Dunne on cloud nine as brilliant Cavan advance

Paul Fitzpatrick

Cavan attacker Martin Dunne was on cloud nine after a brilliant individual display helped his side see off odds-on favourites Armagh at Breffni Park this afternoon.

The Cavan Gaels man kicked 0-9, 0-8 of which was from play, but was quick to pay tribute to his team-mates.

“It's an absolutely great result for Cavan football. I think that's going to put all the doubts to bed there now. The young lads really stepped up to the plate,” said Dunne.

“I had the easy job today, the ball that was going in there was just unreal, it was a dream to play full-forward today with the ball that was kicked in. It's my job just to put it over the bar.”

Cavan led by seven but Armagh cut the gap to one with ten minutes to play.

“We showed good character when the goal went in, we didn't let it effect us, we came up and kicked the next three scores and put four points in it again. It's a good sign of a team to do that but we have to keep the heads down now, we're only in the first round,” said Dunne.

“We were very confident coming into today's game. People might have thought we were underdogs but we weren't underdogs in our eyes. It'll be good to get a chance to get another rattled at Fermanagh, a local derby.

“I was disappointed with the free [early miss] alright but big Euge Keating was in beside me keeping me full of confidence and he was a big help.

“We looked comfortable, we didn't really give away any goal chances. It was a bad enough goal to give away on our behalf, we dropped it coming out, but I think we looked comfortable all day long there.

“It's my job to kick the scores, it's the lads out the field who are doing the donkey work,” he added.

Meanwhile, a late fisted point from Ramor's Brian O'Connell helped Cavan minors to a one-point win over their Orchard counterparts on a memorable day for the Breffni men, before a crowd of 12,556.