Football

Cavan's dog day finally arrives with win over rivals Monaghan

Cavan's Padraig Faulkner tries to call a dog that invaded the pitch on Saturday evening. Picture by Philip Walsh
Cavan's Padraig Faulkner tries to call a dog that invaded the pitch on Saturday evening. Picture by Philip Walsh Cavan's Padraig Faulkner tries to call a dog that invaded the pitch on Saturday evening. Picture by Philip Walsh

Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final: Cavan 1-13 Monaghan 0-12

NIGHT begins to fall over old Breffni, where Cavan football stands and feels the warmth of finding its soul.

Nearly 45 minutes after the game, there are still umpteen happy congregations, laughing, dissecting, unsure if their forgotten smiles will break between now and the semi-final in two weeks’ time.

This was the statement win for which they’ve longed. For which they’ve worked.

You can look at it one way and take it right back to the first of those under-21 successes in 2011, or you can keep the credit that bit tighter and look at the last two months.

Make no mistake, the first half was a demolition derby. And it was no accident.

You can look at Monaghan and say they were poor, and you wouldn’t be done for defamation on it. But their failure was plenty down to the way Cavan systematically picked them apart at both ends.

In defence, Mickey Graham’s men were outstandingly disciplined. Monaghan took home five points from frees, but they went looking far more. You could see Conor McManus in particular carrying the ball into traffic, awaiting the contact. It never came.

Cavan stood them up and when the ball popped up, then they went. Padraig Faulkner and Jason McLoughlin were an outstanding full-back line for the winners, the latter’s performance picking up so much pace that he almost nosed Martin Reilly on the line for man of the match.

It’s always been in attack that they’ve fallen down though. There was no discernible sign that they’ve uncovered the forward of their dreams, but what they did was unpick Monaghan through some brilliant training ground work, and sheer relentlessness.

None of the Cavan forwards were going to catch their death standing. All first half they rotated and rotated and rotated. Better still, they did it mid-move. So when they attacked, the full-forward line came out and the half-backs and midfield – notably Killian Clarke, Niall Murray, Thomas Galligan and Conor Moynagh – went in past them.

It was ironically a day when Monaghan’s relatively new sense of adventure became a misadventure. Their willingness to push up left massive spaces in behind, and their full-back line didn’t know whether to follow their men out or pick up the runners coming in.

It was magnificently choreographed. Thus by the time the first half ended, Cavan led by 1-8 to 0-4, and it flattered them not one bit.

There was contention over the penalty. Conor Madden should never have needed to be fouled when Martin Reilly took a Stanley knife to the Monaghan defence. Madden spilled the ball and between them Drew Wylie and Rory Beggan got it shovelled away.

But whether Conor Lane – who otherwise had an excellent game – saw a faint nudge by the defender or a non-existent foot-block by the goalkeeper, he met the penalty spot with his arms wide. Martin Reilly, who at least deserved something from the pass, met the bottom corner with a cool finish.

Cavan really struggled to win any of their own kickouts but were so comfortable in defence, forcing Monaghan to shoot from sidelines and corners, and so inventive and tuned-in in attack that their lack of primary possession didn’t become a factor.

Malachy O’Rourke’s side didn’t score from play until Conor McManus capitalised on a very rare bit of space off a turnover to land one from the right wing on 37 minutes.

He was the first to find space in the Cavan half since the dog that invaded and entertained for a couple of first-half moments.

They were so far off their own standards in the opening spell but Cavan’s nervous system started to twitch in the third quarter.

Such was their level of performance that it was always going to be hard to sustain. Their second half was much more orthodox, much less effective, but the five points they managed to cobble together were enough to keep the game’s solitary goal decisive, just as it was when the other shoe wore it in 2013 and 2017.

Monaghan never threatened Raymond Galligan’s goal but they did, as the game wore on, threaten Cavan’s lead. By the 50th minute, they were on a run of six scores to one since half-time and back within the width of that green flag.

Conor McCarthy, who had to be helicoptered from Dublin because of a science exam at UCD at 2pm, cut out some of the blue mould but largely their attacking play was disorganised and listless.

Two years ago, Conor McManus was quiet for 55 minutes but won the game when it mattered. This time the space never opened up. Padraig Faulkner’s discipline kept him looking in over the fence at the areas where he could hurt Cavan.

Monaghan started to find a bit of joy with their own runners in the third quarter, with Shane Carey grabbing two and Ryan Wylie popping up to clip the gap down to three after 55 minutes.

The hosts were coming under increasing pressure, and inviting a lot of it on themselves. Their legs looked weary and they were struggling to get a runner in past Monaghan’s half-back line.

And then just when it was needed, they settled, kept the ball, drew the white shirts out and played Padraig Faulkner into the breach. He cut across, slipped the ball over and put four in it. That broke the ice.

Gearoid McKiernan had to do the same to book-end a fine game in which he and debutant Conor Rehill combined well, and when Chris Conroy fired over a free four minutes into stoppage time, the day was done.

Monaghan had started to leave a bit on in the tackles and Karl O’Connell got a black card for catching Martin Reilly late.

They head for the qualifiers, a route they know well but for which the stomach always needs a chance to settle. Croke Park is as long a way off as it looks.

Cavan have a first half to use as a template and a second half to learn lots from. They’ll start an Ulster semi-final as favourites for the first time in a generation.

An entire decade, this was the win they’ve longed for. Now they have it, they best not waste it.

MATCH STATS


Cavan: R Galligan; J McLoughlin, P Faulkner (0-1); Conor Brady (0-1); G Smith, K Clarke, C Moynagh, C Rehill (0-1); T Galligan, G McKiernan (0-3, 0-1f); M Reilly (1-1, 1-0pen, 0-1f), D McVeety (0-1), N Murray (0-2); O Kiernan, C Madden (0-2)


Subs: Ciaran Brady for Kiernan (45), C Conroy (0-1f) for Smith (52), C Mackey for Madden (55), S Smith for T Galligan (64), K Brady for McLoughlin (74)


Blood sub: Ciaran Brady for McLoughlin (26-30)


Black card: C Moynagh (59) replaced by J Brady


Yellow cards: D McVeety (48)

Monaghan: R Beggan (0-2, 0-1f, 0-1 45’); D Wylie, R Wylie (0-1); F Kelly; K O’Connell, C Walshe, D Ward; C Boyle (0-1), K Hughes (0-1f); S Carey (0-2), D Malone, P McKenna; R McAnespie, C McManus (0-4, 0-3f), S O’Hanlon


Subs: C McCarthy (0-1) for McKenna (30), K Duffy for Malone (HT), M Bannigan for O’Hanlon (53), O Duffy for Ward (63), N Kearns for Carey (65)


Black card: Karl O’Connell (70) replaced by D Mone


Yellow cards: D Ward (48), S Carey (58), R McAnespie (69), K Hughes (70)

Referee: C Lane (Cork)

Attendance: 13,496