Football

How the Cavan players rated against Dublin

Martin Reilly scored three points for Cavan in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final. Picture: Seamus Loughran.
Martin Reilly scored three points for Cavan in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final. Picture: Seamus Loughran. Martin Reilly scored three points for Cavan in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final. Picture: Seamus Loughran.

Cavan ratings

Raymond Galligan: Eye-of-a-needle accuracy from short kick-outs and found his men in the middle when he kicked longer. Beaten by Kilkenny shot but it was blocked and had little chance when McDaid did find the net. A leader on the field. 7.5

Jason McLoughlin: Full of industry, he did his job well – getting in tackles and keeping the ball moving. Picked up Mannion and then Costello when they were introduced. 6

Padraig Faulkner: He picked up Con O’Callaghan and hard his hands full. Never shirked the task and made a brilliant tackle in the second half as O’Callaghan went to pull the trigger on a goal chance. 6.5

Killian Clarke: Didn’t look himself. Caught ball-watching when Galligan targeted him with a short kick-out and lost the ball under pressure too. Booked and then substituted 10 minutes into the second half. 5.5

Gerard Smith: A key part of the Cavan half-back line and he made inroads into Dublin territory regularly in the first half. Dropped in as sweeper at times in the second period. 6.5

Ciaran Brady: In the empty stadium, roars of ‘Holla’ were clear throughout the first half when Brady carried the fight to the Dubs. Rampaged through the middle at every opportunity and scored an excellent point. Ran himself ragged. 7.5

Luke Fortune: Picked up Paddy Small. Covered a lot of ground in the first half but not so prominent in the second although he did get forward for a shot. Dubs robbed the ball off him on the way to their goal. 6

Thomas Galligan: A fine first half point was his best moment. Couldn’t get on enough ball. Shunted into full-forward but was well shackled by Philly McMahon in the second half. 6

Killian Brady: Worked hard in a defensive role but didn’t have his best day in blue. He was dispossessed early on and then fouled Paddy Small to provide a simple free for Rock. Injured and subbed. 5.5

Martin Reilly: Cavan’s top scorer on the day. The veteran scored the first point of the game and added two more in the second half. Also got back on his own line to clear Kilkenny’s goal-bound shot. Well played. 8

Gearoid McKiernan: Solid but needs the ball on his left foot and James McCarthy kept him on his right. Showed well for kick-outs but the end product wasn’t there. 6

Oisin Kiernan: Points in either half in a tireless display from the combative Castlerahan clubman. Nailed James McCarthy with a bodycheck in the last minute, Cavan might have wished he’d done it in the first. 7

Conor Madden: One memorable point in the second half when he turned marker Fitzsimons and scored from under the Cusack Stand. Didn’t get on enough ball to make a real impression. 6

Chris Conroy: A utility player, he wore 14 but played in a defensive role. Scored one free but was substituted before half-time. 5

James Smith: In just his second Championship match he found himself jumping with Brian Fenton at Croke Park. Caught the throw-in and set up Reilly. Added two points himself. Superb one-handed take on the run in second half but blazed wide. 6.5

Subs:

Conor Smith: Showed well at times but his effort didn’t always come off for him. Created, but then missed a scoring chance in the first half. 6

Stephen Murray: He is quick but never got into a position to hurt Dublin with his pace. Worked hard though. 6

Niall Murray: Replaced Clarke 10 minutes into the second half and fought to the finish. Brave block denied Con O’Callaghan a point. 6

Conor Brady: Game was decided when he came on. Swept up neatly when one Dublin attack was broken down. 5.5

Stephen Smith: Replaced Conor Madden in closing stages. Not on long enough to be rated.