Analysis: Cavan fans can walk taller after stunning victory
Tactics Board
Damien Donohoe
Emotionally, as a supporter ,the best wins are they ones that bring silverware, closely followed by the ones you don’t expect. The emotional wins can change the mood of an entire county and alter the path a team is going on. They can bring a positivity that makes supporters want to follow the team and share in the journey.
People still talk about the 2013 win over Derry in Celtic Park as one of those games that changed the path Cavan seniors were on. The signs were there in 2013 that things were improving because of the underage success but the results at senior level hadn’t been at a level that Cavan supporters believed we were going to beat Derry in a knock-out championship game.
After that Derry win, we got to an All-Ireland quarter final and in the followed three years gained promotion from Division 3 to Division 1 of the league under Terry Hyland. Cavan had finished fifth in the third tier earlier that year while Derry had won Division 2 so they weren’t considered a top team but they were definitely a level above us.
Sunday’s win, in my opinion, trumps that Derry victory right now. Mayo finished top of Division 1 this year with four wins and a draw and came within a kick of a ball of beating Galway in the Connacht final. They have been in one All-Ireland final and three-quarter finals in the last four year and finished fourth, second and first twice in Division 1 in that time. If they were to progress and win the All-Ireland this year, it would be less of a shock than Armagh’s success last year was.
What this could potentially do for football in Cavan is put us into the top ten bracket and see us be competitive with the best teams in the country. It shows the players that they can be, on their day, as good as anyone if they approach the game bravely. And brave was exactly what Ray Galligan’s side was on Sunday.
It was one of those performances where risks were taken but they paid off and as a supporter, it was exciting to watch. The intent of the players was evident from the first whistle. Killian the Gunner stripping the ball off Aidan O’Shea, Niall Carolan winning it out in front of Ryan O’Donoghue with Cavan playing a man-on-man defence. Sean McEvoy lining up Enda Hession and Jack Coyne and taking them on. Barry Donnelly burning players in the middle third of the field.
They all said we’re here to have a go, and we believe we’re good enough to take you on in man-to-man war and win. Cian Reilly, Brían O’Connell and Padraig Faulkner all bombing forward at speed to add to the score board showed bravery and with ten different players scoring for Cavan it showed confidence across the group.
I’ve picked out four features of the game that for me were crucial to the win. Cavan dictated the pace of the game and particularly in the first half when playing against the wind. Mayo finished with a seven-point total from eight shots in the first half but what Liam Brady done exceptionally well was got his kick-outs away quickly. That meant Mayo couldn’t set up a press and more often than not gave us back possession of the ball.
Once we had the ball in our hands we moved fast and with intent. Even on the occasions when a lateral pass was necessary, it was done at speed and usually met with a player coming onto the ball at speed.
When going man for man the match-up have to be right and the management picked the correct men for the job and they excelled. Ryan O’Donoghue had scored 1-22 (1-7 from play) in his last three games and is Mayo’s top forward. Niall Carolan not only held him scoreless from play but never let him get a shot away in open play. Carolan continued building a reputation that has him catching the eye of GAA fans across the country with this performance.
Aidan O’Shea has to be marked and respected and bringing in Killian ‘the Gunner’ for his first start this year did the job brilliantly. O’Shea knew from the throw-in that he was in for a battle and while he never threw in the towel he was held scoreless until the final seconds of the game by Brady.
The other match-up that was noticeable was Evan Crowe on Jordan Flynn. While Flynn isn’t a prolific scorer, his link play in the middle third of the field is vital to Mayo’s attack but Crowe, in his championship debut, limited Flynn’s time and space on the ball.
The third feature that was crucial was the second half scoring or conversion rate. Playing against the wind in the first half we controlled the ball for most of the half with the exception of the final ten minutes. In that half we created nine scoring chances which was one more than Mayo but we only scored four of them.
In the second half we took 16 shots at the goals and scored an impressive 13 times with a score total of 1-13. In a score-total-to-shots ratio, that 16 points from 16 shots which was simply super.
Oisin Kiernan’s two-pointer along with the points from the right corner by Madden, O’Reilly and O’Connell demonstrated the confidence the team had in their own ability as well as the encouragement they are clearly getting to take on the shots from the management.
The final feature is probably the most important one of all. Cavan’s willingness to put in honest hard work. Every time there was an opportunity to work hard the boys in blue grasped it with both hands. In the first quarter of the game Cavan were forcing turnover after turnover and creating scoring chance after scoring chance.
They were working back to help out their team mates and driving forward to give the man on the ball multiple passing options. The highlights reel on the Sunday game showed a couple of examples. For Cian Reilly’s fisted point in the second half, Padraig Faulkner selflessly ran half the length of the field to be there if he was needed as a passing option.
For Paddy Lynch’s point, Evan Crowe delivered a tackle to dislodge the ball and Dara McVeety was on hand to spring into action to maximise the opportunity by winning possession and setting up a fast counter attack.
As weekends go this was one of the best a Cavan fans has ever had. The minors win over Donegal set the tone and the ladies lifting the Ulster intermediate title put the cherry on top. A special mention has to go to some families who doubled up in the weekends successes. Sister and brother Lauren and Dara McVeety, at 11 on the men’s and ladies’ teams, and their cousin Ray Galligan. The McLoughlins, Rebecca and Jason, the Maddens, Caoimhe and Cian, as well as cousins Shauna and Paddy Lynch and Cian Reilly. Some tough decisions were made in those houses last week when it came to deciding where to be on Sunday last but we Cavan supporters are grateful for the products of those wonderful GAA homes.
Hope now fills the minds of Cavan fans and the ability to dream of days and wins that seemed impossible a week ago has been restored. Sport has the power to lift the mood and the mindset of thousands of people and seeing pictures Barry Donnelly and Sean McEvoy wearing the famous Kingspan jersey above the Sunday Game panel as they sang praises for this Cavan team allowed us all to walk a little taller this week.