Graham proud of players' efforts in difficult assignment

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Mickey Graham or his management team – or, indeed, any inter-county management in the country, or their players – didn’t sign up for this.

Managing at this level is no easy job but in these uncertain times, with players dropping like flies and all manner of restrictions of how teams can prepare, travel and even tog out, it is almost Mission Impossible.

All they can do, as the Cavan Gaels man said on these pages last week, is get on with it, do the best they can, try to play well and win games despite the obstacles. Graham could never have expected to be handing out four debuts (three starting debuts and one maiden appearance off the bench) in round six of the National League. In October. Having not had a game since March.

Strange days, indeed.

In the end, Cavan probably should have got something out of this game but the manager was upbeat afterwards, despite the loss.

“It was hard to know where we were at coming into the game because we had played a few challenge games and we were down a lot of bodies so today was about finding out where we were at, conditioning wise and football-wise and I thought for long periods of the game, we were good,” he said.

“We missed a penalty in the first half to go in one point down, instead we went in four points down. We got back into the game, they got a goal on the counter-attack over the top of us, then it looked like they were in total control, they kept the scoreboard ticking but the lads really rolled up their sleeves, they got stuck in and never gave up the ghost.

“You’d have to be proud of the way they kept at it and kept driving forward. It would have been very easy to throw in the towel at that stage.

“And then, right at the end sure, we were one-on-one basically to draw the game and just an over-hit pass from Chris, which is unlike him, and the ball just got away from the fingertips of Conor.

“If that ball had gone in, it was a drawn game. Look, we got that chance because we worked hard to get back into the game. But yeah, disappointed that we didn’t come away with something today.”

With such a disjointed build-up – Graham must have been dreading answering his phone as three players informed management in just three days last week that they were forced to isolate and wouldn’t be available – all they could do was give it their all.

If that sounds simplistic, that’s because it is. The ultra-scientific sport that football has become at this level now has the feel of a game from the distant past, no team buses, patched up squads full of rookies, team talks in the shade of the stand.

Tactics have not become redundant but are no longer a primary focus – it’s about getting a team out, throwing the pieces of the puzzle up in the air and seeing where they land.

“As I said before, we can make excuses and say that we hadn’t this fella or hadn’t that fella but any day you put on the jersey and go out and represent your county, you expect lads to step up and give it to their all.

“And in fairness to the lads today, they did that, they gave it their all and I thought the lads who were coming in for the first time – Cormac Timoney, Cormac O’Reilly, Oisin Brady, Caoimhan McGovern – they’re all young lads getting their first taste of inter-county action against a seasoned team so that will bring them on in leaps and bounds.

“You couldn’t fault the effort and that’s all you ask any day they go out, give it a big effort, and they did that. We were right in it right up to the end there, we could have got something out of it, but look, there’s a lot of positives to take out of it.

“We had 35 attacks, 35 shots on goal, we kicked six short and we had 12 wides – if you got a quarter of them, you were winning the game. They’re the small margins.

"At times we took the wrong option in attack and maybe forced them when the pressure came on but at least we are creating those chances and there’s something to work on.

“That was great heart, it was encouraging from a manager’s point of view to see lads keeping at it. The lads pushed up and went for it and took the game to Kildare. It would have been very easy to sit back and say ‘you know what, the game is over, let’s shut up shop and not concede any more’ but they didn’t, they were brave and they went for it.

“We will hopefully learn a lot from this today, hopefully get a few more bodies back this week. As the weeks go on, hopefully we’ll get the panel stronger again.

“As I said, every day is a different challenge and the team that went out today could be changed by the time the Roscommon game comes around. We just have to take it game by game and day by day, that’s just the lie of the land and the way it is at the moment.”

Cavan came into this match with one eye on promotion. That remains technically possible but so does relegation. The Roscommon match, then, is massive.

“It’s a huge game, without a doubt. We knew every game in this division was going to be huge so we just have to dust ourselves off and get ready for a huge challenge. Roscommon were outstanding against Armagh, they’re up there I believe as one of the top five or six teams in the country.

“They have a great squad and you saw the performance they put in last night in Armagh so there’s going to be nothing easy there. And I suppose with no Breffni crowd to get behind you and drive you on, it makes it a wee bit of a level playing field so we’ll just have to hopefully learn from today and try and correct a lot of the mistakes we made before next week.”

Will he have a few players back for that one? Who knows, his grin suggested. Hopefully.

“We are waiting for clearance on a few lads. Quarantine is up on a few boys this week as regards close contacts of positive cases. The 14 days is nearly up for a few so hopefully now this week we will see one or two returning.”