More heartbreak for luckless ladies
November 27, 2011The old saying 'so close, yet so far' often gets thrown around too loosely in sporting articles, but in October the Cavan ladies came literally within an inch of their ultimate goal of capturing the All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship crown before it was so painfully taken away by a late revival from Westmeath in the replayed final.
Devastated by a crushing one-point defeat, all the good work which Cavan had done in the months leading up to their last game of 2011, which included another Ulster championship triumph in July, had never felt so distant as the concession of 1-3 in a nervy last 10 minutes at Croke Park led Westmeath to the coveted Mary Quinn Memorial Cup, robbing Cavan of their top priority once more.
All a gutted Adrian McGovern could tell national media afterwards was: "They got the goal, they got the breaks. That was the difference." And it left a side packed with character, strength and - above all - talent, broken as they stood side-by-side with their arms across each others shoulders, braving the pain as Elaine Finn, who kicked the Lake County's winning point, raised the Cup aloft from the Hogan Stand podium.
As the Westmeath captain delivered her winning speech, counterpart Aisling Doonan, who was a star throughout the campaign for Cavan, laid on the hallowed surface staring into the grey sky, wondering what might have been…
Make no mistake, ladies football is a tough business. It requires enduring the same workload as your make counterparts and getting half the praise if you happen to be successful.
This past season Cavan were successful, despite what begrudgers and doubters may think, because it's not every team that defeat the All-Ireland senior champions, win out their provincial championship and reach an All-Ireland final at Croke Park in the space of seven months.
Cavan's National League campaign started in February and saw McGovern's charges having to mix it with some big guns in the likes of Meath, Kerry and reigning All-Ireland champions Dublin. When their campaign started on the first Sunday in February, the Breffni women looked to be right at home as they handed neighbours Sligo a 3-11 to 2-5 defeat to rake in their opening three points and get 2011 off to the perfect start.
The following weekend saw Cavan host Kerry at St Aidan Park in Bawnboy, where, despite putting up an admirable battle, the home side suffered a 1-13 to 2-5 defeat to the Kingdom, in what was the first bump in the road of their campaign. However, come March the Blues would produce a sublime performance when the Dubs visited Maghera to stun the reigning All-Ireland SFC champions with a 2-7 to 1-8 victory which sent out a message of intent for their season.
McGovern's team simply tore up the script as they produced a five-star performance which was inspired by captain Aisling Doonan, who finished with 1-4 at full-forward, to help sink the capital and keep their chances of promotion to the top tier alive.
The visitors started better with Niamh McEvoy leading the charge from midfield to help her side into a 0-2 to nothing lead, before Cavan came to life with attacker Doonan and Grainne Smith sending over points. In the 24th minute the home side went into the lead when Aisling Traynor's long punt slipped through the hands of Dublin goalkeeper Emma Merrigan, which was enough to see Cavan in at the break with a 1-5 to 0-5 advantage.
Dublin introduced two substitutes from the start of the second-half, but they were dealt a killer blow within a minute of the restart. Arva's Donna English - operating at centre-field - found Doonan inside with a perfect pass and the number 14 buried the ball past Merrigan for the Breffni women's second major and a six-point lead. The Jackies made more switches in a hope to try and claw their way back into the game, with Elaine Kelly's points offering them some hope, before an Amy McGuinness goal brought the game level coming towards the closing stages.
However, in the time remaining Cavan held their nerve and a free from Traynor followed up by a fine point from Renee Murphy, who was stationed at left corner-back from the start, saw them regain a two-point advantage which they would never surrender to claim a famous victory over the women from the capital.
Cavan (NFL v Dublin): Cavan: C Fay; C Kearns, G McGlade, R Murphy (0-1); P Crowe, S Greene, R Crowe; D English, G Smith; A. Traynor (1-1, 1f), E Costin, D Clerkin; A Doonan, (1-4, 3f), B Boylan. Subs: R O' Keeffe (0-1) for B Boylan and C Reilly for E Costin.
