confidence up and, crucially, keeping the supporters onside. Cavan players, who lacked for nothing in effort if not application, got plenty of vitriol from visiting Breffni fans last Sunday in Cusack Park. If we all get behind the team, as Val Andrews urged in the Celt this week, it'll make things so much easier. Cavan are rated 2/5 favourites with the bookmakers and a repeat of the first half performance against Tyrone would see them take this with a few points to spare, something like 1-13 to 0-11.