THE ‘Corrigan Park or nowhere’ controversy drove Cavan on as they laid Antrim to waste on their home turf in Saturday’s Ulster Championship showdown, according to Breffni boss Mickey Graham.
A proposal to move the provincial quarter-final game out of the west Belfast ground was controversially passed by Ulster GAA last month, before a U-turn saw Antrim eventually saw their first Ulster Championship game since Monaghan visited Casement Park in 2013.
It made little difference, however, as Cavan pulled away in the second half to ease into the last four, Gearoid McKiernan’s goal helping the Breffnimen to a 13-point victory as the Saffrons look ahead to the start of the inaugural Tailteann Cup.
And Graham – who guided his native county to Ulster Championship glory in 2020 – insists the furore surrounding Saturday’s venue proved more motivation than distraction to his men.
“It was actually a motivating factor for us, to be honest with you,” he said.
“We were looking forward to coming up here, and everything that was made about it… in fairness, the players and management had nothing to do with that. I think it was yourselves in the media had nothing else to write about so you blew it up to be more than it was.
“When we heard about it, we just said look, we’re going up there, we’ll put in a performance, it doesn’t matter where we play.”
A swirling wind did threaten to derail Cavan ambitions early on though, as chance after chance went begging before Antrim closed the gap to a point at the break.
But a quick start to the second half, that saw the Breffnimen rattle off four unanswered points in five minutes, was the kickstart Cavan needed as they grabbed the game by the throat.
“I don’t think you realise how difficult the wind was,” said Graham.
“We created lots of chances, we just didn’t make it count on the scoreboard and that’s where it matters. We had long periods in the first half where we were in control, in fairness to Antrim they kept at it and came back. Probably a lot of that was down to our doing as well.
“Those chances we got at the start of the second half, we were missing those in the first half. We took them and pushed on – we had 10 different scorers today and that’s a great balance to have.
“Our appetite was questioned during the League, let’s be honest about it, and we did stutter a lot of the way through – but it was always geared towards today. It’s always the Championship. League is taken for what it is but it’s all about Ulster Championship, that’s what teams train for.”
Graham was also boosted by the return from the bench of influential duo Martin Reilly and Ciaran Brady.
Veteran playmaker Reilly hadn’t featured in county colours since the early rounds of Cavan’s Division Four campaign, but looked like he hadn’t been away in a superb second half cameo.
And Ciaran Brady, one of the stars of Cavan’s 2020 Ulster title success, drew the loudest cheer of the day when he replaced Conor Brady with three minutes left – marking a first return to the field since suffering a cruciate injury a year ago.
“In fairness to Marty, he keeps defying the odds. We’ve a few more returning this week too so hopefully that’ll put a bit more pressure and keep everybody on their toes.
“We’ve a lot of experience but there’s a lot of young lads coming through. It was great down in Division Four in that you were able to expose them to a bit more game-time where if you’re up a couple of divisions you mightn’t have persevered as much.
“From that point of view it was an advantage, but it’s hard to know [where we are] – we’ll get our true acid test in the next game. We’ll see where we’re at after that.”
Antrim boss Enda McGinley opted not to speak to the media after the game, but assistant Stephen O’Neill admitted it had been a “deflating” day for the Saffrons.
With the Tailteann Cup getting under way later this month, they must adjust their sights swiftly. And, having seen full-back Ricky Johnston already depart for America, O’Neill is hopeful there won’t be too much more upheaval before that campaign begins.
“I enjoyed a summer there too so I can’t complain if somebody wants to do that,” said the former Tyrone ace.
“If you’re a young lad and you want to do that, I have no issues with that. Everyone makes their own decisions but I am sure that the boys who are committed to playing football here will want to give a good account of themselves.
“It’s just a disappointing end to the Ulster Championship. We have to regroup and get focused on the Tailteann Cup because the season is not over.”