The win had wiped away some of the hurt endured from a one-point defeat down in Tipperary the previous weekend for the Breffni ladies, and with their confidence high they went on to gain revenge for the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Waterford with a 3-11 to 2-7 win over the Deise at Kingspan Breffni Park, before scoring another huge victory against Ulster rivals Armagh on a 1-10 to 2-4 score-line. The win was particularly impressive, as the Orchard County had been operating at a level above Cavan in the northern province.
Promotion was within Cavan's grasp, but a 5-15 to 0-12 defeat to a strong Meath outfit derailed all hope and in the end they would come up just short as Dublin and Kerry occupied the top two spots come the campaign's conclusion.
Having narrowly missed in their chase for top-flight league football, McGovern and his team looked towards the next challenge, which was retaining their Ulster intermediate football championship crown. Keen to impress from their previous outing against Meath, Cavan would be in splendid formed when they journeyed to Coalisland in Co Tyrone, where they were rampant in handing Antrim a 1-22 to 0-7 thumping to ensure their place in the provincial decider against rivals Fermanagh on July 10.
In Clones, the Breffni women would summon an early blitz to brush aside the Ernesiders claim the Ulster IFC title for the second consecutive time on a 1-14 to 2-6 score-line.
In what was the fourth time in five years between these sides in the provincial decider, it was the Breffn Cavan's women's scorching start which helped establish a commanding half-time lead and had their opponents playing catch up for the entire second-half.
The opening exchanges had been even, with Aisling Traynor getting the winners off the mark inside five minutes before Caroline Little responded for Fermanagh. Claragh Reilly and Aisling Doonan put Cavan two in front, which was soon halved again by Little, but from there on the Blues put their foot on the throttle. Elaine Costin, Clara Reilly and Donna English all pointed before Reilly set-up Doonan for a superb goal which rocked the Ernesiders. Fermanagh hit back with a point from Sharon Little, but Cavan finished out the half strong via points from Doonan (2) and Traynor to boast a1-10 to 0-3 lead at the interval.
Doonan and Noelle Connolly exchanges points early on in the restart, which also saw Brid Boylan, Costin and substitute Daena Clerkin extend Cavan's lead. The early scores all but killed off any chance of a comeback from Fermanagh and despite conceding two Caroline Little goals late on, Cavan held out for a deserved victory to clinch the Cup.
It was the perfect boost for McGovern's team before heading into the 'make or break' All-Ireland IFC campaign they would embark on just seven days later when they traveled to Ballinagore to take on none other than Westmeath. When the two sides late met in the league a year previous, the Midlanders only managed 0-2 over the hour as Cavan strode towards a comfortable victory in Mullahoran to all but seal their promotion to Division Two.
However, McGovern and co were well aware of the strides Westmeath had made in the meantime, and if they weren't, they knew it by the full-time whistle in Ballinagore as the home side inflicted a 1-7 to 1-3 defeat leaving Cavan needing to win their remaining games in Group B to advance to the knock-out stages.
A hard fought 2-10 to 0-14 win away Leinster champions Longford at the end of July lifted spirits and when Fermanagh visited Kingspan Breffni Park a week later, another fascinating tie would develop which would see the hosts edging a deserved 2-18 to 3-11 victory in the end. The momentum was firmly with the Blues, and when a 1-12 to 0-8 win in Lavey over Waterford followed they're place in the last four of the All-Ireland series was secured.
Cavan would be dragged down to Cashel in Tipperary for their semi-final with neighbours Leitrim and it would unravel as one of the most thrilling games of the season.
Tipped as favourites coming into the game, a spirited Cavan side dug their deepest to come from nine points down to force extra-time, before eventually cruising to a remarkable ten-point win (2-26 to 3-13).
Leitrim full-forward Aine Tighe scored 3-7, including two penalty goals and seven points from frees, but the Kiltubrid attacker was held scoreless in extra-time as Cavan came on strong. Tighe's late free levelled the game at 3-12 to 1-18 and took the match to extra-time before Cavan outscored their opponents by 1-8 to 0-1 during the extra 20 minutes.
