Tailteann Cup round one: Cavan 0-24 Down 1-12
EVEN Down boss James McCartan couldn’t but applaud Cavan’s skill at times.
The Blues made hay in the sunshine at Kingspan Breffni to progress in the Tailteann Cup and McCartan cut a lonely figure at times in front of the 3,616 fans in attendance.
But the Down manager was magnanimous in defeat and generously gave a thumbs-up sign to the stand-out Raymond Galligan in the 49th minute after Cavan’s top scorer landed a 46-metre free from just inside the sideline on the stand side of the pitch.
Cavan impressed as they put behind them their Ulster SFC hangover with an accomplished display albeit against a Down side which showed just why they were relegated this year to Division Three of the NFL.
In a first round game that was all too predictable, Down looked the business early on and it took all of 12 minutes for Cavan to get in front.
Down opened the scoring with a fine team goal after just six minutes but that was their only achievement of note in the first half.
After a bout of some dreadful shooting by both sides, Daniel Guinness and Darren O’Hagan combined to put Ruairí O’Hare in for what would - strangely - prove to be the only goal from point blank range.
At the other end of the field, the hosts always carried a threat and while Cavan boss Mickey Graham will be delighted with his team’s 24-point haul, he will have cause to wonder at the ongoing lack of goals on the credit side during his reign.
Cavan engineered just two goal chances in the game with both coming in the first half.
Firstly, James Smith’s exocet ricocheted back off the Down post in the 14th minute and in the 33rd minute, Padraig Faulkner raced through but the full-back’s daisycutter was pushed around the post by the diving Down netminder Kane.
O’Hare’s major ought to have provided a springboard for Down but, instead, they failed to build up any head of steam.
Down’s penchant for lateral football and their poor retention of the ball allowed Cavan to steadily go up through the gears on the bone dry, calm-as-millpond day.
The Blues strung together six unanswered points with the minimum of fuss between the seventh and 14th minutes with a gem (12) from Oisín Kiernan the pick of the bunch.
Down lacked inspiration and leadership when Cavan began to cut them adrift with the advance of the second quarter.
The would-be losers were their own worst enemies at times and Barry O’Hagan saw his twice taken penalty saved by stand-out Cavan ‘keeper Raymond Galligan seconds before the interval after encroachment caused the first spot-kick to be retaken seconds before the short whistle.
Cavan had one foot in the next round as they sat pretty on the back of a 0-13 to 1-3 interval lead and things got little better for the Mournemen in the second half.
Cavan were never out of their comfort zone with Down’s capacity to ball-watch at the back, drift in and out of the game at midfield and reliance on Odhrán Murcoch and Barry O’Hagan up front and, latterly, sub. Liam Kerr, fatal to their hopes of causing a shock.
Cavan were on Easy Street in leading by 0-15 to 1-6 when a tremendous 46-metre free by ‘keeper Galligan had even Down boss James McCartan giving it the thumbs up.
The run-in must have been tortuous for the Down think-tank and the few dozen Down fans in attendance as Cavan proceeded to compile the points in training session fashion.
Down rang the changes at half-time and replacements Liam Kerr and Andrew Gilmore gave the visitors more punch and invention.
Ironically, Down’s best spell was the final quarter when they notched six points to Cavan’s eight but the horse had long since bolted.
Cavan: R Galligan (0-7, 0-3 45s, 0-4 frees); L Fortune, P Faulkner, K Brady; J McLoughlin, K Clarke, Conor Brady; T Galigan, J Smith (0-2); O Kiernan (0-1), G McKiernan (0-6, 0-4 frees), G Smith (0-2); M Reilly, P Lynch (0-4, 0-1 f), Ciarán Brady.
Subs: TE Donohoe (0-1) for M Reilly (48); C Madden for Ciarán Brady (49); N Carolan (0-1) for P Faulkner (55); C Conroy for T Galligan (62); O Brady for J McLoughlin (62).
Down: N Kane; P Fegan, A Lynch, T McInerney; D O’Hagan, C Poland, R Magill (0-1); A Doherty (0-1), R O’Hare (1-0); D Guinness, O Murdoch (0-1), P Laverty (0-1); R McCormack (0-1), B O’Hagan (0-3, 0-1 free), N McParland.
Subs: R Burns for N Kane (h-t); A Gilmore (0-2, 0-1 free) for R O’Hare (h-t); L Kerr (0-2) for N McParland (h-t); C Francis for P Fegan (45); P McCarthy for D O’Hagan (58).
Referee: D Gough (Meath)
