Football

Armagh the favourites as Cavan travel to Athletic Grounds for Division Two opener

Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney surveys the action as Armagh and Cavan clash in the McKenna Cup at Kingspan Breffni late last year. Picture by John Merry.
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney surveys the action as Armagh and Cavan clash in the McKenna Cup at Kingspan Breffni late last year. Picture by John Merry. Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney surveys the action as Armagh and Cavan clash in the McKenna Cup at Kingspan Breffni late last year. Picture by John Merry.

Allianz National Football League Division Two: Armagh v Cavan (tonight, the Athletic Grounds, 7pm)

By Andy Watters

THOSE bright, sunny, optimistic days of last summer must seem like a long, long time ago for Cavan supporters now. Back then the Breffni county battled back from three points and a man down to force a draw with Armagh and then went on to beat the Orchardmen in the Ulster semi-final replay.

Fast forward seven months and the chances of the same result this evening look remote, at best.

Since that win Cavan’s fortunes have dipped considerably.

The positivity of reaching last year’s Ulster final evaporated during a tanking from Donegal and there wasn’t even a repeat of the face-saving late rally in that game when they returned to Clones to meet Tyrone in the Qualifiers.

The Red Hands ran amok to end Cavan’s season and the county’s position has continued to decline in the off season. Dara McVeety, Conor Moynagh, Michael Argue, Killian Clarke and Conor Rehill have all pulled the pin on inter-county football, at least for this season, and long-serving forward Cian Mackey, who announced his retirement from inter-county football last week.

That has robbed the team of its spine in full-back (Clarke), centre half-back/sweeper Moynagh and leading forward McVeety and, to add injury to insult, Jason McLoughlin, Cillian Brady and Gerry Smith will all miss out tonight.

Of course manager Mickey Graham is a wily customer who has proven ability in the shock-causing business – last year he took unfancied Longford club Mullinalaghta to glory in the Leinster senior championship – but Cavan are up against it to say the least and they’re away from home too.

Former Cavan star Graham has called up youngsters Luke Fortune, Steven Smith, Paddy Meade and Conor Smith and tonight’s fixture is the perfect time for some, if not all, of them to prove they belong on the inter-county scene. In any case, they’ll need to find their feet quickly because Division Two is always a dogfight and relegation this year could see Cavan – five-time Sam Maguire winners – playing in the second tier of the championship in the summer which, for a football-mad county, would be unthinkable.

“The League is all about momentum and building confidence,” Graham said this week.

“If you can get a couple of wins early on and get a couple of results that brings confidence to the squad and a bit of belief and it’s vital in the early stages,” he said.

“If you don’t get a result in the first couple of games then you are chasing points and it becomes difficult, the pressure comes on and makes life harder. Division Two this year, there are a lot of teams that can take points off each other as well.”

Meanwhile, Armagh go into the sixth season of Kieran McGeeney’s reign looking in much better shape than their Ulster rivals. The Orchardmen ran through an albeit very understrength Cavan side at Breffni Park in the Dr McKenna Cup opener last year and cantered to a 2-17 to 1-13 win.

McGeeney has lost long-serving full-back/midfielder Charlie Vernon, Ben Crealey (unavailable) and Ross McQuillan (gone to Aussie Rules) from last season but the players who ran Mayo so close in last year’s Qualifier are all present and correct.

That performance in Castlebar has raised expectations that this will be the long-awaited breakthrough year for Armagh. McGeeney, who has appointed Stefan Campbell as captain this year, has a talented group at his disposal but the loss to Tyrone at home in the McKenna Cup should have helped to keep the fans’ feet on the ground and that is no harm.

However, with home advantage against an understrength Cavan outfit, anything less than a convincing Armagh win will be a surprise. Expect the visitors to sit back and defend in numbers and if they hang in there pressure will build on the Orchardmen and mistakes will follow. However, Armagh should have too much power and pace for them and will kick off their campaign with a win tonight.