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Let's call a spade a spade here, Cavan were really really poor. You have to question McGleenan. No shape, no obvious game plan, putting on injured players and taking off their best performer. Nothing made sense. The towel was thrown in after 20mins and it looked like a challenge game of men against boys. fatkeeper (Dublin) - Posts: 316 - 14/05/2018 23:15:42 2100815 Link 0 |
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We didn't play well, but there's a big difference in losing by 8 in Balleybofey (where Donegal haven't lost in 7 years) and losing at home to Sligo by 10 (ala London). I'd fancy Donegal to beat Tyrone in Balleybofey by 3 or 4 points, Monaghan by 6, and so on. . . To lose by 8 is hardly a disgrace, particularly if we threw the towel in after 20 mins as you claim! Looks like you're taking the opportunity to stick the boot in and nothing more. cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5009 - 15/05/2018 13:10:03 2100959 Link 0 |
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Cavan did have a terrible day last Sunday, played terribly bad but kicked 13 wides v donegals 4, so less of the boot in, and best of luck to donegal going forward I would like to see you win Ulster or another all Ireland.
blueman1903 (Cavan) - Posts: 881 - 15/05/2018 17:19:01 2101090 Link 1 |
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Cavan started the game very well with Killian Clarke in particular having a big influence. Donegal then made a couple of switches which curtailed his influence. Taking off the corner back who was marking Paddy McB was a strange one even with the card as he was doing quite well. Unfortunately for Cavan they were far too open in the middle sector and this is where Donegal made hay. After that initial spell there was only 1 winner and anytime Cavan looked like getting into the game Donegal woke up and found another gear when needed. I was really impressed with McVeety when he came on so looking forward Cavan need him fit. I don't think Cavan were anywhere near as bad as some people were suggesting. They still did score 1-15 after all minus their best player for the majority of the game. However going so open against Donegal was not so wise. They need to get that balance right similar to Donegal looking forward. panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 15/05/2018 17:32:13 2101098 Link 2 |
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Cavan did have a game-plan, they calculated that by man-marking Paddy McBrearty and Jamie Brennan (Recently Donegal's two most potent scorers from play), they felt this would seriously limit Donegal's scoring ability, since Michael Murphy predominantly scores from set pieces these days (League Statistics). They actually effectively man-marked both players, and had two sweepers who mostly doubled up on them. What Cavan's management didn't count on was how effective Donegal's other scorers would be from play, particularly with MacNiallais out injured. And while the two inside sweepers is very effective against sides who rely on maybe two inside forwards for 80% of their scores, it can leave a lot of space when a team like Cavan keep 4 attacking players in the Donegal half. Now Donegal had a bad habit of taking their foot of the gas though whenever they opened up a healthy lead, and letting Cavan creep back into the game a couple of times, and Cavan's setup was effective enough to punish Donegal at those times. Cavan weren't really poor, they actually persisted with a system that was very productive during their National League campaign, but probably wasn't road tested against a team with as many quality attacking players as Donegal. Cavan simply weren't as good as some predicted they would be, probably because Donegal aren't actually as bad as the National League finish (7th place) suggested. So in fairness Cavan did have shape, they did have a game-plane. They later removed their man who was marking McBrearty, as McGleenan realised the game was slipping away from them, but that in itself created other problems by letting McBrearty off his leash. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1103 - 15/05/2018 23:41:13 2101222 Link 1 |
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While Cavan scored a total of 1-15 against Donegal, It should be noted that Cavan initially scored 3 points in first 5 or 6 minutes to lead 0-03 to 0-01 before the game really settled, and on the stroke of the 71st minute it was 2-19 to 1-13 to Donegal. So Donegal outscored them 2-18 to 1-10 during those 65 minutes between the 6th minute and 71st minute, almost double Cavan's score, and it was only with the game well over that Cavan tagged on two more points between 72nd and 75th minutes to outscore Donegal 0-02 to 0-01 in the final 3 minutes of injury time. This was a one sided game, and while the 1-15 score may take the bad look of it, Cavan got it very badly wrong tactically on the day. Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1103 - 16/05/2018 00:13:09 2101229 Link 0 |
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Cavan started the game brightly enough and kept McBrearty and Jamie Brennan quiet by deploying a couple of sweepers, however this allowed Donegal space out the field and to kick points from long distance without any pressure. I still think Cavan could do well in the qualifiers especially if they get McVeety and Martin Reilly back to full fitness. Gearoid McKiernan had a great game and kicked some great points and Cian Mackey was a joy to watch at times. If Cavan get a kind enough draw I could still see them making the Super 8's but they will need to improve. Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1873 - 16/05/2018 09:45:48 2101266 Link 1 |