Cavan's leading scorers were the deadly duo of Aisling Doonan and Bronagh Sheridan, who bagged 2-14 between them, led the charge while substitutes Grainne Smith and Darna Clerkin also played massive roles for McGovern's team. At half-time in normal time, Leitrim led by 1-10 to 0-4, with Tighe bagging 1-6 in the first half.
Cavan battled back to within six points early in the second half but were rocked by sucker punch penalty goals scored by Tighe, who completed her hat-trick.
Sheridan's 46th minute goal hauled Cavan back into contention and the winners would eventually prevail to seal a place in a first All-Ireland final since the 1981 senior decider.
For the third time in 2011, a Cavan side was destined for an All-Ireland final at Croke Park and as the excitement rose across the Breffni County, the players remained composed ahead of what was a 'do or die' showdown with Westmeath on September 25 at GAA headquarters.
Cavan had started the game brilliantly as scores from Renee Murphy and the superb Aisling Doonan edged them two in front before the skipper crashed her 16th minute effort off the crossbar. Two minutes later the Templeport ace landed a spectacular sideline point, as it the signs continued to point towards it being Cavan's day.
Within five minutes of the second-half, the Ulster champions moved into a 0-7 to 0-3 lead as Drumlane pair Bronagh Sheridan (free) and Claire Kearns both booted over, before the Westmeath revival arrived and saw the Lake women hit two quick goals to move into the lead with ten minutes remaining. Emma Morris fisted a point soon after to extend the advantage to three, but, crucially, Cavan never panicked as substitute Daena Clerkin hauled Cavan back into contention with a 54th minute score before a brace of frees from Doonan restored parity on the eve of the final whistle to save a replay.
Afterwards Cavan boss McGovern admitted that his team were fortune to earn a second chance, as he stated: "We could have lost by a point there today and it could have been more. Credit to Westmeath, they worked hard and chipped away, but credit also to our backs, they turned the ball over, blocked balls, forced them wide and then launched forward. I feel we didn't do ourselves justice today which is what we didn't want to happen, but we're glad to get the second chance."
Cavan knew they were fortunate to come away with a draw, but were also well aware that if they'd taken their chances, particularly in the first-half, they'd be All-Ireland champions. In the replay, they were keen not to let another chance slide by and again they started the better team as Doonan again proved to be Westmeath's chief tormentor, scooping for all four first-half scores which saw Cavan go in with the half-time lead.
Cavan would suffer a blow five minutes into the restart when they had Brid Boylan sinbinned but they held their own during the ten minutes when the corner-forward was off the pitch. Three minutes after Boylan's reintroduction, substitute Grainne Smith came off the bench to fire in a rasping shot to the top corner of Gemma Leahy's net as the Breffni women moved into a 1-8 to 0-6 lead coming towards the final ten minutes.
In a devastating ten minutes, everything that could have went wrong for Cavan did as they would lose ace defender Donna English to the sin-bin, before Westmeath's Strong-running wing-forward Johanna Maher was fouled as she shot for goal and although Laura Walsh turned Maher's effort into the Cavan net, referee Sean Joy whistled back for a Westmeath penalty. Brennan held her nerve and converted to cut the deficit back to just a single point, 1-7 to 1-8.
McGovern ordered his team defend in numbers to try and prevent an equaliser, but Sarah Dolan shot the over in the 54th minute before Elaine Finn stormed forward to land another a minute later to send Westmeath into their first lead with under five minutes to go. Cavan desperately hunted for an equaliser but frees from Sheridan and Doonan fell just short, as they ran out of time and had to painfully endure another All-Ireland title slip away.
Cavan (All-Ireland IFC final replay v Westmeath): C McCutcheon; Ciara O'Reilly, G McGlade, C Kearns; R Murphy, P Crowe, D English; R Crowe, A Cornyn; R O'Keeffe, B Sheridan, E Costin; B Boylan, Claragh O'Reilly (0-1), A Doonan (0-5, 4f). Subs: G Smith (1-1) for Costin (HT), D Clerkin (0-1) for Boylan (45), C Gray for O'Keeffe (50). Tweet
