Ulster SFC quarter-final: Cavan v Tyrone (Sunday, 4pm, Kingspan Breffni, live on BBC2 NI)
ASKED about what made New Zealand such a fearsome opponent on the rugby pitch, Wales’ legendary scrum-half Gareth Edwards famously said: “There is something about the blackness of their jersey that strikes fear into your heart.”
To Cavan, the whiteness of a Tyrone jersey has the same effect.
They’ve never lost a championship game at home to Tyrone but the only reason that record stands since 1983 is because they haven’t played Tyrone in the championship in Breffni since 1983.
They’ve had ten chances at it since, in Clones and Enniskillen and Irvinestown and Omagh, in Ulster finals and semi-finals and All-Ireland qualifiers, and haven’t won any of them.
Cavan haven’t beaten Tyrone in league or championship since Martin McHugh’s side ended a 12-year unbeaten run in Dungannon in 1997 four months before winning Ulster.
Tyrone have won all five of their league meetings this century, including the Division One decider at Croke Park in 2002 and a Division Two decider in 2016.
There’s something about the two occasions on which they managed to take it a replay that’s perhaps more instructive.
For an hour they were able to clamber over the mental barriers and put it up to Tyrone but when they couldn’t finish it off, Cavan collapsed at the feet of the Red Hands in the replay.
In 2005, after Jason O’Reilly’s goal had put them three clear midway through the second half only for Tyrone to peg it back, Cavan were beaten by 3-19 to 0-7 the second day.
In 2016, it was 5-18 to 2-17 when they met again following their three-goal, high-ball, soaked-sod-assisted raid on the Red Hand defence.
But even at the finishing line in both draws, it was Cavan hanging on. They needed a soft free in 2005 and Niall Sludden missed twice and Darren McCurry once in the moments after David Givney’s late fisted equalising goal eight years ago.
So look, there’s no getting away from it here. The Cavan psyche really struggles with the sight of a Tyrone jersey.
They don’t have that with Monaghan, whom they’ve always felt capable of beating, even when they were at a low point and the neighbours were going well.
They’d front up to Donegal, they’ve had plenty of good days against Derry, but with Tyrone, Raymond Galligan’s job is as much psychological as it is tactical.
Have they had the kind of 2024 that would convince them they’re ready to end their hoodoo? Not really, on the whole.
Things like winning just one of their last eight home games undermines any attempt to build a cathedral in Breffni that opposition teams don’t like coming to.
All of which sounds very negative and pessimistic if you’re of Breffni blood but it is the reality of the mental challenge that they face.
Because the footballing challenge is not what it has often been when they’ve played Tyrone.
In time, that might change. Some of these Red Hand youngsters are serious footballers. Ciaran Daly, Niall Devlin, Seanie O’Donnell, Ruairi Canavan, they’ll wear the Tyrone jersey for the next decade.
But as of now, as a whole, the pedigree of this version differs from when they’ve beaten Cavan in the past.
In 2005 and 2021, Tyrone won All-Irelands.
In 1986 and 1995, they reached All-Ireland finals.
All-Ireland semi-finalists in 2019, Ulster champions in 2016 and 2001 (when they beat Cavan in the final), it’s fair to flip the whole argument and say that the 41-year wait for victory coincides with both Tyrone at their strongest and Cavan at their weakest.
Neither of those parameters apply in 2024. Tyrone are shy of their strongest and Cavan are at a significantly better standing than they’ve been for a lot of the last 30 years.
In sheer, stark footballing terms, there’s a chance here for Raymond Galligan’s side.
But then you look at it even from that perspective and the problem they have is in their defensive match-ups.
Against Monaghan, it largely picked itself. Killian Brady was excellent on Jack McCarron and Brian O’Connell was very good on Conor McManus too, while Niall Carolan made life difficult for Conor McCarthy.
But McCarron and McManus are very different players to what Darragh Canavan and Darren McCurry currently are.
It’s the jinking and dipping and ducking and diving and weaving of the Tyrone pair that represent something very different from the more linear, straight-line intelligence of what McManus and McCarron bring.
There’s a general expectation that Killian Clarke will start the game despite not being named to, and that Jason McLoughlin’s lower centre of gravity is ideally suited to the task at hand. He’s held his own on McCurry in the past.
Brian O’Connell is the most likely fit for Darragh Canavan, whose development over the past 18 months has brought his name into the discussion about the top forwards in the game.
That’s a slightly different conversation from form players but right now, Cavan very much have one of those in Paddy Lynch.
He hit 1-9 against Monaghan. Mattie Donnelly’s inclusion from the start was a surprise on the Tyrone team given his lack of game time since his latest injury but if he’s there to cut off that pocket of space in front of Lynch, they’ll feel that will ask questions of Cavan and where else they can get scores from.
They remain without Conn Kilpatrick in midfield. Hindsight said that dropping off Rory Beggan’s kickout in the first half was a good decision, and Cavan were well set up, but to repeat that tactic could be inviting trouble given the extra scoring power in the Tyrone forward division.
It’s not that the Red Hands are playing brilliantly and it’s not that Cavan are playing that badly.
It’s really just that it’s Tyrone playing Cavan.
The Red Hands to win again.