Reilly forecasts rosy future
November 27, 2011In Breffni land, Redhills seniors are regarded as a 'coming' team. In the wake of the county's annexation of the provincial minor and under 21 championship titles this year, should Cavan be regarded as a 'coming' county? Former Redhills and Cavan star Mickey Reilly believes that the day when the blues will no longer have to play a dull second fiddle to our northern brethern at senior level may not be that far away.
Of course Reilly is helped in the shaping of his feel-good storyline by his positive, glass-half-full nature. In Cavan, we tend to look for the cloud to stitch onto any silver lining that may emerge, but Reilly refuses to have any truck with such a modus operandi.
"I think winning the two provincial titles this year reflects very well on football in Cavan at the present time," Reilly opines.
"If we were all being honest, you couldn't have expected us to win both titles in 2011, whatever about getting our hands on one of them.
"I'd have to say though that I wasn't surprised by the minors' win. They impressed me more like a hard working group of players who complemented each other than just than a team with a few individual stars who were pretty much indispensible.
"They might have appeared a more average minor team on paper than we've had in recent years but their sheer work ethic and their willingness to take on board the team-management's game plan was such that they deserved to succeed."
Reilly, a member of a succession of mis-firing Cavan senior teams in the early seventies knows only too well that today's roosters can morph into a feather duster in double-quick time so expectations about the potential inherent in our provincial winning underage players should be cautionary.
"There's no guarantee that any or many of this year's minors or under 21s will make a big impression at senior level in the years to come but you'd be hopeful that some of them would come through. "
Any of the players in particular who caught his eye?
"I'd have to say I was very impressed all year by Niall McDermott (Ballinagh) from the under 21s. He's one of the most improved players I've seen in Cavan over the last few years; he can win his own ball, go left or right past his marker and take his score. He's definitely an emerging talent."
Nevertheless he is wont to talk-up the quality of, for instance, some of the football played by the Gary Donohoe/Dermot McCabe-managed county minors in 2011. Superlatives may not be his stock-in-trade but you can sense Reilly's appreciation of what the young blues brought to the table:
"I thought their second half performance against Armagh in the Ulster final was as good as I've ever seen from a Cavan minor team.
"Every single player took responsibility for doing the job that was asked of him and nobody shrinked from any challenges that came their way.
"It was just a pity that they went out to Galway by that couple of points because you saw after that how they (Galway) put it up to a very fancied Dublin team in the semi-finals."
And his take on the under 21 success? Similar roots perhaps?
"Yeh, I thought they showed that they were more a team than a collection of top individual players. In the past, we had a lot of very good footballers playing for Cavan but too many of them played as individuals and weren't good team players.
"In fairness, you can understand why some Cavan seniors were inclined to play for themselves because sometimes that's natural when you're figuring on teams that are consistently losing. When you're on a winning team, you don't tend to have the same individualism in the side.
"I don't think history will repeat itself with these boys in the sense that they'll be more of an individual player than a team player should they graduate to the senior county team.
"There were some really natural footballers on that (under 21) team and a few big names on the team sheet but all of them worked hard and put their shoulder to the wheel and came up with the goods.
"The team was strong in some key areas but, like the minors, they showed a serious work rate in the matches, a huge desire to do their very best.
"Maybe they left a bit behind them in Croke Park (in the all-Ireland semi-final) but, in fairness, they rode their luck before that against Wexford when Wexford let them out of jail by not cashing in on a couple of goal chances which would have made it very difficult for us to win through."
Reilly maintains "it's a good day when you beat any of the northern teams in the championship." Cavan, by dint of the double underage triumphs, made a real statement of intent he suggests. "I think those two title wins suggests that a better future lies ahead for Cavan football," he avers.
As to a future timescale for a re-awakening of hopes, provincial title-wise, Reilly reckons "we should be seriously challenging for the Anglo-Celt cup in three or four years time."
The long-time Redhills administrator and ex-senior county selector is convinced that the filip Cavan football received from the minor and under 21 twin successes will manifest itself in additional competition for places on the county senior team in the not too distant future.
Reilly hopes that just as the stars of the Ulster under 21-winning team of 1996 formed a sizeable chunk of the Anglo-Celt Cup-winning '97 team, the Cavan under 21s of 2011 will morph into super seniors in double quick time.
"For the following ten years, a good few of those under 21 players from '96 formed the backbone of the Cavan senior team," he maintains.
So does he expect a number of the outgoing panel of county under 21s to figure at senior level in 2012?
"I think Val (Andrews) will be keen to include a good few of them in his panel for next year's national league and keep them on board for the championship to give them experience and try them out at a higher grade of football.
"It's a natural progression for the under 21s to look to go on and test themselves at senior with the county. When they're so successful at underage level, it helps increase their ambition and encourages them to work even harder on their game."
Reilly proffers the notion that you can almost see the Cavan players who picked up provincial medals this year with an extra spring in their step these days and that their vaulting ambition will see them itching to join the county's premier football squad, sooner rather than later.
"It can only be good for the minors and under 21s that they have provincial medals in their back pockets but it'll also benefit their clubs 'cause those players will have that extra bit of confidence and self-belief to bring onto the club scene and it's great to see those fellas carrying on their form for their clubs."
Meanwhile on the club front, Reilly has a positive outlook with regard to the nature of the competition existing at blue riband level these days.
He reckons the gravitation of Belturbet, Ballinagh and Castlerahan into the semi-finals of the SFC "is a good thing for Cavan football."
Like many another pundit, Reilly doesn't believe the domination of Cavan Gaels (or any other club for that matter) could be healthy for the local game.
"Despite their good underage structure, I'm not sure that Cavan Gaels' dominant position will continue indefinitely 'cause it's a lot more of an even competition now at senior level but the Gaels still have a lot of good players and they'll always take a bit of beating."
With a JFC title win in 2005 followed by an IFC title win three years later, Redhills can be expected to rise to the challenge of tackling the Gaels of this world in due course.
Operating from the summit of division one of the ACFL during 2011 said a lot about Redhills' potential but Reilly admits that SFC defeats this year to Castlerahan and Belturbet were not what the doctor ordered.
But with such talent such as Oisin Minagh, Rory Dunne, Packie Leddy and Turlough Mooney at the club's disposal, Reilly is confident that a rosy future lies ahead for the border club.
Something similar for the county would leave things just dandy then for the ardent club and county hands-on fan. Tweet
