Sport

Ulster horse has bolted but Cavan chase trophy double with Tailteann Cup triumph

Raymond Galligan says Cavan took too long to get up to the pace set by Armagh in their Ulster quarter-final
Raymond Galligan says Cavan took too long to get up to the pace set by Armagh in their Ulster quarter-final Raymond Galligan says Cavan took too long to get up to the pace set by Armagh in their Ulster quarter-final

LOSING finalists last year, Cavan intend to “fix the wrongs” of their lacklustre performance against Armagh by winning the Tailteann Cup at the second attempt.

With home advantage and the Division Three title behind them, the Breffnimen were fancied to beat Armagh in last month’s Ulster Championship quarter-final but a tentative first half display left them too much to do after the break at Kingspan Breffni.

The Ulster Championship horse has bolted now but Cavan skipper Raymond Galligan is still chasing silverware this summer and the Tailteann Cup campaign starts with Saturday’s home fixture against Laois (4pm).

“I was extremely disappointed with the way we didn’t perform against Armagh,” said goalkeeper Galligan.

“We had a great finish to League final against Fermanagh and we did a good bit of work going into the Armagh game and we felt both physically and mentally that we were in a really good place.

“Armagh brought a level of aggression that we probably just weren’t maybe familiar enough with in Division Three. Looking back at it, that step up in leagues did come home to bite us. They had been playing at that higher level, Division One football against a higher quality opposition week-in, week-out whereas we probably thought we were ready and we weren’t.

“It wasn’t really until we got going in that second half that we knew we could actually win the game. It was too late and to be fair to Armagh they had the work done by half-time.

“We gave ourselves far too much to do. We started to get a bit of momentum, we got the game back, got a goal opportunity, but I suppose ultimately we just never got out of the blocks which is probably the most disappointing thing seeing as we put in such a commitment and sacrifice to peak on the biggest days.”

Cavan intend to make a fresh start in the Tailteann Cup and Galligan is confident that manager Mickey Graham will have a full-strength panel to pick from when the action starts on Saturday.

“We’re going to take it very seriously,” he said.

“Getting to final last year, we learned about the competition and it’s an opportunity to guarantee an All-Ireland series. Being in Division Two next year is great, but no one knows where you’re going to finish in Division Two next year. Hopefully we go one step further than last year, cementing that All-Ireland series place.

“We have a very difficult group, Laois the first day out is a very tough prospect and we can’t really look any further than Laois.”

No-one knows what division Cavan will be in after next year because they have moved up and down the divisions constantly over the last eight seasons. While League form has been inconsistent there have been flashes of brilliance at Championship level but disappointments too including losing last year’s Tailteann Cup final to Westmeath.

“I lost an Ulster final in 2019 to Donegal and that was very disappointing,” said Galligan who was an Ulster Championship winner the following year.

“I lost an All-Ireland semi-final to Dublin in 2020. I think they’d still be higher up the order.

“But it was a very, very difficult day losing to Westmeath because we thought we were in a good place.

“Westmeath were the better team on the day, we had no complaints. Hopefully that hurt will fuel us. It’s a fantastic competition and it’s a competition we really want to win. Losing it, we feel, really isn’t an option at this moment in time.”