Little divides the Cavan IFC contenders

By Paul Fitzpatrick

It has been a typically fiercely-contested renewal of the Intermediate Championship so far, with very little between the leading contenders and plenty of twists across the four group rounds.

Now we are down to the last eight and, with no obvious giant blotting out the sun, all four quarter-finals look genuinely competitive.

Extraordinary record

Butlersbridge will be on many people’s shortlists and they have a very strong record in this grade, although they have found one team too good on three occasions since 2020, having lost finals to Ballinagh, Arva and Cuchulainns while beating Ballyhaise in the 2021 decider.

In their last 37 matches in the Intermediate Championship going back to 2020, they have won 28, drawn one and lost eight. That's an extraordinary record; to put it in context, Drumgoon have played 28 group matches in that same timeframe and won two.

The Bridge are a mobile, athletic side who are suited to playing in Breffni Park. From that point of view, it's advantage Lavey when they meet; with the stadium out of commission after the recent fire, the quarter-finals are being farmed out to other venues.

It's hard to get a handle on Lavey, under the management of well-travelled former Fermanagh star Tony Collins. Their form in the group was WLWL – a handsome victory over Shercock was followed by a loss to Ballymachugh, a win over Munterconnaught and then a defeat to a battling Killinkere.

Lavey had four points going into that game and Killinkere's need was simply greater, which further exposed the folly in the decision to change the seeding system for the quarter-finals.

The New Inns men have a very solid defence, an expereinced captain in Paul Gilcreest at the tiller, a reliable free-taker in Chris Conroy and a fit-again Shane Tierney, who scored a goal in the Intermediate final win 17 years ago. This, along with a nice mix of young players, gives them a great chance, especially with Gerry Smith as the pulse of the side.

However, the Bridge still get the vote, despite injury concerns around some important players including Caoimhín O'Reilly. Their consistency tips things their way, although, as Shercock showed last time out, their attack can be negated.

Cavan Football Lore

Denn versus Cornafean on Saturday in Ballinagh has the makings of the type of classic championship encounter on which the lore of Cavan football is constructed. Two country clubs meeting at a central point with it all on the line and no safety nets in place.

In our pre-championship preview, we reckoned that this might be the final pairing. That can't happen now but there is a good chance that whichever of the two is still standing could go that far.

Adding an extra layer of intrigue to this match is the fact that the Reds are managed by one of Denn's greatest players of this century, Martin Cahill.

Cornafean have their best team this century, we would argue. They were beaten in the semi-final in a replay last year, won the league and opened with two strong wins. They were 10 points up against Ballinagh in round three and, if you were a supporter, God was in his heaven – and then it all fell asunder. Ballinagh went on a two-point spree and, just like that, the Reds were backed against a wall in round four.

They came out swinging against Knockbride and got the win but it was nervy, so they may come into this one a little unsure of themselves.

Denn, for their part, opened with an expected win over Munterconnaught, fell to Cornafean in round two and then lost an epic to Knockbride. They had to win last time out, as did Ballymachugh – it was effectively knock-out football – and they rose to the challenge, so they should be hitting the quarter-finals hard, with momentum on their side.

This is a 50-50 match. The sides have met three times this year so far, in the regular league, the league final and the IFC group, and Cornafean have won all three with a bit to spare. Can they make it four? We will give Denn, who shot the lights out last time and have a feelgood factor in general due to their recent historic minor success, the nod.

Teams with experience

Both Ballinagh and Killinkere will see their tie as winnable. Killinkere’s comeback from the dead in this championship was Tyson Fury-esque. No team has lost the first two rounds in the Intermediate Championship and advanced to the quarter-finals since 2022 (Bailieborough) and it speaks to the character in the side.

Last year, they started poorly too and ended up in the semi-finals so, while consistency is not there, they clearly have talent. The experienced spine of the likes of Kevin and Liam McCabe, Emmett Fitzsimons and Jason McMahon, who all played in the Intermediate final a decade ago, has been augmented by the emergence of talented younger players including the combative Alex Sweeney, forward Conall Mooney and free-taker Cian McGovern, while speedster Shane Ryan caught the eye in the win over Lavey.

Ballinagh boast even more experience, with Senior Championship winners on their panel including Patrick Carroll and Niall McDermott, whose return from injury has coincided with an uptick in form.

They came back from the dead to defeat Cornafean and secure local bragging rights and followed that up by posting 4-21 against Drumgoon. They, too, are hitting the last eight with momentum behind them and they will fancy the task at hand, which is to win the Intermediate for the third time in 20 years.

Ballinagh are a seasoned outfit – goalie Adam Gaynor, at 20, is the youngest but most of the panel have an older profile – but the absence of the integral Evan Finnegan to suspension will be a major blow. Killinkere get a tentative vote to return to the last four for the second year in a row, which would represent a notable achievement for manager Ciaran O’Malley and the panel.

Difficult derby

Shercock v Knockbride is the Canningstown men’s third derby of the campaign and also looks intriguing. Knockbride were trapped in junior for a few years longer than they would have liked – the Cavan JFC was almost as hard won as the Ulster version at one stage – but are finally making headway at the higher grade and impressed greatly in the group stage.

They have wins over Bailieborough, Drumgoon and Denn to date and a round-four loss to the Reds when they were already qualified. Manager Ollie Fay is known for getting teams super-fit and they are well suited to the modern game, with Philip Rogers, for our money, the stand-out in a well-rounded group in which Paddy Rogers has also impressed at midfield.

Shercock, however, are a very admirable side who get the most out of themselves. They won the Intermediate from miles off the pace in 2017 and have the bit between their teeth again.

Brian Sankey is back in the fold, Killian Clarke is fit again and, up front, they have a reliable scorer in Sean Clarke and a match-winner in former county man Niall Clerkin.

They created a little piece of history by gaining promotion to Division 1 two years in a row (league restructures kept them down the first time) and are a very solid team. The cavalry has arrived from underage – Roman Hrushchak and Andrew Hill among the stand-outs – and they’ll take a lot of beating.

If Knockbride win this one, they’ll have earned it but we’ll back them to come of age and make the last four as they seek to return to senior ranks for the first time since 2008.