Revealed: Our SFC All-Stars for 2020

The 2020 Senior Football Championship was a vintage renewal. PAUL FITZPATRICK selects his All-Star XV from the competition.

James Farrelly (Kingscourt)

The former Cavan senior goalkeeper returned from a spell in Dubai and vied with Darragh McKenna for the number one jersey in Kingscourt, with both men sharing the duties during the group stages.

Farrelly was due to start in the semi-final against Cavan Gaels but got injured in the warm-up and McKenna stepped in and did well, holding off Farrelly for the final.

However, when the replay came around, the 6ft 4in former Cavan minor and U21 player was back between the sticks and delivered an excellent performance. While the Stars didn’t get over the line, his four close-range saves certainly kept them in the contest right up until the closing stages.

At the other end, Brian Malocca also did well and improved as the competition wore on while Castlerahan’s Kieran Daly and Cavan Gaels’ Ciaran Flynn deserve honourable mentions.

John Cooke (Crosserlough)

The former Cavan minor player has emerged as one of the best man-marking defenders on the club scene in Cavan. His form wasn’t brilliant by his standards early on in the championship but he grew as it went on and in the latter stages, when the pressure was really on, he was excellent.

Cooke managed to curtail Castlearahan danger man Oisin O’Connell quite well in the semi-final against Castlerahan, holding the speedster to just a goal over 80 minutes, and he was very assured in both finals.

Ryan McGahern (Gowna)

Gowna made it to the quarter-finals and leaked plenty of scores along the way, too, but there was no doubting the quality of their full-back. McGahern was outstanding throughout the competition whether in a man marking role or coming out with the ball from the back.

His forays upfield were a highlight but defensively, he was crucial for a Gowna side who were top-heavy with scoring forwards and needed a sound defender to mind the house. McGahern did that and a lot more besides and with lots of young blood ready to come through to the Gowna senior set-up, he will be expected to be a key man for the foreseeable future.

David Shalvey (Crosserlough)

It says a lot about Shalvey’s quality that he was one of Crosserlough’s leading scorers in their eight championship matches despite lining out at corner-back. The left-footed defender loves to bomb forward and has an uncanny knack of being in the right place to get a shot off – and when he does, he’s deadly accurate.

There is, of course, more to his game than just point-scoring; he can deliver a pass and has the engine to get up and down the field all day. In his mid-20s, he is one of the older players on this very youthful Crosserlough side and he played a leader’s role throughout the Senior Championship. A shoo-in for this selection.

Mark Stuart (Crosserlough)

Stuart, in common with a few of his Crosserlough teammates, had a break-out season. While he was a part of the Cavan senior football panel which reached the Ulster final in 2019, game time was limited so it was hard to gauge exactly the potential this player possessed.

Throughout the club championship, he was playing well consistently, coming up with big scores at key times – such as the equaliser against Kingscourt on the first day out and the crucial extra-time penalty against Castlerahan in the semi-final – but it was the county final replay when he really came to the fore.

Relocated to a defensive role, Stuart was a revelation. His fielding and calmness under pressure were remarkable and hinted at a player who could go on and shine at the highest level.

Danny Cusack (Lavey)

Cusack is one of four of our 2020 SFC All-Star selection who was a member of the Cavan minor team who reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 2017, losing to a David Clifford-inspired Kerry. That minor side is already starting to look like a vintage crop with the likes of James Smith and Oisin Pierson regular starters for Cavan among others and Cusack could well be the next to make the leap.

He had another outstanding championship campaign. As a man marker, the Lavey man, grandson of the late All-Ireland winner Johnny Cusack, is second to none in the county. A great athlete who can always be relied upon to win his own battle and shone again for Lavey in their run to the quarter-finals.

Cormac Daly (Castlerahan)

A former full-back with the Cavan minors, Daly can play in most positions but his best role seems to be wing half-back, where he excelled for Castlerahan this year.

When he builds up a head of steam going towards the opposition goal, his power and explosiveness makes him almost impossible to stop and he marries this with accurate shooting.

Daly is strong in the air as well and has emerged as one of the leading figures on an exceptional Castlerahan side.

James Smith (Crosserlough)

Few midfielders have hit the heights Smith did in the county final replay, with Padraig Faulkner’s performance the week before and Padraic O’Reilly’s in 2013 the only ones to rival it in the last 10 years at least.

Smith kicked 0-3 on the evening but excelled in all aspects of the game, linking the play, fielding, driving forward and defending. It crowned a championship when the 21-year-old really came of age.

He finished the campaign with 1-11 to his name, the goal coming in another tour de force against Ramor in Crosskeys. If he continues in this vein, the young Crosserlough man looks set to be a big player for Cavan in the years to come.

