TOWERING full-forward David Givney hopes Cavan don’t live to regret their profligacy in front of the posts as they get ready to meet Tyrone in a replay of last Sunday’s Ulster Championship semi-final clash.
The Breffni men kicked 13 wides against the Red Hands at Clones and were grateful to Givney’s two goals - as well as Conor Moynagh’s fortuitous major before half-time - as they snatched a draw in added-time.
Heavy rain and a greasy pitch played a part, but the Mountnugent man feels that, if Cavan had brought their shooting boots to St Tiernach’s Park, they would be in an Ulster final already, rather than preparing for a fourth meeting with Tyrone this year.
He said: “The conditions made it fairly hard to play any kind of attractive football out there. It was very hard to make the ball stick at times and that’s what you’re going to get.
“In the first-half, we got loads of ball, we got shots off, it was just our shot selection wasn’t up to scratch and, to get to an Ulster final, you need to be taking those chances. Maybe with a bit more care with the ball, we’d be in the final now.”
Givney was the Breffni hero on the day after fisting home in the 71st minute, but he was left with mixed emotions as this group of Cavan players set out to build on their promotion to Division One by making a major statement in the Championship.
“It’s a great feeling, yeah,” he said of his second goal of the day.
“It’s great to get the draw in the end because we didn’t play up to what we can do. We played within ourselves there and we’re actually very disappointed with the performance we put in, even though we got the draw. I still think there’s a lot more to come from this team.
“We’ve seen what Tyrone have and I’m sure they’re very disappointed to not get the win, they had a few chances at the end, but we’ve two weeks to go back, work on our mistakes and put it right and come back here to put up a fight.”
He added: “We don’t fear anybody.
“We’ve got to that stage where we’re all 25, 26 years-of-age, we’re in our peak - it’s time to deliver now. We can’t be just saying ‘we might be able to bring it next year’, or that it’s a couple of years before we challenge for an Ulster title - we want to do it now.”
Givney cut an isolated figure at times, with Seanie Johnston often preoccupied by the forward forays of Niall Sludden as the Breffni men struggled to get bodies up in support.
Yet, when Tyrone came on strong, Cavan didn’t panic: “We kept it calm, we felt we had a lot more to give," Givney said.
“We felt we should’ve been a few points up there, our shot selection wasn’t what it should be for this level. So we kept it nice and calm, went out and just put right our wrongs from the first-half.
“We decided to throw caution to the wind [during the second-half] and throw guys forward there. Our backs were against the wall there at times, so we felt we had to throw everything at them and that’s the way it panned out in the end.”
Having lost their previous two encounters against the Red Hands this year, including the Division Two final at Croke Park, Cavan will feel they have laid down a marker.
And despite their performance last Sunday, Givney insists all the pressure remains on Tyrone: “People are expecting Tyrone to go on, saying they should win Ulster and go close to winning the All-Ireland, so everyone’s expecting them to win," he said.
“All the pressure’s on them.”
