From the archive: Cavan edged out by Armagh in '04

From the archive

Coming into the 2004 Ulster Senior Football Championship, Cavan were unsure as to where they actually stood.

A strong core of players from the 1996 U21s, including the likes of Dermot McCabe, Peter and Larry Reilly, Jason O’Reilly, Anthony Forde and Mickey Graham, had gone on to win Ulster SFC medals in 1997 but in the remaining years of that decade, the team hadn’t kicked on as was expected.

Heavy losses to Derry in 1999 and 2001 were followed by a run to the Ulster final in 2001, where Cavan just came up short against Tyrone with something of a new-look side, before Derry again proved too strong in the qualifiers.

In 2002, under Mattie Kerrigan, Cavan made the National League final, defeating Roscommon with a thrilling performance in the semi-final at a sun-drenched Mullingar but there was no sun and no fun in the final against Tyrone.

That game was played in Clones due to reconstruction work on Croke Park and Tyrone won comfortably. Confidence took a bashing and Donegal won by five points in the championship before Cavan lost to Limerick in a replay in the qualifiers.

2003 was a write-off, a qualifier win over Louth sandwiched between defeats to Antrim and Fermanagh. Suddenly, after showing glimpses of real promise, Cavan were being talked about as arguably the weakest team in the province.

That winter, Derry’s All-Ireland-winning manager Eamonn Coleman, who had led Gowna to several Senior Championship successes, took the reins and immediately set about getting all of the best players in the county on board.

The league was poor results-wise but there were signs that the players were beginning to respond to Coleman’s promptings. Cavan were in Division 1B and opened with three successive losses against Sligo away, Limerick (in Kingscourt) and Meath before, from nowhere, a brilliant performance resulted in a 3-12 to 0-8 win over Armagh.

Next time out, Cavan drew with Wexford before losing to Laois but they showed enough in a one-point home loss to Galway, 2-12 to 2-11, on the final day – a game they probably should have won – that things were beginning to pick up.

In the championship opener, Cavan were sluggish but rallied late on, inspired by Micheál Lyng. After Jason O’Reilly found the net in trademark fashion, Lyng scored twice from play and found Gerald Pierson with a short free for the Gowna man to nudge Cavan in front but with the final kick of the game, John Clarke sent over the equaliser to set up a replay in Cavan two weeks later.

Some inspired substitutions changed the course of the replay. Trailing by five at half-time, Cavan appeared to be crashing out.

“Coleman sent for the cavalry at half-time as his side faced into a five-point deficit against an increasingly dominant Down side,” wrote Colm Keys in the Irish Independent.

“Lo and behold there was McCabe in the middle of the posse, flanked by another returning veteran of past battles, Peter Reilly, and Cathal Collins.

“McCabe's impact, though not immediate, was devastating and was the single biggest influence in turning the game. It was a dramatic transformation and once again underlined the merits of having a skilled ball winner playing so close to goals.

“Clearly not fit from being laid up with the troublesome knee McCabe had the speed of thought and aerial presence to be the target man Cavan needed him to be.”

Cavan went on to out-score Down by 3-4 to 0-2 on the home stretch, McCabe, Peter and Jason with the goals, as they sealed a memorable victory and set up a daunting semi-final duel with an Armagh side who had been in the previous two All-Ireland finals, winning one.

“The interest in the Cavan v Armagh Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final in St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, has been phenomenal, hence the all-ticket affair,” wrote Eamonn Gaffney in his preview in the Anglo-Celt.

“A record attendance is anticipated as both counties are one step away from a place in the final and a tilt at the Anglo-Celt Cup.”

Surprisingly, the teams had not met in championship since Cavan won by 0-16 to 0-9 in 1978.

“Cavan go into the game as underdogs but this won’t unduly worry the team team or management who have developed the right attitude as well as the ability to win even against the odds. Eamonn Colkmen has managed to inject a steely resolve into the team and his brand of management tends to ensure a battle royale where persistence can overcome resistance and where one piece of brilliance can turn game around.”

“Cavan certainly have the potential but whether they can cope with Armagh’s highly sophisticated structure remains in doubt, especially now that Armagh are drawing from a full squad,” wrote Martin Breheny in the Irish Independent.

In the end, Cavan lost a thrilling match by 0-13 to 0-11. Midfielder Pierce McKenna was harshly dismissed just 27 seconds in but Cavan hung in there and dominated for long spells of the second half, only for Armagh to shoot three late, late points to edge it by a two-point margin which flattered them.

“They may have lost this fabulously frenetic Ulster semi-final through lack of experience but anyone who gets this wonderfuly gutsy Cavan team in the Qualifiers had better watch out,” wrote Cliona Foley in the Indo.

“Defeat was almost received with their same rapture as their '97 Ulster title because for a whopping 79 minutes yesterday they threatened to beat Armagh with just 14 heroic men.

“Even at the end of the parade, when midfielder Trevor Crowe burst through the Armagh line and gave Aidan O'Rourke an early shoulderly greeting you could see how hyped they were for their first Championship clash in 26 years with the 2002 All-Ireland champions.”

Armagh led by 0-5 to 0-4 at half-time but Cavan again sprung McCabe and with his clubmate Mark McKeever in fine form along with half-time sub Michael Brides, the underdogs led 0-9 to 0-6.

However, Armagh boss Joe Kernan played his own trump cards and that swung it late on.

“At a time when Cavan's half-time replacement Michael Brides was shaping as an inevitable man of the match, Armagh introduced their trump cards in the persons of Kieran McGeeney, Diarmuid Marsden, Kevin McElvanna and Brian Mallon. All four scored vital points,” noted the Irish Times.

"You learn by losing matches like that. I am sure that a fully fit Dermot McCabe in our team would have won the match for us,” said Coleman.

"We were shell-shocked after losing a player in the first minute. We needed time to settle and our fellows can feel very proud even though we were convinced we were going to win this match."

Said Kernan: "We had to pull out all the stops to win."

Cavan went on to lose in extra time to bogey team Derry in the qualifiers while Armagh hammered Donegal in the Ulster final, played in Croke Park, but were stunned by Fermanagh in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Cavan: E Elliott; C Collins, D Rabbit, R Donohoe; A Forde, A Gaynor, K Crotty; P McKenna, T Crowe; L Reilly (0-3, one free), M Lyng (0-4, frees), M McKeever; J O'Reilly (0-1), P Reilly (0-1, free), G Pearson (0-2). Subs: D McCabe for P Reilly (28); S Johnston for J O'Reilly (36); S Cole for Crowe (29); M Brides for R Donohoe (half-time).

Main pic: Back (from left): Anthony Forde, Dermot McCabe, Edward Jackson, Sean Johnston, Eamonn Reilly, Finbar O’Reilly, Andrew Coleman, Shane Cole, Cathal Collins, Eoghan Elliott, Darren Rabbitt, Jason O’Reilly, Trevor Crowe, Sean Maguire, Anthony Gaynor, Seanie Smith, Aaron Donohoe.

Front: Ciaran McGovern, Michael Brides, Pierce McKenna, Peter Reilly, Gerald Pierson, Micheál Lyng, Larry Reilly, Rory Donohoe, Karol Crotty, Nicholas Walsh, Mark McKeever, Paul Brady, Sean Brady