Padraig Faulkner (Kingscourt)

In the build-up to the county championship, we wrote that Faulkner is now the best footballer in Cavan. At its conclusion, there was no change in that status.

While he may be best known as a defender, the 26-year-old is probably too influential now to play there given how he can control the middle third when he lines out at midfield and, particularly, how he has added a consistent scoring threat to his game.

Faulkner was always good for a break up field and a couple of scores but in the last 18 months he has become a goalscorer too. He bagged a couple for Cavan and three in the championship including a brilliant strike in the drawn county final which was the highlight of an extraordinary individual performance when he drove his team forward all night despite clearly playing through the pain barrier.

In the replay, he scored another 0-3 and was everywhere but the Stars unfortunately came up short.

Paul O’Connor (Cavan Gaels)

An Ulster U21 winner and All-Ireland junior medallist with Cavan, O’Connor has been one of the top forwards around the club scene for a long number of years now but has sometimes been outshone by the likes of teammates Seanie Johnston and Martin Dunne.

However, O’Connor is an excellent player in his own right and a superb goalscorer. He played well all through the championship, shining with 1-2 against Killygarry in a one-point win and taking the fight to Ramor United with 0-3 in defeat in the group stages.

He also starred against Ramor in the quarter-final in more of a provider role as the Gaels turned the tables on the Virginia men.

Barry Reilly (Kingscourt)

The silken-skilled Reilly was in Player of the Year territory before a quiet performance in the county final replay. Reilly carried Kingscourt through their quarter-final against a fired-up Mullahoran, scoring 0-11 in a virtuoso display, and he pulled the strings once more against Cavan Gaels as the Stars produced a classic championship ambush and then in the drawn county final he was superb.

Reilly finished the championship with 0-36 to his name, which included, by our count, 19 frees, one mark and five 45s. His ball-striking throughout the competition was superb and he was a nailed on certainty for this selection in our eyes.

Oisin O’Connell (Castlerahan)

In the early round of the competition, O’Connell, a previous winner of the Player of the Year award, was electrifying. While he only came on in two group games and started two others, his blistering pace and finishing made sure he scared the life out of defences whenever he got possession as Castlerahan came through the group unbeaten. His cameo as a sub against Mullahoran was particularly impressive. In the quarter-final against Lavey, he netted a goal and he got another in the semi against Crosserlough and finished the championship with 2-12 to his name, 0-5 of which came from attacking marks.

James Brady (Ramor United)

Nobody scored more goals in the Senior Championship (four) and nobody scored more points from play (0-14) than the Ramor corner-forward, who was brilliant throughout the five matches he played. His final tally of 4-25 was very impressive and spoke of an attacker who was playing at the very top of his game.

His movement, balance and poaching ability off both feet is as good as anything in the county at present and, crucially, he also brings that goal threat which is priceless

He grabbed 2-6 against Gowna, 2-5 against Crosserlough (when he also hit the woodwork with a spectacular effort) and 0-6 against Cavan Gaels in the quarter-final on an evening when his freetaking deserted him at times. A stellar season for the young Virginia man.

Patrick Lynch (Crosserlough)

The top scorer in the Senior Championship was another shoo-in for our selection. Lynch played eight games in total and finished with 2-46 to his name, which included 28 frees, seven attacking marks and a 45.

His best performance was probably against Ramor in the round 4 group match when his power and ability to beat defenders was very much in evidence as the eventual champions came from eight points down to snatch a dramatic win. He finished with 1-8 on that occasion and landed another 1-8 against Gowna and 0-9 against Castlerahan.

All in all it was a highly profitable season for a player who only turns 20 this year. A senior county call-up cannot be far away.

Shane Tierney (Lavey)

Tierney has established himself without doubt as one of the very best scoring forwards in the county in recent seasons. His ball-winning and proficiency at taking points off either foot, from the tightest of angles, has been extraordinary and he has proven unmarkable at times.

In five games in this year’s Senior Championship, his tally came to 1-18, of which three were frees and two attacking marks. His performance against Castlerahan in the quarter-final, when he scored 0-5 from play while being picked up by expert bomb defuser Enda O’Connell – one of the best man markers in the county – was outstanding and he also shone against Shercock and against Mullahoran, when his 0-4 from play was arguably the difference between the teams.

Honourable mentions

Among those who came close were Killian Farrelly, Peter Corrigan and Barry Tully (Kingscourt), Adrian Smith and Stephen Smith (Crosserlough), Kieran Daly, David Wright and Pauric Smith (Castlerahan), Gerry Smith (Lavey), Ciaran Flynn and Gearoid McKiernan (Cavan Gaels) and Brían O'Connell (Ramor) among several others.