Cavan's U21 footballers acquitted themselves extremely well in the 2004 Ulster championship, pushing highly-rated Tyrone all the way before losing to an injury-time Sean Cavanagh point in an entertaining encounter at Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday March 27. As Cavan geared up for the 2004 Ulster U21 football championship, few football enthusiasts in the county thought much of their chances. The Breffni boys had been drawn against underage specialists Tyrone in the first round and optimism did not abound. (It would appear that the O'Neill County have stolen a march on the opposition at this level and inferiority complexes are the order of the day in some other counties.) However, not everybody buys into the hype and the propaganda fuelled by previous successes. Cavan's players and mentors felt in their hearts that they could get the better of Tyrone. After all, it was a new year, two new teams and an entirely new ballgame so to speak. Anything was possible. At Breffni Park on March 27, Eamon Coleman's charges came close to working the oracle. They played with conviction and inner strength, giving Tyrone a right run for their money, bringing the match right down to the wire before unluckily capitulating to a last-gasp score from All Star Sean Cavanagh, arguably the best under 21 footballer in the country at the time. The final scoreline speaks for itself. 1-10 to 0-12 in Tyrone's favour - it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that there had been little or nothing between the teams. The defending champions were somewhat fortunate to scrape through, for had Cavan been less forgiving in front of the posts at vital stages then surely it would have been the challengers who progressed. And what a win it would've been! Against the odds…against expectations…against the grain. Yet Cavan had every reason for optimism. In the corresponding fixture at Dungannon a year earlier, they ran Tyrone to two points and the O'Neill boys went on to take the provincial crown and contest the All-Ireland final. Perhaps, with home advantage, the Breffni lads could turn it around… In the end, however, the voyage ended prematurely and the annals would be inscribed with yet another instance of 'So Near And Yet So Far', an outcome we've become accustomed to in recent times. In fairness, Cavan made life very difficult for Tyrone and were within seconds of forcing the game into extra time. Senior All-Ireland winner Cavanagh popped up with the winning score a full three minutes into injury time. It was a cruel way to lose. But few could have predicted that Cavan would've gone so close. They went into the game as complete outsiders but their brave performance belied the huge gulf in experience that existed between the two sides. The O'Neill County included as many as six members of their senior county panel and were clearly determined to continue their recent dominance at this level. On the day, Cavan matched them in all areas of the pitch but fell marginally short of parity on the scoreboard. Despite their valiant attempt, Cavan could have some criticisms levelled at them. At times, their defence afforded the Tyrone forwards way too much latitude, while some of the more seasoned players on the team might have been expected to pull a little more weight on such a big occasion. The selectors went for a relatively unexposed side, choosing players they believed would be prepared to go that extra yard in pursuit of a famous win. A late change at midfield saw Sean Maguire omitted in favour of Ballinagh's Alan Durkin. It was an area where Cavan would certainly have their work cut out - against the impressive pairing of Cavanagh and Peter Donnelly. Indeed, the gamble of starting with Durkin failed to pay off as he was replaced by Nicholas Walsh after only 16 minutes, with Cavan desperately struggling to get a foothold in the key central battlefield. Cavan's preparations during the couple of months leading up to the championship opener went fairly well. They faced the likes of Leitrim, Longford, Meath and Westmeath in the Hastings Cup as well as some challenges. The Saturday before the Tyrone game, they enjoyed a confidence-boosting 2-11 to 0-12 defeat of Derry. But Tyrone had eighteen survivors in their squad from the All-Ireland final squad of the previous year! They also had senior All-Ireland medallists in Sean Cavanagh, John Devine and Dermot Carlin as well as four other players with senior intercounty experience - Leo Meenan, Joe McMahon, Peter Donnelly and Kieran McCrory. Furthermore, this very crop of Tyrone players had won the 2001 All-Ireland minor football championship. There was nothing in it early on. Cavan knuckled down to their task and traded punches effectively, trailing by just a single point after 20 minutes. They were also on level terms for most of the last quarter. Four minutes in, centre forward Shane Cole opened the scoring with the first of his three points but Tyrone equalised through Paul Rafferty (free) within sixty seconds. In the ninth minute, Tyrone struck for the only goal of the game - the decisive score which was the difference between the teams in the final analysis. Typically, there was a freakish element to the crucial major. A speculative high ball into the danger zone from Cathal McKeown was misjudged by Cavan custodian Shane Sheridan and was allowed to go all the way to the back of the net. It was a costly moment of indecision from the unlucky Lacken netminder and suddenly Tyrone led by 1-1 to 0-1. Cavan Gaels duo Michael Lyng and Sean Johnston now began to come into the game. Lyng struck for two points and Johnston was also on target, while a point in between from Cavanagh had Tyrone one point (1-2 to 0-4) to the good after 20 minutes. Cavan enjoyed a period of superiority but squandered a number of scoring opportunities, in particular relatively simple frees from McKeever and James Clarke. Encouraged by their opponents' profligacy, Tyrone took heart and dominated the closing stages of the first half, firing over four unanswered points courtesy of wing back Conor Mullan and wing forward Rafferty (3). Two minutes from the end of first-half normal time, Tyrone suffered a setback (and Cavan received a boost) when centre forward Leo Meenan received his marching orders for a nasty challenge on Breffni No.6 Anthony Gaynor. Johnston got the home team's last score of the half but they trailed by 1-6 to 0-5 at the short whistle. There was still all to play for, however, and Cavan had an extra man… The selectors decided to deploy Mark McKeever as the extra man in defence. Numerical superiority began to tell and it didn't take the home side long to force their way back into contention. However, a slight bout of squandermania proved costly: Cavan dominated the opening three minutes of the second half but failed to register a score. Meanwhile, at the other end, Cavanagh underlined the holders' greater economy when sending over an excellent score at the end of his team's first attack of the half. Now came Cavan's best period of the match. Five points adrift, they fought back to level the scores with a series of unanswered points. Completely dominant, they had scores from Cole (2), Lyng, Sean Brady and Johnston to leave it all to play for with 13 minutes remaining, 1-7 to 0-10. A buzz of excitement rippled through the Cavan town venue. Tyrone sneaked back in front with a free from Rafferty and Cavan were dealt another blow when substitute Jonathan Crowe was forced out of the fray with a facial injury only seconds after coming on. Still, McKeever equalised from a 51st-minute free only for substitute Damien McDermott to edge Tyrone back in front two minutes later. A late tackle on McKeever presented Johnston with an opportunity of equalising again in the last minute and the accurate corner forward obliged with his fourth point. Cavan were reduced to 14 men on the stroke of the hour when Anthony Gaynor received his marching orders and it was decided that four minutes of additional time would be played. Johnston missed a chance to put Cavan ahead for the first time since the fourth minute and the marauding Cavanagh stepped up with Tyrone's late, late winner right at the death. Tyrone comfortably held onto the ball for the last few seconds and frustrated Cavan had no way back. Cavan (v Tyrone, 2004 Ulster U21 FC): Shane Sheridan; Padraig Reilly, Michael Hannon, Damien McInerney; Sean Brady (0-1), Anthony Gaynor, Keith Fanning; Sean Maguire, Alan Durkin; Mark McKeever (0-1), Shane Cole (0-3), Lorcan Mulvey; James Clarke, Michael Lyng (0-3), Sean Johnston (0-4). Subs: Nicholas Walsh, Jonathan Crowe Tweet

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